How to turn your working space and office ‘green’.

Nowadays a lot of people are trying to do their little bit to help the environment but it can often be difficult if you are not sure on how to help. I wanted to share with you the top ways UK offices have gone ‘green’

20% of offices go paperless, making a significant effort to reduce their impact on the environment. According to a recent survey, storing your work digitally is the way forward towards making your office green and healthier for the environment.

There was a recent survey by Seareach to find out what makes your office green and which elements play an important part towards an improved workspace.

1. Paperless – Work is stored digitally 20%

2. Labelled waste bins – Suitable for recycling 18%

3. Solar panels for electricity 14%

4. LED bulbs – Use less energy and more efficient 12%

5. Green heating 9%

6. Reusable bottles 7%

7. Bike facilities 6%

8. Electric car charging points 6%

9. Motion-triggered lights 5%

10. Plants and natural light 3%

Seareach’s tips on how you can make these changes in your office:

Go paperless – Scan and archive paperwork to help to move completely digital. The more you can store digitally and the less paper you use, the more you will transform your office into becoming green.

Label recycling waste bins – Clearly labelling your waste bins will help and encourage staff to recycle. With clear and concise instructions, it makes it easier for employees to follow.

Solar panels for electricity – Enable you to have lighting and run lower power appliances. The photovoltaic cells use the sun’s energy to provide a green renewable energy source.

Installing LED bulbs – The energy consumption of LED lights can be up to a 75% saving, compared to halogen bulbs. This results in much less energy required and is a cost-effective effort towards your office running costs.

Green heating – The cheapest source for heating and is very efficient. Easy & cheap to install and performs well.

Reusable water bottle(s) – Bring in your own water bottle that can be refilled at work. From this, you’ll reduce the number of discarded plastic bottles.

Bike facilities – Providing a bike rack can encourage employees to cycle to work, cutting down pollution and helping with general health and fitness.

Electric car charging points – Electric cars provide more energy efficiency up to 85-90%, over ICE (Internal Combustion Engines). These are overall much greener and don’t require expensive fossil fuels in order to operate.

Motion-detection lights – Having these all-around communal areas helps improves energy efficiency. These can be ideal in seldom used rooms or shared rooms, such as small meeting rooms. This will save energy if people are in and out and often forget to turn off lights.

Plants and natural light –Having plants in your office will aesthetically soften the work areas with boring colours and can help oxygenate the office.

Personally I print off a lot less at work than I used to. My colleagues and I make a conscious effort to only print things if we really have to and we also keep our recycling separate from general waste so any paper gets recycled. We have lights that detect when you enter and leave the room so in the kitchen and staff room the lights don’t get left on when they aren’t needed! Small things like this can make a change, especially if everyone gets on board and makes one small change like the ones suggested above.

Do you have any tips on making the office “greener”?

Sarah x