Green living has become more important than ever and as time goes on it will only become a more prominent issue. While it used to be a matter of making an extra effort to save energy and reduce waste in the home, this has since extended to the professional side of things. Public buildings such as schools, hospitals and offices are under an increasing amount of pressure to make the change and go green, even if it’s just a step by step process that takes a few years to implement completely.
There are plenty of reasons for offices to go green and these reasons go beyond the concept that it should be done just for the sake of the environment. While the environment is incredibly important and vital to our survival and quality of life, sustainable office design can also have positive impacts upon employees and people using the building.
For example, a report carried out in September of this year revealed that the way an office is designed can significantly impact on the health and wellbeing of staff. It was also found to have an effect on productivity and could be a contributing factor to the amount of sick leave and staff turnaround within the business. It’s fascinating to think that people can be so sensitive to their environments but it also makes a lot of sense; even the choice of colour in your office can negatively or positively affect the people working there. It was found that even the most basic improvements to the temperature and quality of indoor air benefited productivity and that access to natural light helped employees to feel happier and better rested in their personal as well as professional lives.
Based on this study, it is clear that companies should be making more efforts to improve on office design whilst making sure the environment is sustainable and green. There are various little changes that can be made to lead towards something bigger, from making sure the lights are turned off at night to recycling the paper your company gets through on a weekly basis. Once these changes are in place, you can start looking at the bigger picture and begin implementing changes to design and construction, such as having wood fibre insulation fitted.
Along with other sustainable features, insulation can be beneficial in various ways. Not only will an insulated office space be environmentally sound by helping you to keep warm in the winter and cold in the summer, reducing the reliance on the thermostat and central heating and saving money, but it can also be an effective form of sound absorption. The study revealed that noise is a contributing factor to productivity problems, and if you work in a particularly busy area then noise can become a real issue. The aim is to create an environment that is comfortable, well-lit, ventilated and calm enough for people to concentrate and work productively, and sound proofing walls is an effective and environmentally friendly solution.
Green offices are the future, it’s just a matter of waiting for everyone to catch up.
