How to make your office more environmentally friendly

With Climate Change becoming a very prominent issue in the world of today, it leaves us thinking how can we help?

Office life consumes vast amounts of energy and often there are many different businesses in one building, usually with over 20 staff in each.

All staff are more than likely using electrical equipment such as laptops, printers and kettles and get to enjoy lighting, air conditioning or heating daily, so it doesn’t come as a surprise that private offices are the number one biggest energy consumers in the UK.

Saving energy in the office is not only beneficial for the environment, but for your (business’) pockets too. Think of all the money you can save on energy bills!

Here are some big (and little) tips on how to make your office more environmentally friendly…

Natural light

The use of natural light in the office through the strategic placement of windows can help massively in the reduction of electricity consumption. Incorporating sky lights into an office that doesn’t have much wall room for windows or having a more open plan office can give offices a light, airy feel. The use of glass partitions and half walls can also help with this!

Insulation

Making sure the office is well insulated using wall, roof and floor insulation can help with keeping heat in the office during the colder months (which is well over half the year here in the UK!). Triple glazed windows can also assist with this and although expensive, they can reduce heat loss in a building by 30%.

Replace old office equipment!

Replacing old office equipment with newer more energy efficient models can reduce your overall energy consumption by 50%-90%. Ensure that any new equipment purchased for the office has a high energy rating!

Here are some smaller, easier tips on how to reduce your energy consumption in the workplace:

1.Get the rounds in – making a few cups of tea and coffee rather than just your own means that you’re saving energy by only boiling the kettle once. This saves massive amounts of energy per year but also makes you an office favourite!

2. Switch everything off – if you are the last in the office at the end of the day, make sure all appliances, lights and electrical equipment is turned off at the switch. This ensures no electricity is being wasted overnight.

3. Recycle! Making sure everything from plastic bottles, wrappers to paper is recycled. This ensures materials are being reused and no new raw materials are needed for new packaging. Not to mention, the items aren’t then going to landfill which contributes heavily  to greenhouse gas emissions globally!

4. Ditch the car. This one’s not an office tip but by switching to public transportation, biking or even carpooling you can save masses of energy directly impacting climate change.

Hopefully we’ve inspired you to become more environmentally friendly at work! If you have any questions about the tips get in touch!