Because every little helps

Committing to a more environmentally friendly office need not be 'all or nothing' - from simply selecting electricals to a full-scale eco overhaul, the choice is yours

by Elaine Duke

15 May 2008

If your company has pledged to reduce its impact on the environment, that ought to include the job of refurbishing or relocating your offices and making them a little more green. But what do you need to consider before embarking on your sustainability journey?

1  Ensure staff buy-in

Even the most state-of-the-art eco fit-out can fail without the commitment and enthusiasm of the people who will be using the office on a day-to-day basis. You can enforce certain procedural practices, for instance with auto-shutdown of PCs and monitors at night, but it's better for everyone if the move to sustainability is a choice, not an imposition.

2  Stylish not stale

Eco-office design doesn't mean brown paint and sisal flooring. It means stylish and modern furnishings that have been manufactured with a consideration of their environmental impact; it means light and airy spaces where people want to work. Build sustainability into the design of your new space from the very start, and it won't cost you much more than a standard office. Ask your office design and fit-out partner to supply literature on all of the sustainable products they've specified.

3  Think natural

A major feature of the sustainable office is the amount of natural light available. This doesn't necessarily require floor-to-ceiling windows (if you're lucky enough to have them already, though, make best use of them). If the removal of a wall means that natural light will be able to spread deeper into the office, consider it. You can use glazing to partition space, and maintain a sense of privacy if necessary, while still allowing light to penetrate. This should be something a good designer will look into.

4  Make the investment

An office fit-out is the perfect opportunity to replace worn-out, inefficient air conditioning and heating systems. Consider energy-efficient alternatives – initial investment may be higher, but ongoing costs are likely to be lower. And some equipment can be eligible for advanced capital allowances, another financial incentives.

Think about the equipment that usually gets overlooked: fridges, kettles, microwaves, printers and other devices left plugged in all day draining electricity. Make the investment in energy-efficient products at the start, and reap the rewards of lower electricity bills. If possible, reduce the number of devices over all through intelligent space planning – one company managed to cut their 30 printers down to five.

5  Eco-energy

Consider switching to a green energy supplier – this is something you can do at any time, before, during or after the fit-out, but it is a good way of ensuring that the energy you do use doesn't cost the planet. It also makes a good story for staff and stakeholders.

6  Get rated

It does require some consideration early on in the process, but getting an evaluation against an environmental rating system, such as Breeam or Leed, has the benefit that its criteria can help you to specify what to include in, and what to leave out of, your office fit-out. There are now rating criteria for both new offices and office refurbishments, the latter taking into account the challenges involved in the fit out of established workplaces. If you aren't interested in ratings, their criteria can still be a good guide as to what makes a sustainable space.

7  During refurbishment

Decisions during the construction phase can help to considerably reduce the overall environmental impact of the new office. For instance, monitoring utilities against set targets will mean less wastage of water, gas and electricity on site. Other standards you may want to measure against are how much waste from site is recycled, how much local labour is used (commuter miles equal CO₂ emissions after all), and how much CO₂ is emitted by delivery vehicles. You can also ensure that all timber used on site is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, so that you know it's been sourced sustainably.

Separate waste, into hazardous, recyclable and non-recyclable – new technology means that previously unrecyclable products, such as plasterboard, can now be reprocessed and reused. And remember to keep a paper trail, a legal requirement in some instances but also a good indicator of the effort you've been to.

8  Be neutral

Offsetting has become a bit of a buzzword recently, but it applying the notion to the carbon dioxide emissions caused by your fit-out, and your new office once it's up-and-running, can be seen as the final step in the sustainable office transformation.

The sustainable fit-out is built around the concept of minimising CO₂ emissions through saving energy and reducing waste, but no project is carbon neutral without a little help from carbon offsets. You will need to make certain measurements during the fit-out, for instance energy usage and waste disposal, so it's worth committing to towards the start of your project.

These tips form a guide to the sorts of things you can do to make your office more environmentally friendly. However, it's not a case of all or nothing – you can decide the level of commitment you want to make, whether it's to the fullest extent or just the preference of choosing sustainable products.

Elaine Duke is a Leed-accredited design at sustainable office specialist Morgan Lovell