Improve your Projects With These Sustainability Tweaks
In today’s rapidly evolving business environment, sustainability has become a priority for organizations seeking to minimize their environmental impact. And projects contribute to that environmental impact, whether we like it or not. As we strive to reduce our carbon footprint and promote eco-friendly practices, there are several practical steps that project teams can take to foster a more sustainable workplace, without it being time-consuming, costly or difficult. We’ve got ten simple sustainability tweaks for project managers to share with you today.
1. Stop printing on paper
Hopefully, you’ve already done this first point. There is very little need these days to have documents printed on paper. Electronic signatures give us the opportunity to have project documentation approved and signed via the computer, and the same goes for contracts. Gone are the days when you had to post a contract to a client for them to sign and return.
Make the most of online collaboration tools, project management software and electronic document repositories shared internally and with key external stakeholders to reduce the need to print.
2. Turn off monitors
Your computer monitors might be a small drain on electricity, but it soon adds up over a year in an office with a hundred people all leaving their monitors on overnight.
Encourage colleagues to turn off their monitors when they leave for the night and set a good example by doing the same.
3. Power deliveries with electricity
If your business relies on equipment or goods delivery, can these be done under electric power? Prioritize suppliers who deliver locally with electric vehicles. Add sustainability to your supplier selection criteria for the project so you can strive to work with companies who share the same environmental and sustainable goals as your organization.
If you have to travel for project work, consider whether electric vehicles or shared public transport provide a lower carbon footprint. For example, a project team we know was due to fly to another country and because of the length of the flight, they were allowed to travel in business class according to their internal policy. However, long-haul flights were not in line with their sustainability goals. The compromise was that the team would still travel but in standard class. This had a lower carbon footprint as you can get more people into the plane in standard class.
Even better, don’t travel at all if you can avoid it!
4. Use recyclable packaging
Do you remember those polystyrene packing beans? As children we loved playing in boxes full of them, but they aren’t a sustainable option. There are many options available now for recyclable packaging, so whether you are sending goods or requesting them from suppliers, consider asking how you can switch up packaging for greener options.
5. Turn off lights
We know many warehouses and offices with motion sensor lights. If you’ve sat on a virtual meeting with someone whose camera suddenly goes dark, it’s probably because they were sitting still for too long and the lights have gone off around them. Maybe that’s a sign to have shorter meetings?
If you don’t have motion sensor lights where you work, turn off the lights when you leave the room and encourage others to do the same.
6. Share sustainability goals
Share the organization’s sustainability goals with the rest of the team. Write them into the project documentation. Make sure they are referenced regularly. Sustainability is easier to act on if it is top of mind for people, and that often means frequent reminders.
7. Encourage water bottles
Encourage your team to bring their own refillable bottles to work and to the job site. Cutting down on single-use plastic is an easy thing to do to be more sustainable.
8. Bring your own mugs
In the same vein as the tweak above, encourage your colleagues to bring their own mugs. Stop using paper or plastic cups out of the drinks dispenser. Paper coffee cups often cannot be recycled with ordinary paper collections due to the lining inside the cup. Bringing your own reusable mug to work stops that problem.
Our favorite is a metal travel cup that we can throw in a bag without risk that it will break on the way to a job site or the office.
9. Make it easy to recycle
Talk to your procurement team about the waste collections and see if they can switch to recyclable paper coffee cups if your office has them. Look at what waste your project is creating and consider what you can do to minimize it or to dispose of it appropriately. Furniture can be donated to local charities or schools. Technology items can often be wiped of confidential data and donated. Equipment can be auctioned.
10. Add carbon tracking to project management metrics
Could you add carbon tracking to project management metrics? If your organization tracks carbon utilization and you are introducing new plant or equipment, you can track carbon savings or use through your benefits measures.
There is far more you can do to build sustainability into your organization’s ways of working. For example, some of the suppliers we know use gray water for toilets or for irrigating landscaping and grass-planted roofing. They focus on low water planting in garden areas so the plants are more resilient. They have points for employees to bring in their recycling from home and arrange the disposal.
Embracing sustainability within your organization is not just about adopting a few green practices; it’s about fostering a culture of environmental responsibility that runs throughout every aspect of your business – and that might seem like a lot for project leaders to influence. Start with what you can influence. Think about which of these ten sustainability tweaks would work on your project and begin having the conversations with colleagues that might lead to wider adoption. Sustainability is a journey, and each small step can lead to significant positive change for both your organization and the planet.