Recently, people have been making an active attempt to make their offices more eco-friendly. By helping the environment, business owners can lower their carbon footprint, improve employee morale, and lower costs around the office. In addition, consumers think highly of companies that want to protect the environment.
To design an eco-friendly office, many factors have to be taken into consideration. If you want to design a greener office to work in, you should keep the following design choices in mind.
Focus on Smarter Lighting Choices
An easy way to design an eco-friendly office is to focus on smarter lighting choices. To start, you can choose to purchase energy-saving light bulbs for your office, so you don’t burn as much energy throughout the day.
It might also be a good idea to install smart lighting systems in your office. Most of these systems have motion detectors, so they can turn the lights on only when some is in the vicinity. They will turn off when everyone is out of the room, so if you forget to turn the lights off at the end of the day, you won’t have to worry about wasting energy.
Bring in Natural Light
Offices that have a lot of windows can also be very eco-friendly. Besides computer overuse, the reliance on lights in modern offices is one of the main culprits behind energy waste. Windows can help promote eco-friendly behavior since workers can avoid turning the lights on when there is natural light to use.
When you are designing an office, try to include windows in each room. You should place windows near work areas, so workers can rely on natural light when the sun is out. This will cut down on the amount of energy workers need to use throughout the day.
Design Your Office with Plants & Plant Walls
Offices designed to be eco-friendly typically include plants in many different areas. Plants use carbon dioxide in the process of photosynthesis, and as a result, they can clean the air of pollutants that could be harmful to us. Not only do plants help make the office eco-friendly, they also help reduce stress levels for workers.
Many modern offices are designed with “green walls,” which are basically walls covered in plants. They add visual variety to an office, while helping to clear out most of the harmful pollutants in the air. Other offices have dedicated gardens in a specific area that people can view and enjoy.
Purchase Energy-Saving Devices
People who design eco-friendly offices usually try to purchase energy-saving machines for the employees to use. Many office devices consume a ton of electricity to operate, and when too much energy is used, local power plants have to go into overdrive to keep everything powered. Power plants expel a lot of pollution into the air, so when more energy is consumed, more pollutants end up in the atmosphere.
Many manufacturers focus on producing computers and other devices that consume less energy. Any devices that have the “Energy Star” label on them consume energy in a more efficient manner and don’t waste power. Nowadays, many eco-friendly companies focus on supplying workers with energy-saving computers since they are devices that are used the most.
Encourage Recycling
One additional thing you can do to make your office eco-friendly is to encourage workers to recycle. Certain materials can be remade into new things, which helps keep them from piling up in landfills.
To promote this eco-friendly behavior, make sure to put a recycling bin in an easy-to-spot place so workers can easily find it. Workers won’t be motivated to recycle if they cannot find a place to put recyclables. Finally, remind someone to empty the recycling bin at the end of the week, so the materials can get to a local recycling plant.
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