Sustainable Home Offices

Looking to make your home office more sustainable? These resources are here to help you reduce your overall carbon footprint while working remotely. 

Waste:

Reducing Food Waste

Tips from the EPA on how to reduce wasted food at home. 

Santa Cruz Recycling and Waste Reduction

Updates and guides from the City of Santa Cruz on reducing waste and propperly recycling. Includes a searchable database of how and where to recycle or dispose of common household items.

Hard Core Compost Drop Off Site

Hard Core Compost is operating a drop off site at the Homeless Garden Project (on Shaffer Road at the end of Delaware Street). Optional $5 donation per bucket via cash or venmo (@hardcorecompost). The above link is a guide on what compostables they accept. 

Water:

Checking for Leaks

Learn how to check for leaks under your sinks. 

Water Conservation Rebate Programs

The City of Santa Cruz will provide a rebate if you replace an old applicance with a model that saves more water.

Energy:

Benefits of Natural Light

Not only does natural light help cut down on energy usage, but it can also help improve your mood and workflow!

Power Saving Smart Strips

Smart strips help reduce energy and electricity loads beyond what your average extension cord can do. 

 

Personal Sustainability:

Office Friendly Plants

Adding houseplants to your office is a great way to improve air quality and your mood. Check out this guide to help you pick the best plants for your office. 

Regrowing Vegetables

Have a lot of vegetable scraps lying around? Some of those can be used to regrow new veggies, giving you an almost endless supply!

Home Office Assessment Challenge

In May of 2020, the Green Office Program put together a challenge for people working remotely to assess the sustainability of their homes/home offices. Although the official challenge time period is over, feel free to continue to use the challenge as a resource to become more aware of your home's sustainability. 

 

Carbon Footprint:

Ecological Footprint Calculator

Use this online calculator to see how many earths your current lifestyle requires, as well as when your "earth overshoot day" is. 

Benefits of Telecommuting

Read a Carbon Neutrality Fellow's article about the pros and cons of telecommuting. 

Greenwashing Training

Use this link to the UCSC Learning Center to take the Greenwashing Training. Just log into the learning center and search "greenwashing training." Takes about 30 minutes to complete. 

Homemade Toxic Free Cleaners

Learn how to create homemade cleaners free of toxins, especially helpful when it seems that every grocery store is out of cleaning supplies these days. 

Farmers Markets 

Shopping at farmers markets is a great way to support local farmers while getting outside and enjoying the fresh air at the same time.