Commercial office buildings in 2022 need to run in a sustainable manner if a company has openly expressed its commitment to workplace sustainability as one of its core values. There are many things that can be done to reduce your office’s contribution to climate change, act now. Read on to learn more about how offices can operate sustainably in 2022.
How New Build Offices Can Be Built in a Sustainable Way
If you’re creating a new build office, then you have a unique opportunity to create an innovative, eco-friendly space.
This starts before the building is even designed. Just choosing the land you build on can be done sustainably by undertaking the right research. Property developer companies can ensure that new office buildings are constructed in a sustainable eco-friendly manner. If you want to carry out topographical surveys to check that a piece of land can be used to safely build an office building on, you may want to look at THS concepts. So, when you’re working with a developer to create your new office, the first step is to explore these surveys.
Next, you need to consider other ways that you can incorporate sustainability into your plans for a new office business.
Here are examples of how new office buildings can be built in a way that limits global warming and protects the planet:
- Low carbon or zero carbon office buildings that produce little or no greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
- Use LED Linear high bay lighting
- Well-insulated walls so that the office building is energy efficient and conserves energy well.
- Installing a sustainable eco-friendly heating system.
- Use precast concrete slabs, and cement made from recycled plastic.
- Build with recycled steel and other metals.
- Use reclaimed wood.
- Installing solar panels to power electricity which can reduce the carbon footprint of your office building by up to 80% a year.
Promoting Sustainable Everyday Habits from Employees at Work
Often, it’s the little mundane daily habits that can significantly reduce your workplace’s impact on the environment and its contribution to global warming and climate change. Managers and directors should do their very best to promote sustainable habits in the office space amongst the workforce. Examples of ways companies can promote sustainable, eco-friendly behaviours in the workplace include:
- Encouraging recycling by placing clearly labelled recycling boxes for plastics, metals such as tins and cans, cardboard, paper and so on all around the office space in convenient areas.
- Putting mini compost bins around the office.
- Making the office energy efficient by installing thick insulation to replace any thin walls where heat can easily escape from. Conserving energy is vital for reducing the amount of greenhouse gas emissions coming from your office building.
- Making an effort to preserve electricity and save the company money by putting up signs to remind staff members to make sure they turn off the lights when they leave a room.
- Encourage your staff members to take sustainable methods of transport to work such as public transport like trains, buses, trams, the underground and so on. All your staff deciding to commute into work alone in gas-guzzling cars will mean you
Incorporating Sustainability as a Key Part of Your Company Culture
Another way to promote sustainability in your office space is by making it one of your core company values and ensuring sustainable, eco-friendly practices are prioritised throughout your organisation.
You should make new recruits clear about your company culture and your stance on sustainability and saving the planet as early as during the interviews in the recruitment stage. That way, new employees will join your company already fully aware and accustomed to your organisation’s commitments and efforts to reduce climate change.
Having sustainability as one of your core values and practised daily in the office space can be beneficial for your company’s brand image and demonstrates that you are socially responsible and care about others and the environment. Customers, investors, and brands may not want to work with a company that overlooks or disregards sustainability as an organisation, so being sustainable is vital for business reasons too.
