If there is one phrase that has been on everyone’s lips in 2019, it’s ‘climate change’. With more and more people beginning to discuss the dramatic effects it’s having on our planet, we’ve seen companies begin to overhaul their business’ in the effort to create a greener way of life.
By having individuals reducing their usage of single-use plastic and eating less meat, we’ve continued to see changes happening in all sorts of people’s lives, but it hasn’t stopped at their home life.
Their working life has changed too, even if it is ever so slightly. With employers and employees making the decision to create a sustainable office, businesses are too doing what they can to make changes, no matter how small they may be. But what changes can you make today to be a little bit more kind to our planet?
Turn It Off
Even though it may be a bit of an obvious one, all electricals, lighting and heating should be turned off on an evening and no, standby isn’t good enough! In an office, a lot of employees just tend to close down their computer and say their goodbyes, which is totally normal.
But, if the last person leaving the office had the ‘green job’ of switching off every plug, a whole lot of electricity could be saved. This includes computers, printers, TV’s – the lot!
Go Paperless
Another one that may seem obvious, but how many of us feel like we rely on paper versions of just about everything? Although we totally understand there is that level of security having everything backed up as a hard copy, we often become wasteful and thoughtless when it comes to printing off a 30-page document. But technology can be green too and it often makes our life that little bit easier.
Unless you have to print something off for shipping purposes, all invoicing and sales quotes can be made electronically with the help of software. Do you have a meeting and need everyone to have access to the agenda? Pop it up on a big screen in the meeting room instead of printing off ‘X’ amount of copies for everyone attending. Oh – it’ll save you money too!
Make Recycling Easy
To ensure people do it, don’t make recycling in your office building difficult. If someone has to walk outside just to put their yoghurt pot in the bin, chances of them doing it are slim. There are great bin variations out there where you can allow your staff to sort out their rubbish into separate landfill and recyclable.
Make sure you have these in the most common areas of your building including kitchen, common room and main office space. It’s also important to make people aware of what they can recycle too!
Get With Nature
In many different ways can we embrace nature so that it helps us create a sustainable office environment. Where possible, make the most of natural lighting, especially in the summer months where we have long, bright days.
Open the blinds and let the sunshine in so that you don’t need to switch all the lights on. Although you may only be able to do this for a fraction of the year, it’ll make a difference in your overall electricity usage and costs!
It’s also worth getting a few indoor plants too. Not only do these help boost morale and mood, but they also have incredible qualities that affect air quality. They help to remove carbon dioxide, increase oxygen levels and also rid the room of pollutants and the likes, making the air easier (and nicer!) to breathe.
Talk About It
When it comes to sustainability, it helps to talk about it. Have a conversation with your staff members and create a session where they can bring their own ideas to the table regarding having a greener office space.
You never know who may be able to commute together to save on emissions, who may suggest getting rid of the plastic cups at the water machine. Make it a point in your next staff briefing session!
Sustainability is important and it can be incorporated into your office design too. Whether you’re thinking of refurbishment or you’re starting from complete scratch, we can help you through our range of office design services. Talk to us about your sustainability needs and we’d be more than happy to help!
