Your office has green walls and green roofs and bright green spaces.  Yay!  But the greening shouldn’t stop there.  Employees and practically everyone in the office need greening up too, and what better way to instill green attitudes in everyone than through office parties.  Yes, the office party, with its ugly aftermath of one-time use styroware and plastic cups and plastic spoons and plastic forks and leftover party food just thrown into the trash bin.

Party with a green conscience? Image from ReadyMade.com

True, making sure your office party is green as can be might be a bit of a hassle.  Just getting hold of organic food and organic drinks can be bothersome and can even defeat the purpose of fun in the first place.  After all, you’re all there just to have a few hours’ good time, so why fuss over the green virtues of your party?

Here are some tips on how to celebrate the green way in the office.

Hold the Decorations.
Surely, you can hold a party without the frills of balloons, posters, banners, streamers, or what have you.  Balloons might look nice in a party, but not so when they’re deflated and thrown in a landfill, or worse, in the ocean where it can be ingested by animals.  As for streamers, banners and posters, they just end up in the trash bin too, so forget those too.

The green solution:

• If you must buy party decorations, get ones that are made from recycled post-consumer paper.
• Resolve to reuse the party decorations the next time another birthday comes up.  We reuse our Christmas decors each year, so why not birthday decors too?
• Try paper lanterns instead of balloons.  Potted plants and flowers instead of paper streamers.
• Simply pop in the right CD.  Nothing beats good party music to set the mood.
• Resist the one-time use tarpaulin banner.  Have one printed that can be reused over and over again.
• Check out eco-friendly party supply companies on the Net like EcoPartyTime.com and GreenPartyGoods.com.

Mind the Food.
No you don’t have to serve tofu just because it’s an eco-party, although of course there’s certainly nothing wrong with tofu.  You can opt for organic food grown in  your area, and even go all out by serving beverage with a green conscience—fair trade coffee, local wines, organic beers, freshly-squeezed juice, etc.  By minding what you serve in your next office party, you do your part in lessening your carbon footprint not just as an individual but as a group.

The green solution:

• Cut back on meat.  Meat doesn’t have to be the main event in the party.
• Serve vegetables dishes, salads, fruits, veggie sticks and dips instead.  There’s plenty of veggie recipes on the Net that are perfect for parties.
• Don’t serve bottled water and canned soda drinks as much as possible.  True, the plastic bottles and cans are always recyclable, but it’s better you just installed a jug with its spigot for your beverages.
• If you want, you can have a potluck and delegate a dish for each person (or pair), and challenge them to come up with a dish with as little meat as possible.

Say NO to Plastic or Styroware Disposables.
Let’s admit it: no one really enjoys eating with a plastic spoon and plastic fork on a styro plate.  What’s worse is that these one-time use partyware just quickly end up in the trash bin.

The green solution:

• Rent your plates, glasses, and utensils from a party supply company.
• Or failing that, get plates and napkins that are made from post consumer paper and utensils that are biodegradable or recyclable.
• A nicer touch: since you’ll be having parties many times in a year, it’s better you buy second-hand plates, glasses, and utensils from thrift shop that will pay off many times in the future.  Just store in the office pantry and get out when needed.  The more mismatched tableware, the more interesting.

Tupperware for Leftovers.
Perfectly good food need not be thrown away.  But if you pack them in disposable plastic containers that are so popular nowadays, that’s not a good thing either.

The green solution:

• Provide your guests with durable plastic food keepers they can take home with them.
• Or better yet, have guests bring their own Tupperwares. 

Give Eco-friendly Prizes/Gifts.  Needless to say, pointless,  useless thingamajigs and trinkets as prizes and gifts will either end up gathering dust on someone’s shelves or being tossed in the trash right away.  Take time to think of a gift your recipient will truly have a need for.

The green solution:

• An eco book, a water-saving showerhead, flower or vegetable seeds for planting (with matching clay pots too), a compact fluorescent lightbulb, plant-based massage oil or organic shampoo, and lots of other green gift you can give
• A paid leave, or bestowed parking space nearest to the office door

Disposal and Cleanup.  Up to the end, strive for green in your office party.  Once the celebration is over, it’s time to clean up.  But don’t just reach for the chemical-based cleaners to get rid of the grime.

The green solution:

• Use non-toxic natural cleaning products.  They’re definitely not harsh on you and on the environment.
• Install separate trash bins for plastic, cans, and kitchen wastes.  Make sure they’re accessible and clearly marked so everyone can clean as they go.
• Use washable rags instead of paper towels.
• Compost food wastes.

And there you have it: the eco party in the office that celebrates more than just a happy occasion.  Of course, you don’t have to go all out on the first try, but you can challenge yourselves to make each party a little bit greener than the last.  You just might like it.