Can You Stay Green in the Office?
Listening | English and Chinese scripts are provided below and you can understand the content easier. https://www.youtube.com/@UpgradeEnglish
In the office, we should aim to “Reduce, Reuse and Recycle” at our workplace for protecting environment.
We should reduce paper consumption and go paperless by avoiding printing. In the digital age, printing is no longer a necessity for many documents.
Email communication is commonly used and files should be properly stored as the digital record. We should think twice whether the documents must be physically kept.
We should ask ourselves why physical copy is still required. If it’s just a habit of reviewing physical documents, we should get in the habit of reviewing digital documents on-screen.
Paper accounts for large percentage of office waste. We should change our mindset of printing practice. The production of paper consumes energy and water, hence causing air pollution.
Even if printing is still a must, we should reduce font size to consolidate pages and avoid colour printing. We can also print on both sides of paper by setting the default of double-sided printing.
We should reuse single-sided paper. Recycling boxes should be placed near the printer for collecting used paper for reusing.
We can also use the back of the paper for drafting content, writing phone messages and recording notes. We should always build the environmentally aware habit.
If the employer is committed to protecting environment, recycling bins for plastic, glass and aluminum cans may be placed at the pantry or in the workplace.
The employer tries to create an environmentally conscious workplace. As the staff, we should follow the green practice without any excuse. The bins make recycling simpler.
We can also take certain steps to save energy in our workspace. It should not bring us inconvenience by turning off our computers, monitors and office equipment after leaving the office.
Energy-saving settings should be made for our computers. We may not be aware of the brightness of our monitor which consumes unnecessary energy.
If the office’s design is made with plenty of sunlight, we should control direct sunlight with blinds for avoiding heat build-up. We may also check if the artificial lighting is required at midday.
If the office is not maintained with central air-conditioning, we can adjust the temperature to 25 degrees Celsius. It would benefit environment by emitting less carbon dioxide.
If the meeting rooms with video conferencing or other setting are not in use, we should certainly turn off all functions.
We should reduce using plastic containers, disposable cups and paper plates. We can bring our reusable mugs or water bottles and aim for plastic-free days in the office.
We can consider to switch to vegetarian lunch once a week. For some occasions e.g., lunch gatherings or parties, we should take away leftovers and avoid food waste.
We can also put small potted plants in our workspace. It can improve air quality and bring vitality into the office. It’s certainly good for our health and environment.
To conclude, if we can make a few small changes, they can pose impact on the environmental footprint. They are really not that hard.
WITH CHINESE SCRIPT
在辦公室，我們應該以「減少、重用和回收」為目標，以保護環境。
我們應該避免打印來減少紙張消耗並實現無紙化，在數碼時代，許多文檔不再需要打印。
使用電子郵件通訊是普遍，文件應妥善儲存為數碼記錄，我們應該三思而後行，是否必須保存這些實物文件。
我們應該問自己為什麼仍然需要實物副本，如果只是檢閱實物文檔的習慣，我們應該養成在屏幕上檢閱數碼文檔的習慣。
紙張佔辦公室垃圾的很大部份，我們應該改變打印慣例的觀念，紙張的生產消耗能源和水，從而造成空氣污染。
即使打印仍然是必須的，我們也應該減小字體大小以合併頁面，並避免彩色打印，我們還可以預設雙面打印以進行雙面打印。
我們應該重複使用單面紙，打印機附近應放置回收箱，用於收集廢紙以供重用。
我們還可以利用紙的背面來起草內容、寫電話留言和記錄筆記，我們應該經常養成環保意識的習慣。
如果僱主致力於保護環境，塑料、玻璃和鋁罐的回收箱可能放置在茶水間或工作場所。
僱主嘗試創造一個具有環保意識的工作場所，作為員工，我們應該毫無藉口地遵循綠色實踐，垃圾箱使回收變得更簡單。
我們還可以採取某些措施來節省工作空間的能源，離開辦公室後關閉電腦、顯示屏幕和辦公設備不應該給我們帶來不便。
我們的電腦應該進行節能設置，我們可能沒有意識到顯示屏幕的亮度，這會消耗不必要的能源。
如果辦公室的設計考慮到了充足的陽光，我們應該用百葉窗控制陽光直射，避免熱量積聚，我們還可能檢查中午時段是否需要人工照明。
如果辦公室沒有中央空調，我們可以將溫度調節到25攝氏度，減少二氧化碳排放對環境有益處。
如果有視頻會議或其他設置的會議室不使用，我們當然應該關閉全部功能。
我們應該減少使用塑料容器、一次性杯子和紙碟，我們可以帶可重複使用的杯子或水瓶，力爭在辦公室裡實現無塑料日。
我們可以考慮每週改吃一次素食午餐，在某些場合，例如午餐聚會或派對，我們應該帶走剩菜，避免食物浪費。
我們還可以在工作空間放置一些小盆栽，它可以改善空氣質素，給辦公室帶來活力，這當然對我們的健康及環境有好處。
總而言之，如果我們能做出一些小改變，它們就能對環境足跡產生影響，這些改變真的沒那麼難。