How Can We Make Our Office More Sustainable

"How can we make our office more sustainable?"

This is a question we hear regularly here at Zevero headquarters, and we imagine this is a question commonly asked around the world. So we have made a simple checklist of all the ways you can improve your offices’ environmental sustainability including a list of must-do sustainable practices and what to do if you don’t own your building. 

Zevero's must do's for making your office more sustainable

🧑‍🤝‍🧑Employee engagement 

Start with something that's free. Raise awareness among employees about the importance of reducing emissions and involve them in sustainability initiatives.

• Encourage a culture of environmental consciousness in the office
• Nominate a ‘Green Champion’ or a ‘Green Team’ and empower them to implement changes and bring about a more sustainable culture 

🌞  Renewable energy

Stop your office from directly & indirectly burning fossil fuels:

• Transition to renewable energy suppliers that only generate electricity only from renewable sources such as solar, wind, or geothermal power for electricity and heating needs. 

⚡Energy efficiency

Implement energy-efficient practices and technologies, such as:

• Measurable Energy plug sockets. They're like parents that instead of nagging you to turn everything off just do it for you, a dream.
• Electricity building management system, we currently partner with GridImp

Please get in contact here if you’re interested in how AI can help reduce your electricity usage.

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🤷 How can I be sustainable if I don’t own the building?

It’s a great question. It certainly is easier to be sustainable if you have free rein to do so, but in we are often at the mercy of our landlords/building managers. However, the great news is 90%+ of our list can be delivered without any landlord permissions, and for those you require permission this is merely a speed bump, not a roadblock.

Due to pretty significant shocks in the energy markets over the last 2 years, becoming more sustainable is no longer a nice-to-do but a genuine business case. Your landlord/building manager is hopefully keen to reduce their impact on the planet however they are going to be extremely keen to cut costs, and all of these checklist items have a business case that could be presented. 

Our Full Sustainability Checklist

⚡Energy efficiency: implement energy-efficient practices and technologies, such as 

• LED lighting
• Remote thermostatic controls 
• Measurable.Energy plug sockets
• Conduct internal or external energy audits to identify areas where energy consumption can be reduced.

☀️Renewable energy: stop your office from directly & indirectly burning fossil fuels:

• Transition to renewable energy suppliers that only generate electricity only from renewable sources such as solar, wind, or geothermal power for electricity and heating needs. 
• Consider on-site renewable energy generation, like installing solar panels on the office building.

💦 Water Reduction: eliminate water wastage will help reduce your emissions and help protect a diminishing natural resource:

• Fix leaks: Leaks can waste a lot of water, so it's important to fix them as soon as possible.
• Install low-flow fixtures: Low-flow fixtures use less water than standard fixtures, which can help to reduce your office's water consumption.

🚛 Transportation: how your team get to the office and how your purchases get to your office:

• Encourage the use of public transportation, carpooling, and cycling for commuting to work. Offer incentives to employees who choose sustainable transportation options. Think everything from free breakfasts, longer lunch breaks or a cycling to work leaderboard.
• Make it easy for your employees to cycle. Make sure you have secure bike storage, shower access and maybe even towels.
• Allow employees to work remotely when possible, as it can reduce the need for office space and minimise commuting-related emissions.
• Install electric vehicle charging stations. This will make it easier for employees who drive electric vehicles to charge their cars at work and removes any barriers to employees switching to EVs.

🏢 Green building design: If the office is being constructed or renovated, aim for green building certifications like LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) to optimise energy and water efficiency.

♻️ Waste reduction: 

• Make it hard to recycle the wrong things. This may seem like a confusing one but one of the biggest issues when it comes to recycling is contamination with nonrecyclables. Aim for high-quality recycling by making it easy for people to use the rubbish bin, keeping the lid open, or closing the lid on the recycling. The people who want to recycle will, don’t make it easy for wish cyclers to contaminate your bins!
• Provide high-quality signage on what your employees can recycle. You should contact or visit the website of your waste provider who should be able to provide free posters to stick on the wall. 

💻 Paperless operations: do you really need to print that email?

• Adopt digital document management systems and discourage the use of paper
• Avoid purchasing an office printer

🧑🤝🧑 Employee engagement: raise awareness among employees about the importance of reducing emissions and involve them in sustainability initiatives.

• Encourage a culture of environmental consciousness in the office
• Nominate a ‘Green Champion’ or a ‘Green Team’ and empower them to implement changes and bring about a more sustainable culture 
• Carbon literacy training 
• Be transparent with business carbon footprint and goals

🧼 Sustainable procurement: source products and services from environmentally responsible suppliers and prioritise those with lower carbon footprints.

• Order bulk-sized quantities 
• Buy refillable containers instead of single-use
• Purchase eco-friendly cleaning products that use plant-based ingredients, not fossil fuels

📉 Monitoring and reporting: regularly monitor energy consumption and emissions to track progress and identify areas for improvement.

• Use the Zevero platform
• Send monthly reports out to all stakeholders

🫱🫲 Partnerships and collaborations: support sustainable businesses: When you buy from sustainable businesses, you're helping to support the transition to a more sustainable economy.

• Join local or industry-wide sustainability initiatives, networks, or partnerships to share best practices and learn from others' experiences.

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Relevant Link: Robots