Are you working in a sustainable workplace environment? Do you find yourself nagging your colleagues to recycle their rubbish? The key objectives of any business are to maximise profits and streamline costs. Not only does working towards a sustainable workplace environment save your business money, but it also saves energy, which helps save the planet. Whilst controlling your colleagues’ recycling habits can be difficult; it’s important that every business, large or small, do their part to reduce waste and help the environment.
Between 50 and 700 million people will be driven from their homes by mid-century as a result of soil degradation alone".
Let’s start by looking at how your workplace can employ energy-saving techniques to minimise costs. Below are ten tips on how to help employers and employees become conscious of their carbon footprint in the office.
How to build a sustainable workplace environment
1. Power off, lights off, sensors on to maximise sustainability
There are switches and technology everywhere in the workplace. Do you have a storeroom, photocopier room, archive stores and a kitchen? A sign that shows which switches need to be turned off after use can get employees into the habit of switching off the energy-wasting appliances.
The next step is investing in sensors. Sensors are particularly useful for toilets, where we have seen 80% reduction in lighting use. If you can, try not to leave anything on standby. Labels and sensors are easy and simple ways to save your business money and energy.
2. Put your computers to bed properly and reduce your climate footprint
Don’t just walk away from your computers at the end of the day. When you go home at night make sure you have either switched it off or pressed the ‘sleep’ option button, then turn off the monitor screen. This will put your computer into a proper hibernation. If you are struggling to sleep your computer, talk to the IT department and get them to install an office-wide PC shutdown, such as “nightwatchman”.
Energy saver mode is also an option on most office equipment and investing in tech with this option will help save your business energy and money in the long term.
3. Get to know your Energy Manager and eliminate those energy leaks
Your energy/facilities manager can help you identify where your heating and cooling appliances are falling short and causing energy leaks. Frequent checks and maintenance to make sure your ACs are all working in the best condition can avoid huge energy bills down the line.
4. Eco friendly attitude to Air Con
Recycling is what sustainability is all about. However, the constant cycle of simultaneous heating and cooling between your waring heater and AC is not sustainable at all. It is a great idea for employers to install window interlock and sensors on their air conditioning. The window interlock will signal to your AC when the windows have been opened and switch the AC off. The sensors can tell the AC when nobody is in the office and turn it off if there’s been no movement for more than 20 minutes.
Most offices aim to get a temperature of 19 to 24 C. Once you have reached this temperature the heating and cooling systems should turn off. If they aren’t – It’s time to call in your energy manager.
5. Is your fridge’s ice build up impacting the ice caps?
Kitchens are full of appliances that could be wasting a ton of energy. To make your kitchen space a more sustainable environment replace the kettle or boiler with an instant boiling water dispenser. Look in your fridge, if it looks like the Titanic’s last resting place then it is time to switch up for an A++ Fridge.
6. Invest in solar panels and embrace sustainable energy
If your company is swamped with huge energy and water bills, installing solar power systems might revolutionise your business’s costs. The cost of solar panels and the price to install them is continuously falling. If you have enough panels to generate more power than you need, the surplus can be sold back to the grid.
7. Upgrade to energy saving LEDs
If your office is still using incandescent and halogen light bulbs it will be costing you far more than making the switch to LED. Energy-saving light technology uses a fraction of the energy compared to incandescent and halogen, plus it is far safer. Lighting doesn’t need to be a huge part of your energy bill.
8. Don’t be selfish. Ask who wants a cuppa
The UK uses more electricity on kettles that we do an oven."
By boiling the kettle only once and making six cups of tea rather than boiling the kettle six individual times you’ll save a huge amount of money. By filling the kettle correctly and using the water efficiently a typical UK household could shave £19 off their annual £600 bill. So, next time you need a tea or coffee ask around the office to see who else needs one. It won’t just improve your relationships with your colleagues, it’s also helping to build a sustainable workplace environment by saving energy and money.
A rota could help keep employees feeling motivated, refreshed, and productive with a constant flow of tea delivered to their desk.
9. Go paperless to spend less
A sustainable work environment should try not to avoid using paper as much as possible. Paper is expensive and precious, not just for offices but also for the environment.
With remote working, most things have been sent and recorded digitally between colleagues. On your return to the office don’t loss these digital skills.
Can your notes be digital and kept on a tablet or notepad? Could those documents and attachments be sent to others on a shared drive instead of multiple hard copies? Hard copies can be lost and might need reprinting, but an email can be stored and accessed at any time.
10. Smart meter for your smart sustainable workplace
A smart meter will clearly display exactly how much you’ve been spending on your energy. They are free to get from most energy suppliers and they won’t charge you for the installation. They can automatically submit your meter readings to your supplier, so you won’t need to worry about an angry letter about missed monthly bills. Lastly, you can pinpoint exactly what is using the most energy and act accordingly to help your business be as sustainable as possible.