Wellness Champion Tips Sheet
Going Green In-House Programming
Engineering firms play a vital role in the health of our environment. Can you use this role as a way to
leverage interest in wellness and health? Keep in mind that many engineering firms can help design or
influence environments that support health and well-being while also being friendly to the earth.
There is an intimate connection between our personal health, our feeling connected to nature, and having
environmentally friendly and conscious habits (as a business). Consider whether you, as a Wellness
Champion, can enhance employee health and well-being by engaging them (and your business as a whole)
in the following in-house programming ideas.
Increase Awareness
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Encourage others not to print emails by adding this to your email signature:

Create a logo/slogan contest for the new “going green” initiative. Allow all employees to submit an
entry, and then select the top three and have all employees vote on the winner. The winning logo
can then be printed on mugs or reusable water bottles and distributed to everybody. It can be a
great start and really engage everyone in the company, and then everyone has a sustainable
mug/water bottle to use instead of paper/Styrofoam cups.

Buy plants or encourage employees to bring in plants to put on their desk. Adding plants to your
office cleans indoor air by reducing dust, bacteria, and mold! There are also these additional
benefits: http://earth911.com/news/2013/03/18/5-reasons-to-have-a-plant-at-your-desk/. You can
find some suggested plants via this link: http://earth911.com/work/plants-for-the-office/

Contact your utility company and see if they provide free or low cost energy audits.

Hang up posters around your office (Be Good, Be Green, Be Healthy or Eat Healthy for a Healthier
Earth).
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Going Green Jeans Day: Offer your employees the opportunity to wear jeans to work on Earth Day
(or another day of your choice) and ask them to donate $5 to do so. You can then donate all funds
raised to a charity that supports environmental protection. Some examples include: EarthShare,
World Wildlife Fund, Arbor Day Foundation, and National Audubon Society.

Calculate your environmental impact: Even the smallest changes can add up to a big impact.
Check out some of the calculators below to see how your firm’s actions can help lead to a more
sustainable environment and use these statistics to influence employees’ actions.
o Calculate the environmental impact of your recycled paper choices:
http://calculator.environmentalpaper.org/home
o Calculate and offset your office emissions: https://carbonfund.org/business-calculator
o Calculate the impacts of energy and fuel use and the savings from reducing both:
http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy-resources/calculator.html
o Learn the benefits of recycling and determine the volume of recyclables generated based
on your number of employees: http://www.ecorewards.com/infostore/ECalculator.asp
o Calculate the area of land that you need to support your lifestyle based on where you live,
driving habits, eating habits, and more: http://www.myfootprint.org/
Take Action
Recycling:

Eliminate desk-side trashcans and replace them with paper recycling bins. Place trashcans only in
break rooms and conference rooms. Not only does this encourage recycling, but it encourages
employees to move throughout the day to drop off trash in trashcans.

Find a local recycling company that will pick up and compost recycled materials. If possible, find a
company that does single-stream recycling.

Electronics recycling: host electronic recycling drives where employees can dispose of company
equipment or electronic waste from their homes (ex. computers, cell phones, batteries, light bulbs,
etc.). For items that may not be accepted by regular recycling providers, such as ink and toner
cartridges, electronics and batteries, find off-site recycling resources by visiting
http://earth911.com/ and click “Recycling Search”.

Recycle one-sided, non-confidential paper. Place a bin near printer where these materials can be
stored and used to print or write notes on the “flip-side”.

Put a bin in break rooms/near printers where employees can place empty toners and printer
cartridges. If you work with an office supply company, check to see if they can collect used
materials. They may even offer you a discount or money back for recycling these materials.
Reduce Consumption:

Eliminate disposable cups, plates, and cutlery and replace them with washable items. Provide all
employees with reusable mugs and water bottles.

Evaluate your coffee machines. If your office has Keurig cups or another coffee machine that
creates a large amount of waste, consider replacing the coffee machine with a more
environmentally friendly option. Purchase condiments and accompaniments in bulk containers to
reduce waste from individual serving packets.

Turn off lights when they are not in use and install motion-sensor lights in areas of the office that
are not frequently used.

Turn off technology and appliances at night and enable standby or sleep mode on computers,
copiers and printer to reduce energy consumption when not being used.

Reduce heating and cooling costs by adjusting thermostats in unused rooms, especially during off
hours. Make sure windows are sealed properly to maximize the efficiency of heating and cooling
systems.
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Reduce the wattage of light bulbs that are used or replace all light bulbs with CFLs (compact
fluorescent lamps). Not only are CFL bulbs as reliable as traditional light bulbs, they are also longer
lasting and use less energy.

Encourage your employees to ride their bike to work. Purchase a bike rack to encourage
employees to make this eco-friendly choice. You can even do a “Bike To Work Day”. This year,
“Bike to Work Day” is May 16th.

Encourage employees to use stairs instead of elevator. Put up signs in the stairways to make it a
more inviting and appealing choice. You can even have a “Going Green” picture competition where
you have children of employees submit pictures they drew of how they like to be healthy and help
the environment. You can display all of the submissions in the stairways and have employees vote
on the winner.
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Evaluate your vending machine options. Reduce the number of vending machines if they are not
necessary.
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Install low-flow faucets and toilets to reduce water usage.