How to be Sustainable in the Office

With Climate Week NYC coming to a close this past weekend, I thought it would be the perfect time to do a sustainability post, especially since I haven’t posted one in forever! If you’ve been reading my blog recently, you’ll know that I just graduated college and started working full time. Living sustainably has always been an important part of my life and taking that into the office is no exception. I noticed that the first couple of weeks I was working, I didn’t have a routine down and was creating a lot of waste. Compared to places like university or my own home, where I had established routines, it was easier to slip up and not think about single use plastic because there always seemed to be more pressing things to worry about (like that project deadline). I have realized though that it’s important not to get too caught up in things and to remember to bring yourself and your values to work. With fall flying by, what better time to start building new habits?

Make your own coffee (or at least bring your own coffee cup)
Paper coffee cups are hard to recycle since they’re coated in plastic and the plastic ones for iced coffee will eventually break down into microplastics. I was rushing out the door in the morning and grabbing Starbucks on the way to work. This created a coffee cup a day that would sit on my desk just to get thrown out at the end of it. Recently, I have started brewing my own coffee at home and bringing it in my Yeti. If you’re office provides coffee, you can bring always bring your own mug instead of using the disposable cups most offices provide.

Bring your own water bottle to avoid using the plastic ones.
This is along the same lines as above, but bringing your own water bottle will cut down on the plastic you use, reducing the burden on landfills, oceans, and other places plastic ends up, not to mention chemicals you put in your body. Bringing your own water bottle allows you to be more motivated to stay hydrated since you probably picked out the cute water bottle. Fill up at the sink and drink away!

Pack your own lunch/snacks
It can be so tempting to just grab take out every day, especially if it’s what everyone else is doing. Unfortunately, take out comes with a lot of single use packaging. Packing your own lunch means you not only cut down on that but also save some money along the way! If you do grab takeout (because who doesn’t love a sweetgreen bowl every once and a while) make sure to use your reusable utensils :))

Green volunteer!
My company gives us one day a year in PTO for volunteering. If you have this kind of perk, consider using it for a green cause. Even if you don’t, you can still spend a weekend volunteering. Volunteer at your local watershed, an arboretum, the National Parks Service. Giving back to your community is a great way to get outside and perform service.