Are you driving for better sustainability in your workplace? We’ve got just the thing for you.
Being environmentally responsible in the office is fundamental for any forward-thinking business, with the eco expectations of new generations of employees, colleagues and clients increasing all the time.
By adopting sound, sustainable practices, we can reduce waste, conserve resources and lower energy consumption, with plenty of potential to substantially minimise our ecological footprints.
And, alongside helping protect the world we live in, a clear and genuine commitment to better climate stewardship brings many strategic benefits - enhancing reputation and brand value, setting a standard within your Industry, increasing loyalty among staff, customers and clients, saving operational costs, boosting employee wellbeing and making firms more attractive to top talent.
At Design Tonic, we believe that a sustainable office is a cornerstone of any smart modern business.
But what practical steps can you take to be more sustainable in the workplace, from your office design itself right down to your operational practices?
Let’s get more specific
Design Tonic X Goodhall, Goodmove and ChurchView Dental
3 ways to… optimise your Energy Efficiency
1. Smart Lighting Solutions
Switching to energy-efficient lighting is one of the easiest, but most effective ways to reduce your office's energy consumption. LED lights use much less energy than traditional bulbs, have a longer lifespan and have lots of aesthetic potential - just check out the installations we designed for Goodhall, Goodmove and Churchview Dental above for inspiration!
Opting for a smart lighting system is a choice that will reap rewards over the long-term, their ability to adjust brightness based on natural light levels and occupancy boosting your efficiency and savings as well as creating a more pleasant and adaptive work environment.
2. Energy-Efficient Appliances
For everything from computers and printers to appliances and entertainment equipment in your breakouts, choose the most energy-efficient versions you can, looking for ENERGY STAR-rated devices which meet stringent energy performance standards.
3. Programmable Thermostats
Programmable thermostats are an invaluable way to manage your heating and cooling more efficiently - letting you set your system to adjust temperatures during non-working hours, and even (with more advanced thermostats) learning the patterns of your office use and making automatic adjustments to keep the workspace at the perfect temperature without any unnecessary energy usage.
A Sustainable Space - Design Tonic X Phoenox Textiles
3 ways to… Embrace Sustainable Materials
1. Recycled and Upcycled Materials
Unique, stunning and sustainable - there’s not a lot to dislike about using recycled and upcycled materials - and incorporating them into your office design is a big “tick” for your sustainability checklist!
Look for reclaimed and upcycled pieces and seek out some of the innovative recycled and bio-derived materials around - there are some really amazing choices, from reworked polyesters to plant-based furnishings to fabrics and items made from recycled ocean and river-sourced plastics.
2. Low VOC Paints and Finishes
It’s been shown that traditional paints can be quite harmful due to their high levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) - chemicals which evaporate into the air as the paint dries, releasing toxins that can cause a range of short and long-term health issues for staff, as well as contributing to air pollution.
So choosing low VOC options is a bit of a no-brainer! These paints are both healthier and more eco-friendly, helping you meet environmental standards, enhancing overall workplace wellness and keeping your office environment clean and safe for all.
3. Sustainable Flooring Options
When it comes to flooring your space, sustainable materials aren’t just eco-friendly, they’re also durable and really stylish. From bamboo, a rapidly renewable resource that offers the same aesthetic appeal as traditional hardwood, to cork, another rapid growth fibre with excellent insulation and sound dampening qualities, there’s lots to choose from.
More? Read our Sustainable Office Fit-Out Guide here
3 ways to… Promote Waste Reduction
1. Recycling Programs
Onto the operational side now, and inaugurating a good recycling programme is a great initiative for any office - but you should strive to make it simple to maintain.
Provide clearly labelled bins for paper, plastic, glass and e-waste - as well as a way to safely and sustainably dispose of confidential documents. Give your employees the information they need on how to properly dispose of different materials. And keep on top of progress with regular audits, so you can tweak and improve as needed.
Those aiming high should consider a zero waste initiative. These programmes involve reducing, reusing and recycling materials to minimise landfill contributions, and include measures such as composting organic waste and reducing single-use plastics.
2. Paperless Initiatives
It seems an obvious move, but how can you encourage a move towards a paperless office? There will always be some who prefer to work with paper (and they have their labelled bins!) but a robust suite of digital document solutions is the key.
Provide and encourage cloud storage, digital signatures and online collaboration tools - as well as good digital security training and password management tools for those who love an easily guessed password!
And for those people who won’t let go of their printouts?
- Set printers to default to double-sided printing and/or black and white.
- Consider setting a pages-per-person limit.
- Choose 100% recycled or FSC certified papers that are guaranteed not to come from deforestation - these days, the best of these options are impossible to distinguish from virgin paper.
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3. Sustainable Office Supplies
An easy win here - choose office supplies made from recycled or sustainable materials.
This can cover everything, from notebooks and pens to cleaning products - and, better still, by their very nature, the suppliers offering sustainable products are often those that adhere to fair trade and ethical labour practices, which extends your impact for good still further.
Design Tonic X Kinrise & Goodall Brazier - Built-in Bike Racks and Luxe Washroom Facilities
3 ways to… Foster Sustainable Commuting
1. Public Transport Incentives
Obviously, encouraging the use of public transport does depend on where your workplace is based, but for easily accessed businesses, incentivising the use of public transport options by subsidising transit passes or providing shuttle services at peak times is a great way to decrease your carbon footprint - as well as pressure for parking spaces and localised traffic congestion.
2. Be Bike-Friendly
Safe, secure bike racks and shower and changing facilities are invaluable amenities for employees who choose to bike to work. To promote more bike use, you could also consider organising bike-to-work days, create a team miles challenge and partner with any local bike shops to offer discounts and services to employees.
3. Carpool Programme
Really, sustainable commuting is all about reducing the number of cars, especially single-occupancy cars, on the road - and the most obvious way to do that is by creating a carpool programme. Easy to facilitate through either an internal network or an app designed to match employees with similar commutes, carpooling has the added benefit of fostering better relationships throughout your teams.
Design Tonic X Goodhall - a masterpiece in Naturewall, the sustainable wall coverings specialist
3 ways to… Green your Office Culture
1. Conscious Procurement
Create a strong, sustainable purchasing policy for all employees to stick to, with approved suppliers for regular items and details of what they need to avoid to keep buying sustainable across the board.
Where to start? An easy win is to refer to certifications like Fairtrade and Soil Association Organic - that way, you know the background research has been done for you.
And how to choose your approved suppliers?
Make it clear that ethical and environment issues are key for your business choices, and do your research on your suppliers’ own sustainability practices - ethicalconsumer.org offers a search function that provides over 40,000 brands and products with an “ethiscore”, rated on their policies and actions towards people, politics, the environment, animals, their workers and their carbon footprints
2. Sustainability Training
Training is the best way to make sure your employees are on the same page when it comes to your sustainability practices.
Hold educational sessions for existing staff on why it's important to be environmentally conscious within the workplace and explain how they can contribute, incorporate the training in your induction information for new employees and hold regular workshops to keep sustainability front of mind - as well as taking on useful feedback from your staff on what works, what doesn’t and their own ideas.
3. Green Committees and Rewards
Of course, sharing the ownership of your goals is always an effective way to keep things moving and improving.
Green committees or sustainability teams in your office can help drive initiatives and help you meet your sustainability objectives - as well as providing a platform for employees to share ideas and collaborate on new sustainability projects.
And rewards are always welcome!
A recognition programme that recognises and rewards employees is a brilliant way to keep engagement up - whether you offer incentives for departments that meet milestones, prizes for eco-conscious ideas and personal initiatives or both.
Want more on how to fit-out your office to be as sustainable as possible?
Read our in-depth guide here - covering everything from Green Building Certifications to biophilia and mindful materials.
And if you’d love to harness the eco-power of our sustainable design experts, drop us a line today!
