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Are you seeking affordable eco-friendly office design ideas? Being environmentally conscious at work doesn't have to be as expensive or complicated as you might imagine. On the other hand, establishing a green workplace will only benefit you greatly.
According to studies, green offices encourage productivity and happiness in employees as well. Office workers near windows often experience a 173% increase in white light exposure during the workday, resulting in an average of 46 extra minutes of sleep at night. Employees who do this frequently report feeling less worn out, bored, and able to concentrate better.
Overall, they are happier at work and feel pleasant in the office. So, what can you do together as a company to help save the planet, reduce costs, and establish a healthier environment while increasing customer loyalty?
You can implement any of the following sustainable corporate practices in your workplace, depending on your budget, your company's goals, your organization's structure, and your long-term plans. Follow our list of the best ways to make your office more eco-friendly before you start to make plans.
A green office means a healthier work environment.
Who wouldn't like to work in a green office instead of a gray one full of metal and paper? More natural light, non-toxic cleaning supplies, and plants, all improve the air quality of a workspace. One research has shown that companies that adopt these sustainable strategies have seen a considerable drop in employee sick days. Additionally, there was less personnel turnover. Employee productivity increases with health, which helps firms save money.
Educate your employees.
No plan can be implemented if the employees are not trained and do not know what they are doing. That's why the first step to success is to educate your staff about eco-friendly offices and their benefits. A presentation, conference, or gathering focused on sustainability is a great idea.
Put in place an office training program that instructs your staff on how to work in an environmentally responsible manner. They will learn how to utilize paper thoughtfully and how to stop office supplies from draining their energy as part of this training.
Say YES to solar energy.
The ideal investment for the future is solar power, but people are hesitant to do so because they believe it will be too expensive. Solar panel installation and purchase costs have decreased dramatically during the past few years. Additionally, making investments in renewable energy yields a profit over time.
The following are some key advantages of using solar energy: switching to solar energy will result in much lower energy costs and you may completely do away with your energy expenses! Using solar energy will increase the value of your home after all.
More plants – better air quality!
Office plants have been found to improve air quality, lengthen attention span, boost creativity, reduce stress, and stabilize mood. Encourage employees to bring plants to the office! Numerous studies have shown that plants considerably reduce workplace stress.
Also, beautiful plants increase creativity. For an environmentally friendly office setting, choose plants like bamboo, palms, peace lilies, spider plants, or English ivy. According to NASA research, indoor plants can purge an office's air of up to 87% of pollutants in a day.
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Choose sustainable materials.
You must have noticed that many pieces of furniture or clothing say eco-friendly. But what materials are they and are they really what they say? The most eco-friendly furniture products are made from reused resources including salvaged wood, recycled textiles, and repurposed wood pallets. Also great for furniture and home design, are natural materials like bamboo, rattan, and seagrasses. For your office space or home offices, you may quickly search the web for sustainable materials for your office’s furniture.
Unplug devices after work.
Did you know that computers can pull energy when they’re not in use? If they are never turned off, large equipment like printers and copiers can consume electricity constantly. Most pieces of equipment might still consume energy even when completely turned off. If ignored, phantom power, also known as standby power, can cost your business a lot of money. Remember to unplug your devices before leaving the office to avoid being haunted by phantom power.
Decrease the brightness on your computer monitor.
A professor at Harvard University claims that lowering the brightness of your computer monitor from 100% to 70% can result in energy savings of up to 20%. Most people won't notice much of a difference in their display between 100% and 70% brightness, so turning down the brightness to the lowest setting that is still comfortable is an excellent way to cut your monitor's energy use by up to 20%.
Keep the shades open during the day and use only energy-efficient lights.
Even though you might not give lighting much thought at work, changing your lighting strategies can have a significant impact. Consider again if you need lights on during the hottest part of the day if your office has huge windows. Office lighting uses about 25% of the electricity utilized in the US.
By opening the shades and allowing natural light to flood your workspace, you may reduce your environmental impact and financial losses. LED lights can last more than three times as long as conventional incandescent or compact fluorescent lamps while using 75% less energy. Since LED bulbs are non-toxic and recyclable, doing this can ultimately help you save money.
Encourage employees to use eco-friendly notebooks.
Reduce paper waste by taking notes in paperless notebooks. For those who love to write and want to save their surroundings, show them magic notebooks! The Rocketbook Notebook is the most well-liked environmentally friendly item and has a ton of good Amazon ratings.
This connected, erasable, and reusable notebook is adored by users. It has the same appearance and texture as a typical notepad but is more environmentally friendly. It feels like conventional paper when you write with it. But if you add a drop of water, it disappears just like magic! You can just wipe the pages clean and reuse them again.
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Reduce the number of printers in the office and use recycled paper.
Many documents no longer need to be printed in today's digital workplace environment. When feasible, encourage your staff to not print documents. If necessary, try to reduce the number of printers to one or a minimum. Support employees to use digital formats more than written ones. Reduce the number of printouts to save paper. Recycled paper is a simple way to go green for your printers.
Replace plastic cups and bottles with reusable ones.
Did you know that all plastic that has ever been produced and has ended up in the environment is still present there in one form or another because it doesn’t decompose? Cups that are only used once are bad for the environment.
If you consume two cups of coffee a day, you would be throwing away nearly 500 cups and 500 stirrers every year. Think of the amount of degradation that could be prevented if every employee started using reusable cups. Tell employees to bring their reusable mugs.
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Minimize your heating and cooling.
A couple of degrees can go a long way when it comes to keeping costs down. Keep the office a little warmer during the day during the summer months to save electricity. When the building is unoccupied after work hours, raise the thermostat.
Keep in mind that fans only effectively cool people who can feel the air on their skin, so turn them off when the room is empty. The office should be kept a little bit cooler throughout the cooler months, especially when the facility is unoccupied. According to research, adjusting your thermostat 2 degrees up in the summer and 2 degrees down in the winter can save up to 2,000lbs of carbon dioxide per year!
Support alternative methods of transport.
Instead of buying 500 new parking spaces for employees, encourage them to use alternative means of transportation to work. There are several alternatives to driving a car that you can use, including carpooling, cycling, electric bicycles, scooters, and even walking. They not only conserve energy and benefit the environment, but they are also beneficial to your health, particularly if you commute to work by bicycle or foot from your home. A bike rack is a relatively simple investment you can make to motivate your employees.
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