Making Your Workplace More Efficient, And Greener Too

Julie Starr • September 22, 2020



You couldn’t pick a better time to make changes to your workplace than in 2020. This year many workers have been working from home, keeping businesses afloat while they ride out the coronavirus wave. It’s made businesses question a lot of their current practices and processes, changing your work environment while also helping to make it better for the environment.

Interested in changing your workplace for the better? Here’s how to make your workplace more efficient and greener at the same time.

Encourage flexible working

Flexible working may be new territory for many businesses, but many have adapted better than they expected. Many have taken to offering this on a permanent basis going forward beyond COVID-19. 

For your business, providing flexible working could have many benefits. Fewer people in the office would reduce waste and it would also keep your running costs down. There are several benefits that come with introducing flexible working for both you and your employees.

Maximize your storage

A disorganized workplace can make it less productive, especially if you’re a retailer or work in manufacturing. Changing your warehouse or storage area to pallet rack storage can help you get organized and make it much easier to find what you need – saving both time and money. More effective storage can much safer for your employees too, helping to prevent hazards that could result in an accident.

Focus on sustainability

Sustainability is important for businesses, and now could be an excellent time to introduce some new practices so that when employees return to the office, you can all work more sustainably. You can build a more sustainable business by making it a business priority, monitoring your progress and implementing different practices that change how your business operates. From reducing waste and choosing more sustainable suppliers, you can make a lot of progress towards a more eco-friendly workplace.

Save energy

Reducing your energy consumption is another way you can make your workplace run more efficiently while having a positive impact on the environment. You can implement policies that will ensure employees turn off their technology at night, as well as using more environmentally-friendly energy sources.

Review your processes

With many people working from home, or a reduction in some of your business functions, you could be presented with an opportunity to streamline some processes and make things more efficient. There could be some processes that are now unnecessary or could be improved to save your business time and money. 

It’s been a difficult time for businesses recently, but it’s important not to dwell on the past and focus on the future instead. With opportunities to turn things around and make improvements that will benefit both your business and the environment, it’s a great time to think about change. From policies that will benefit your staff to those that will save your business money, spend some time planning for the next steps, and an exciting new chapter for your business.

By Julie Starr July 17, 2025
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By Julie Starr July 14, 2025
What happens when students stop waiting for adults to fix things and start conducting their own energy audits? Money gets saved. The lights get switched off. Data gets analyzed. And a quiet revolution in sustainability begins—inside schools that once overlooked their own inefficiencies. Across the globe, student-led energy audits are proving that change doesn't always need to come from a policy shift or a major capital budget. Sometimes, it begins with a clipboard, a spreadsheet, and a group of curious minds asking: Why are the hallway lights on at noon when sunlight floods the building? The Energy Detectives These audits aren’t science fair projects. They’re rigorous investigations, often done in collaboration with facilities staff, local environmental nonprofits, or even engineering mentors. Students go from classroom to classroom measuring electricity usage, checking for phantom loads , and identifying where heat is escaping in winter or air conditioning is leaking in summer. One high school in Ontario saved over $12,000 a year after its Grade 11 physics students ran an energy audit and suggested simple changes—LED upgrades, motion sensors in bathrooms, and smarter heating schedules. They didn’t just propose ideas. They pitched them with spreadsheets, thermal images, and payback timelines. It worked. Learning That Pays Off—Literally Unlike textbook learning, these audits blend real-world math, environmental science, economics, and persuasive communication. Students aren’t just learning about sustainability. They’re doing it. And the savings add up. From dimming overlit hallways to reprogramming HVAC systems that run all weekend for empty buildings, students are surfacing blind spots that administrators often overlook. In some districts, their findings are influencing energy policy. Elsewhere, the audits have inspired school boards to hire sustainability coordinators—often alumni of the student programs themselves. There’s something poetic about a school funding new books or laptops from money saved by students who found out the vending machines didn’t need to be plugged in 24/7. Why This Matters More Than Ever With education budgets tightening and utility costs rising, every dollar saved is a dollar that can go back into classrooms. And here’s where it gets interesting from a family finance perspective, too. If you’re a parent setting aside money for post-secondary savings, every bit of school efficiency helps. Fewer energy costs might mean more programming, better STEM facilities, or even bursaries. That raises a broader point: when families save for their children’s future, they often look into RESPs (Registered Education Savings Plans). And many wonder—is a RESP deduction available on my taxes? While contributions themselves aren’t deductible, the gains grow tax-free, and students often pay little to no tax when they withdraw the funds during school. A Movement Worth Replicating These audits aren’t just an exercise in environmentalism. They’re leadership labs. Students learn how to spot inefficiencies, speak up in board meetings, and make a business case for change. They don’t just flip switches—they shift mindsets. And they carry these habits into adulthood. The result? A generation growing up not only with climate anxiety, but also with tools to tackle it.