With COP26 in the headlines this week, we’re all thinking of ways to make positive change. How can we work towards a greener future and reduce the impact of climate change?
Here at SBP we sit down with clients on a daily basis to help them with their work flows and improve efficiency with Smartsheet. Assessing processes and implementing solutions is our bread and butter. With this in mind we have put together five ways to reduce your carbon footprint at work with Smartsheet…
1. Go Paperless
Going paperless saves not just paper, but printer ink, electricity and space! Because of it’s versatility and workflow automation, going paperless with Smartsheet is a breeze. All your data is stored securely in the cloud, empowering you to share information in real time with your team. Our Smarter Dashboard solution takes this to the next level with it’s dynamic reporting that saves space and gives you access to your data when and where you need it. Not a paperclip in sight!
2. Reduce Food Waste
In the UK alone, it’s estimated that we throw away around 9.5 million tonnes of food waste annually, most of which ends up in landfill. Avoid food waste at work by regularly cleaning out the fridge, and keeping an eye on use by / sell by dates. For companies with cafeterias, track the rate and quantity of food consumed over a period of time, and compare that with inventory data to show how and where food goes to waste. We recommend our QR Code inventory app for stock tracking in Smartsheet with Appsheet.
3. Reduce Travel
Transportation is now the most polluting sector in the United Kingdom, producing the equivalent of 122 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2019. Car sharing and working from home are all excellent ways to reduce your team’s commute times. Where possible, try to avoid travel completely, for example, with a virtual meeting rather than face to face. Want to reduce the need for meetings altogether? Not a problem. Smartsheet integrates with your favourite messaging apps like Microsoft Teams, Google hangouts and Cisco Webex.
4. Sharing Ideas
We all have a responsibility to make changes, and great ideas can come from anyone. Encourage your team to chip in by creating a virtual green suggestion box with a simple Smartsheet form. Not only will it keep everyone’s ideas in one place, but you can upload documents, edit and comment on each other’s ideas and tag people into discussions.
5. Calculate Your Company’s Carbon Footprint
This is the fun bit. According to Zero Waste Scotland, you can work out your carbon emissions with the simple equation. Emissions = Total energy consumption (fuel, electricity) x Emission Factors (fuel, electricity). The UK government conversion factors are available on their website.
Smartsheet enables you to save this formula, along with the relevant data, and keep track of your progress in a dashboard.
How are you calculating your office’s Carbon Footprint? Get in touch and let us know. Or if you would like our help in implementing any of the above suggestions contact us for a (carbon) free consultation today!