This component requires a walk-through of your office and, guided by a data checklist covering 100+ elements, make some observations on current environmental infrastructure in your office, i.e. energy consumption, the number of paper recycling bins, the use of water in the kitchens & toilets, and the type of paper being used for photocopying. Most of the questions simply require a tick either ‘yes’ or ‘no’ and this survey should take no longer than 1 hour to complete, depending on the size of your department.
Choosing your survey size
Unless your department is small, it is not necessary to survey every person in your office. The following table is a percentage guide to achieve meaningful results. We also ensure that at least one kitchenette is included in your survey.
A good time to conduct this survey is late in the afternoon – the survey is completed then we can observe the staff actions as they leave the office and perform a simple waste audit.
Department/office size Suggested survey size
5 5
12 7
16 10
25 15
40 25
Best Environmental Practices 