With thanks to all who participated, here are the results of my latest weekend poll. Our focus: How environmentally friendly is your office?

Employers demonstrating high degrees of environmental conscientiousness

I asked readers to rate the organisation for which they work, in terms of how environmentally conscientiousness. With ratings from 1 (not at all environmentally conscientious) to 5 (highly environmentally aware and proactive), 65% of readers rated their firms at 4 or higher. That’s the good news.

At the other end of the spectrum, 11% of respondents ranked their firms at a lowly 1 out of 5. Some factors are no doubt financially driven, but what steps could their admin. professionals take to encourage higher attention to environmentally friendly practices?

Portals in use at more than a third of respondents’ organisations

… although a significant percentage of respondents’ firms continue to print paper agenda packages. It would seem that many of you also rely on PDFs to circulate your meeting materials, and yet other businesses rely on a combination of P3s – which, in this case, means portals, PDFs and paper.

Read on for full results of this latest Weekend Poll.

THE DATA

Note: Information below reflects the percentage of respondents who selected specific responses from multiple choice options.  In instances where more than one person offers similar responses to an open ended question, I typically cluster or paraphrase such responses rather than duplicating all of them.

 RATING SCALES for this poll is from 1 (not at all environmentally conscientious) to 5 (highly environmentally aware and proactive)

On a scale of 1 to 5, how environmentally conscientious is the region/country in which you work?

• 5: 44% of respondents
• 4: 26% of respondents
• 3: 26% of respondents
• 2: 4% of respondents
• 1: 0% of respondents

On a scale of 1 to 5, how environmentally conscientious is the company/organisation for which you work? 

• 5: 30% of respondents
• 4: 35% of respondents
• 3: 25% of respondents
• 2:  10% of respondents
• 1: 0% of respondents

Does your employer encourage use of washable beverage containers rather than single-use or recyclable glass or plastic beverage containers? 

• No: 50% of respondents
• Yes: 40% of respondents
• 10% of respondents selected “Other”. One wrote, “Such options are available, but not actively encouraged.”

If you have access to on-site cafeteria services, does the supplier provide access to reusable dishware/cutlery? 

• Yes: 70% of respondents, up from 56% in 2016
• No: 30% of respondents, down from 44% in 2016

Does your office return used photocopier ink cartridges for reuse? 

• Yes: 80% of respondents, up from 78% in 2016
• No: 15% of respondents, down from 15% in 2016
• 10% of respondents selected “Other”, but half the responses reflected elaboration on a “Yes” response. So, 5% of respondents’ comments suggested that they’re unsure of what’s done with used ink cartridges.

Does your employer’s board of directors rely on paper, PDFs, or a portal for its meeting materials? 

• Portal: 41% of respondents, down from 44.5% in 2016
• Paper: 27% of respondents, down from 44.5% in 2016
• Agenda packages assembled as PDFs: 23% of respondents, up from 11% in 2016
• 9% of respondents selected “Other”. Responses suggest that, in some cases, these readers’ organisations use all three means of producing material meetings. It can depend on the nature of the meeting and whether it’s internally- or externally focused.

Does your employer’s management team rely on paper, PDFs, or a portal for its meeting materials?  

• Portal: 36% of respondents, down from 50% in 2016
• Paper: 27% of respondents, compared to 27% in 2016
• Agenda packages assembled as PDFs: 23% of respondents, up from 20% in 2016
• 14% of respondents selected “Other”. As with the previous question, some responses suggest that these readers’ organisations use all three means of producing material meetings. It can depend on the nature of the meeting and whether it’s internally- or externally focused.

For the meetings you coordinate or attend, do participants rely on paper, PDFs, or a portal for its meeting materials? 

• Portal: 39% of respondents, up from 34% in 2016
• Paper: 35% of respondents, up from 33% in 2016
• Agenda packages assembled as PDFs: 13% of respondents, down from 22% in 2016
• 13% of respondents selected “Other”. Readers’ comments suggest that there are variations in practices within an organisation. In some cases, participants’ requests drive practice, but the organisation may use all three approaches. Other comments suggest a drive toward minimising use of paper.

What do you typically do with compostable food scraps from your workday lunches? 

• 43% of respondents toss them in the garbage, up from 40% in 2016
• 38% of respondents compost them at work, up from 30% in 2016
•  5% of respondents take them home for composting, down from 10% in 2016
• 14% of respondents selected “Other”. Comments included indicators that, “There are none. I finish everything I bring.”

On a scale from 0 (irrelevant) to 5 (highly relevant), how important do you personally consider recycling and attention to recyling/composting/the environment? 

• 5: 50% of respondents, compared to 50% in 2016
• 4: 41% of respondents, up from 40% in 2016
• 3: 0% of respondents, compared to 0% in 2016
• 2: 5% of respondents, down from 10% in 2016
• 1: 5% of respondents, compared to 0% in 2016