Green Office Blog

Greetings to all the Eco Champions out there!

In the spirit of Plastic-Free July, as well as keeping little people busy at home during lockdown (you can thank me later), I thought it would be fitting to share some fun ideas on reusing plastic bottles.  Although plastic bottles (PET) are one of the easier materials to recycle in South Africa, they are still problematic.  Anyone who has taken part in a beach cleanup after heavy rains can confirm this.  Plastic bottles are simply a way of life for many people, and that’s okay, however we do need to be mindful of what we do with these bottles after use.

As you probably know, the POPI Act has come into effect as of the 1^st of July 2020 in South Africa and companies have been given a further grace period of 12 months to ensure compliance, thereafter no mercy will be shown for companies found to be non-compliant!

So, the question is.....is your company compliant?

Now more than ever, businesses are looking to reduce costs wherever they can and understandably so.  Doesn’t this then provide the perfect opportunity to look into what items your business is throwing away and seeing how they can be reused, repurposed and recycled within the workplace.  There is always value in waste if you look for it, and the saying “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” has merit for those creative minds lingering in the office. 

The answer to the question “What is spreading quicker than Covid-19?” is……FRAUD! To be more exact, cyberthreats, cybercrime and cyberattacks.

Interpol has the slogan “Be Vigilant, Be Skeptical, Be Safe”. This relates to the general shift of focus from cyber defenses to focusing on the current health crisis playing out in the world today, with Covid-19 leaving no country unscathed.

So, the question is? How are you fairing when it comes to keeping the focus on a real threat to your personal information and fraud risk?

I don’t think I could be writing this blog at a better time.  When the planet was crying out for a break from humanity’s destructive ways, Covid-19 reared its ugly head, forcing us to stop what we were doing and rethink the way that we go about our daily lives.  Whew – perfect timing!  It always amazes me how nature always forces its hand when it matters the most. 

As with most companies this year, Green Office is under immense pressure to drive cost reductions while generating sales to ensure that we are sustainable and will be around next year! Luckily for us, our purpose is to make business more efficient and sustainable, and that is exactly what we’ve been doing for our own business and are planning on doing this year and beyond.

Green Office has been in operation since 1997, starting out in a garage with only three people. We are now a fully fledged Managed Service Business focusing on driving efficiencies and sustainability initiatives to ensure that our clients don’t have physical, financial and operational waste.

Green Office will be focusing on delivering services within the following four towers:

1. Managed Print Services looking at all aspects of a print environment.
2. Digitalisation Consulting, Services & Technology
3. Cyber Security, focusing on identifying and managing vulnerabilities
4. Sustainability Consulting, through assessments and training, amongst other items.

Written by Sarah Fernandes in collaboration with Mark Valentine

With pollution, plastics and recycling being front-of-mind for a lot of people at this point in time, the question that often springs to mind is who should be responsible for waste?  How often have you looked at the back of packaging after purchase only to see the dreaded words “not currently recycled”?  For those who are committed to recycling, there is nothing more frustrating.  Shouldn’t the packaging producers at least manufacture something that will make it easy for people to do the right thing?  It’s time to delve into the issue of extended producer responsibility.     

This month we will be looking at the tenth and final One Planet Living principle, which in my opinion is one of the most important principles for sustainable businesses – materials and products.  The principle encourages the use of materials from sustainable sources and promoting products which help consumers reduce their consumption. 

Covid-19 has seen a forced increase of company teams, customers, suppliers having to have more interactions online. The world is changing, and this forced disruption has forced businesses to think and operate differently. We have seen an increase in online meetings within our own company, which has had its challenges.  

Continuing with our series exploring the One Planet Living principles, the principle of “zero carbon energy” takes the spotlight this month.  This principle endorses making buildings energy efficient and supplying all energy with renewable's. 

Businesses committed to One Planet Living set the following goals with respects to zero carbon energy:

• To help customers save energy and reduce carbon emissions.
• To make all operations and supply chains energy efficient.
• To power all operations and supply chain through renewable energy.