4 Internal Solutions For A Green Office Environment

The modern consumer puts more of a focus on sustainability and businesses that embrace green, energy-efficient practices than any generation before them. If a business wants to appeal to this generation, it must demonstrate a dedication to saving the environment and being as sustainably as possible. But, you shouldn’t just source your product sustainability. For many companies, environmentally friendly practices start in the office.  

Ditch The Desktop 

Every business uses computers in the modern world, and these computers allow you to interact with coworkers, clients, and customers. However, if you’re still using desktops, you’re wasting hundreds of dollars worth of energy every year. Desktop computers require a continuous energy supply, so it’s useful to compare how laptops can be better for business. By running on batteries 90% of the time, you won’t waste as much energy. If you have internal software, you’ll need to install this, too. Depending on the size of your business, you can provide the laptops or have employees use their own devices. 

Upgrade The Systems

Most of the time, your office fails to tick all of the green boxes because you’re unaware of potential problems. This includes everything behind the walls, such as your water pipes, electrical wires, and ventilation systems. You’ll need to find out whether your systems are up to date, so get in touch with commercial plumbing services, experienced electricians, and HVAC engineers to double-check your system efficiency, make repairs, or recommend possible upgrades to help your business excel in its sustainable, energy-efficient practices. 

Shrink The Space 

The traditional idea of The Office has changed dramatically over the past few years. While managers used to demand everybody come into the office each day, remote and flexible working opportunities are becoming more desirable among the new generation of workers. You must consider whether your office is even necessary, or at the very least, is your office too large. Renting a large office space doesn’t just cost more money, but it also means you need to use more energy. So, think about whether your business could continue to be productive by cutting the space in half. You can designate remote and office-based teams, rotating them each week, which cuts down on bodies in the office and reduces the amount of energy consumed each day. 

Let There Be Light 

One significant element that offices ignore is natural light. This, however, is one of the most effective ways of achieving better energy efficiency, and it can also vastly improve employee productivity. Rather than relying on harsh fluorescent lights, allowing natural light to shine through the windows (even if you need to give them a clean first) will improve everybody’s mood. You won’t need to keep the lights on all day, either, saving you plenty of money on energy bills. 

It’s Easy Being Green 
Too many businesses focus only on what’s outside of their office when working towards better sustainability. But, while this is an admirable pursuit, it is not everything you can do. If you want to push your company as a green, energy-efficient enterprise, you must look internally first.