Office Buildings and Sustainability: Implement Eco-Friendly Practices Today

Society as a whole is becoming more aware of the importance of sustainability and eco-friendly practices. After all, our impact on the environment is undeniable, and if we don’t want it to get worse, we need to act now. The first step is to reexamine everything we are used to and implement the necessary eco-conscious changes.

The construction of office buildings is one such thing that desperately needs change. Too much energy goes to waste, too many materials are used recklessly. Luckily, though, the green movement might have a solution for that — sustainable building. 

Photo by Pixabay from Pexels

In short, sustainable building aims to minimize the use of construction resources and implement eco-friendly building practices. To encourage green building, environmental protection organizations decided to award LEED certification to those buildings that meet sustainability requirements. So far, around 100,000 commercial buildings around the world got this certificate.

So how exactly can you make an office building more sustainable? Well, here are several things you could do:

1. Use Eco-Friendly Construction Materials

Eco-friendly construction materials should meet two criteria — they need to have a minimal impact on the environment and at the same time reduce energy expenditure. In other words, they have to provide excellent isolation, but their production and maintenance must be eco-friendly.

You may think that such materials are hard to come by, but that’s not really the case nowadays. Materials such as precast concrete slabs, bamboo, cork, engineered wood, and plant-based foams are slowly gaining more attention. 

Aside from that, you can never go wrong with recycled metal, wood, or even plastic. All these materials are highly durable, and you’re unlikely to notice they are in any way different from traditional ones.

2. Apply Architectural Film

Architectural film is a non-toxic substance you can apply to the windows, ceilings, and doors. It’s self-adhesive and ensures that the office building’s temperature doesn’t oscillate regardless of the weather. Simply put, the architectural film works as insulation, which can dramatically reduce the use of heating or cooling systems. And that, in turn, saves energy and decreases CO2 emission.

In addition to that, the architectural film blocks and deflects at least a part of ultraviolet rays. These rays aren’t just dangerous for your skin, but they may also fade and wear out your furniture and floors. Thus, the protection you’ll get from the film is invaluable.

3. Rely on Renewable Energy Sources

In this day and age, electricity is a basic necessity that no business can function without. You need it for lighting, heating, cooling, and dozens of devices you use daily. The sustainability movement is fully aware of that, and it certainly won’t try to encourage you to stop using it. 

But what you can do is choose clean, renewable sources of electricity. One source, in particular, is always available — you just have to look up to see it. Luckily, nowadays, an ever-growing number of people are becoming aware of the benefits of solar power. Because of that, installing and using solar panels is easier than it ever has been.

Aside from providing you clean, renewable energy, solar panels can also rake in some profit. If they make more electricity than you need, you can sell it back to the grid. In return, your bills will decrease, and you might even make some money!

4. Make Use of a Biowall

Just think of how much money and energy you spend on a good HVAC system. It’s important to have one, of course, but you wish there was another way to filter the air and reduce CO2 levels.

As it turns out, there is. Let us introduce you to one of the most interesting sustainable inventions we’ve come across — the biowall. The name suits it quite well; it’s a wall of plants that naturally filters the air, removing pollutants and producing oxygen. As strange as it may sound, biowalls are highly effective. They reduce the need for using HVAC by 25 percent!

What’s more, a biowall promotes a quicker exchange of indoor and outdoor air and absorbs harmful compounds. Soon after installing one, you’ll notice that you and your employees cough less and overall feel much better. Plus, no one can deny that a wall of plants looks quite aesthetically pleasing!

5. Encourage Eco-Friendly Habits

As sustainable as your office building may be, it won’t be much use if people working in it aren’t eco-conscious. Changing people’s habits and attitudes towards the environment is difficult, but you have to try. Thus, we recommend you start with training sessions on sustainability. Use these meetings to emphasize the importance of eco-friendly practices and explain what behaviors you expect from your employees.

For example, you could encourage your workers not to throw things away — instead, they should reuse supplies and materials as long as they can. When they no longer can, recycling should be their next option. That way, you minimize the amount of waste produced. 

Also, reduce the use of paper as much as possible. Whenever you can, use computers and other devices for creating and storing documents. Paper should be the last resort, used only when you absolutely have no choice.

In Conclusion

If you haven’t yet thought about making your office building sustainable, now is the time. In the future, sustainability is sure to become one of the most important aspects of any business. But you shouldn’t wait for the future to come — start implementing eco-friendly practices in your office today!

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