Office Buildings Must Be Made Eco-Friendlier to Fight Climate Change

The looming threat of climate change is getting worse than ever. Communities all around the world must work harder to do their part.

Cities, in particular, must work hard to minimize their carbon footprints. A report by the United Nations shows that large cities produce around 60% of the worlds greenhouse gases, even though they account for only 2% of the earth’s surface. Fortunately, many cities around the world are developing sustainability plans to keep their carbon footprint lower.

One of the most important steps that can be taken to reduce the carbon footprint of a city is making office buildings greener. There are a lot of things that office building managers can do to improve energy efficiency, which is obviously crucial for lowering their carbon footprint.

Green office practices help you earn acknowledgment from your customers, which positively impacts public relations. This drives more prospects to seek out your services. Going green reduces energy costs and office material expenses. Some companies struggle to get quality talent for open positions. A green office will raise your company profile, attracting job-seekers with the same values.

Implementing green office practices can be beneficial for your business and the environment. It positively impacts the environment by reducing carbon footprint and contributing to planet protection. Outlined below are six tips for greenfying your office.

1. Use environmentally friendly office furniture

Your office furniture choices can significantly impact the environment and your health. The material used is a crucial factor when selecting eco-friendly furniture. Look out for certified sustainable wood, reclaimed wood, bamboo, and recycled plastic and metal. Green furniture can be recycled and disassembled, is easily fixed and durable, flexible and small, and has low toxicity levels.

To pick green furniture, avoid flame retardants, buy vintage, and purchase locally to reduce the shipping environmental cost. In addition, you can consider relocating your office to a green building using a professional removals company.

2. Use electricity wisely

Evaluating your energy usage will help you determine how well you utilize your energy and what you can do to improve energy efficiency. Turn off your office lights, computers, and printers at the end of each day to lower your energy usage and bills. Set your electronics to energy-saving mode to ensure they go on rest whenever not in use for extended periods. Leverage smart power strips to reduce energy costs and consumption by shutting off power flow to electronics that are no longer in use but still plugged in.

3. Adopt renewable energy

Increasing renewable energy supply in your office allows you to replace carbon-intense energy, protecting the environment. Renewable energy sources, including solar, wind, hydroelectric, geothermal, and biomass, release little or no global warming emissions. We listed seven reasons commercial buildings should use solar, which you should be aware of. Renewable energy systems generate power that has no associations with air pollution emissions, improving employee health. They also produce inexhaustible energy while ensuring stable, affordable energy prices.

4. Go paperless

While relying on paper-based systems lowers productivity and increases costs, paper reliance poses a significant environmental risk. Paper usage contributes to forest loss, production, and disposal pollution. Going paperless lowers your company’s effect on forests, reduces the waste dumped in landfills, decreases energy usage, and lessens the impact on climate change. Consider keeping digital files, not file cabinets, saving storage space. You can also ask your vendors to provide e-invoices and statements to reduce paperwork.

5. Leverage natural light

Overdependence on electric power significantly contributes to pollution. Natural lighting is a vital tool in sustainability attainment. You can use natural lighting strategies to reduce electricity usage and monthly bills. Consider using clerestories, skylights, retractable awnings, and window orientation to leverage daylighting benefits. You can also replace your lighting fixtures with energy-efficient LEDs. This results in reduced dependence on artificial lighting, lowering energy consumption.

6. Encourage green commuting

Encourage your employees to reduce commuting emissions by biking, walking, carpooling, or using public transit to the office and giving them incentives. Embracing remote working policies can also help reduce your office’s carbon footprint.

Make Your Office Building Eco-Friendlier to Fight Climate Change

Going green with your office building will reduce energy usage, material costs, and global warming emissions. Use these tips to greenify your office.

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Energy Efficiency is Essential for Sustainable Contracting Companies

With businesses making plans to bring their staff back into the workplace now that restrictions are easing, it’s worth thinking about how things will operate post-pandemic. As well as introducing new health and safety measures and hot desking, now is a good time to focus on bringing in energy saving ideas to balance out having more people in the office again.  

As the owner of a sustainable contracting company, most of your employees are obviously going to be working outside for most of the day. However, you and other managerial employees might spend a good amount of time in the office. You have to make sure that your office is run as energy efficient as possible.

If you’re a business owner who wants to use this time as a fresh start, here are some ways that your company can save energy.  

Why introduce energy saving methods?

There are several reasons to consider energy saving methods in your workplace. The main one is that it’s crucial we consider the impact of the emissions we put out into the environment. Climate change is a huge concern, and world leaders have been called upon to come up with solutions to halt and reverse the damage that’s being done.  

Cutting back on energy consumption reduces the amount of electricity needed. By taking steps as a business to reduce emissions, you’re contributing to helping the environment.  

Another reason to consider the energy your business consumes is to save money. The less water and electricity you use, the lower your bills for these services will be.  

Ideas to help save energy

So, what are the top ways to save energy in the workplace? Here are some suggestions to help you take the steps towards becoming a greener business.

• Go paperless 
  • If you regularly print out documents, try to foster a paper-free policy. Not only will this help to reduce the energy used by printers to print off the pages, but it will also save on paper and reduce the cost of ink supplies.
  • To do this, ask employees to question whether they need to send that page to print. There will be occasions when it’s crucial for a document to be on the page rather than on the screen, but if work can be carried out via computer, you’re likely to see the difference in electricity and paper costs.
• Improve insulation  
  • If you’re renting an office space, it’s worth asking the building manager about how it’s insulated. Should you have noticed any draughts, there might be a need to check windows and doors, while the building as whole may need loft and wall insulation. As well as keeping staff at a comfortable temperature, focusing on insulation and any issues can stop heat energy from escaping and save on heating bills.

• Preserve technology 
  • Protecting your tech can help to prolong its lifespan, saving you from needing to upgrade to new computers and laptops. Always paying attention to system updates and investing in things that preserve these key pieces of equipment, such as conformal coatings that help to prevent electrical failures, can go a long way towards prolonging the lifespan of the computers you use.
• Switch to LED 
  • Swapping traditional halogen bulbs for LED options can save around 5KG of CO₂ carbon emissions for every bulb you use. Additionally, according to the Energy Saving Trust, ‘…replacing a 50W halogen with an LED equivalent could cut your energy costs by £75 over the lifetime of the bulb.’
• Turn it off
  • Encouraging staff to turn off lights and taps when they’re not in use is another simple, yet effective way to save energy.

Take the Right Energy Saving Measures as a Sustainable Construction Company

There are a lot of energy saving steps that sustainable contracting companies will need to take to keep their carbon footprint low. These measures should be taken in the office, as well as the front lines.

What energy saving methods will you introduce in your sustainable contracting company?

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Exploring greener construction methods will ensure other industries become more sustainable, too. Several green technologies and practices are being introduced to this sector. Here are some of the most impactful ones.

1. Biodegradable Materials

Current materials used in construction can create a lot of waste after the building is eventually torn down. This can be toxic to the environment and take hundreds of years to decompose. By changing the materials used, we can improve the future without compromising the integrity of our buildings. In fact, green materials can often help the structure last longer for less money.

Organic plants like hemp or recycled materials like fiberglass insulation are good examples. Switching a few things or reusing items can go a long way in helping a building prolong its life and reduce the amount of waste it will produce in the future.

2. Green Insulation

We already touched briefly on recycled fiberglass insulation. While recycling of any kind is a plus, we can make our insulation use better and greener. Fiberglass is glass that has been melted down, which requires a lot of energy and can be harmful to handle. For greener materials used in modern-day insulation, look no further than your own home.

Cotton insulation has become extremely common. It’s exclusively made out of denim or recycled scraps of jeans. Cellulose insulation has also been growing in popularity. Instead of being pushed between the walls, it’s sprayed on, which makes installation easier. Incredibly, the material used in cellulose insulation is recycled newspapers.

3. Cool Roofs

The technology of a cool roof is less about the material it’s made from and more about the design. These roofs are designed and angled to ensure the sun is reflected instead of absorbed, reducing the heat taken in by the home and cool or warm air escaping through the roof. This may not seem like a major change, but dark roof shingles can reach 150 degrees Fahrenheit or 65.5 degrees Celsius, creating a lot of unwanted warmth inside the home during summer.

Reducing the heat from the roof lowers the building’s temperature. This puts less strain on air conditioning systems so they use less energy. Even using a coat of reflective paint on a new roof can reduce temperatures in urban and suburban areas.

4. Self-Powered Buildings

Self-powered buildings use green energy to power their systems, such as solar, wind or thermal. When a large structure like a skyscraper goes off the grid to use renewable energy, the money saved can be reinvested elsewhere.

Skyscrapers often install wind turbines on their roofs, while some suburban communities use geothermal technology to benefit the entire area. However, the most popular sustainable method is solar energy. Panels can be installed in any home or building and produce their own air conditioning system. It has become common practice to install solar cooling systems in buildings during construction.

5. Rammed Earth Brick

Rammed earth is a construction technique that’s been used for thousands of years. Due to its green nature, it’s becoming popular again on a global scale. However, this technique takes time to create.

To make rammed earth, one must mix soil with hard materials like gravel or clay to form a substance similar to concrete without the harmful chemicals. Then, it has to cure. The curing process can take a few months or as long as two years, making it inefficient timewise unless the process is more automated. With today’s technology, better automation practices are possible.

Portions of the Great Wall of China were made with rammed earth, so the longevity of this material has already been proven. Another benefit is the regulation of temperature inside the structure, which stays cool in summer and warm in winter.

However, water has the potential to wash away the materials. With proper regulation systems installed, this issue becomes obsolete.

Construction Going Green

These few green methods and others can increase a building’s sustainability while reducing its overall carbon footprint. Practices like these are used in every aspect of the construction process, from planning to siting to building. Even after a structure is complete, maintenance and use will contribute to how much emissions it will or won’t put off during its lifetime.

Sustainability can go hand in hand with energy efficiency. Thanks to our advancing technology, green practices are often cheaper and better made than others. One of the main hurdles for builders is the installation price. However, by making this small investment upfront, the rewards and money saved in the long run will only prove beneficial.

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It’s admittedly easy to overlook energy expenditure when pulling a project together. You might find yourself overwhelmed with unexpected setbacks, problems with installation and a wide variety of other issues associated with renovations. Even with these difficulties, it’s essential to set aside time to review your energy usage.

Fortunately, you have no shortage of options to reduce your expenditure. Many of them will effectively lower the final cost of your project, as well as decrease your carbon footprint. You’ll preserve both your savings and the planet by approaching your home improvements in a cost-effective, eco-conscious way.

Here are five energy-saving strategies and everything you need to know about green technologies and techniques. It doesn’t take much to make a difference, and even a small adjustment can cut your energy consumption by a significant margin. Consider some of the solutions below.

1. Use Energy-Efficient Building Materials

Conventional building materials are often inefficient and potentially hazardous. You don’t have to choose the standard options most homeowners limit themselves to, because energy-efficient building materials are available if you expand your search. These materials are particularly attractive:

• Spray foam insulation: As a substitute for fiberglass and cellulose insulation, spray foam serves the same purpose while trapping more conditioned air within the home. It also contains rapidly renewable material that doesn’t produce harmful emissions and is both water- and shrink-proof.
• Insulating concrete forms: Created when concrete pours between multiple layers of insulation material, these forms improve the strength and durability of a structure and meet high code requirements for energy efficiency. Additionally, they prevent certain issues like mold, mildew and rotting.
• Thermostat barrier radiant sheathing: A building product from Georgia-Pacific, this sheathing functions in both the roof and the walls as a sort of buffer zone against heat penetration. When properly installed, it reduces energy usage and lowers attic temperatures by up to 30 degrees.

Any of the three products above can help you reduce the energy expenditure in your home. Some materials, like insulating concrete forms, are only functional for certain kinds of projects, but spray foam insulation is far more flexible in its application.

2. Push for Improved Tools and Practices

The numerous motors and auxiliary components that comprise machine tools require a substantial amount of energy. While you’ve likely delegated this type of work to contractors, you can still make suggestions. As an example, switching off specific energy consumers during nonproductive phases can reduce energy use.

Start a conversation with your team and brainstorm ways to tackle the project with greater efficiency. If your project involves an air compressor, moving the intake into a shaded area outside is an easy and energy-efficient alternative. A reduction of 20 degrees Fahrenheit can lower operating costs by almost 3.8 percent.

3. Purchase an Energy-Saving Outlet or Strip

You can manage your energy expenditure with the simple purchase of a smart outlet. Many products are available, and any of them will reduce your usage when plugging power tools into your walls as you move through your renovations. They’re a wise investment, helpful even after you’ve finished your home improvements.

Depending on your needs, you’ll find some options more relevant than others. If you’re intending to use multiple outlets and need a convenient solution, you’ll likely see the appeal in a smart strip. It has various outlets for different devices. When you shut it off, the strip automatically cuts power to any peripheral outlets.

4. Hire Contractors With Relevant Experience

Over the course of your renovations, you’ll likely need the assistance of one or more contractors. Each of these professionals will conduct business differently, and some aren’t concerned with reducing their energy expenditure, only the final result. Take these three steps far in advance of hiring a contractor:

• Contact former clients and ask about the contractor’s performance, touching on their attention to energy efficiency and green construction.
• Search online for reviews and recommendations for the contractor, visiting sites like Angie’s List, CitySearch and Google Local for details.
• Meet with the contractor and question them about their approach to home improvements, their areas of expertise and relevant experience.

Once you’ve met and settled on the right contractor, you should move forward with the renovation process. As you continue with your project, you can feel confident the professional you’ve chosen will hold themselves to a high standard of energy efficiency. Still, it’s essential to compromise when necessary.

5. Choose Minimal Framing for Wall Installation

If your plans include a large-scale renovation with the addition of new walls, you should research your building codes.

Depending on the details of these codes, you could choose minimal framing for the installation, which will require fewer nails and less lumber. You’ll also reduce your energy usage in terms of power tools. If you choose metal framing, it cuts down on wood waste.

In addition to your savings, this suggestion has secondary benefits. When you minimize the framing in your walls, you have more room for insulation, and by extension, greater energy efficiency. Among other tips for an energy-efficient remodel, this is one of the most effective for homeowners with more involved projects.

A Green Approach to Home Improvements

As you organize your plans and evaluate your options, review some of the suggestions above. While you’re likely concerned over supplies, labor, schedule and budget, it’s essential to set aside time to assess secondary details like the energy efficiency of your remodel. These smaller considerations are no less important.

When you begin on your renovations, take a green approach. Use energy-efficient building materials, purchase smart outlets and collaborate with contractors who have your best interests in mind.

After you finish and step back from your work, you’ll feel satisfied with your project and proud of how you accomplished it.

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Water Usage on Average

According to statistics gathered by the USGS Water Science School, flushing the toilet is the most water-consuming action performed in a household. Showers and baths come as a close second, which brings the total average per home at 80 to 100 gallons daily. Even by modern-day standards, that’s undoubtedly a lot.

Despite the governmental regulations that strictly limit the amount of flow each fixture is allowed to produce, the consumption level of most homes is still through the roof. And when you add in energy bills and addition repair or renovation fees that might be necessary from time to time, the bottom line is the following: having a bathroom is expensive.

But what if you could do something about it? There are certain changes you could make to reduce costs on your monthly bills and optimize your living space in the process as well. Here are four money-saving tips for a greener and highly efficient bathroom.

What You Need

1.      A Dual Flush Toilet

As previously mentioned, your toilet is the number one water consumer in your household. Traditional toilets are by far the most inefficient, which is why you need to upgrade yours right away if you want your bathroom to be a true energy and money-saver. Replacing it with a low flow model is an alternative if you’ve got the budget for it.

But if that’s not the case, dual flush will be your best friend. The system behind it is a simple, yet highly interactive one that delegates different flows depending on what you did while in the bathroom. This basically means that your number one will be flushed down using less water than your number two.

To keep things thrifty, you can simply visit your local hardware and home supplies store and purchase a dual flush kit. Using the instructions that come with or a handy YouTube tutorial, you will be able to install the whole thing yourself.

And if you want to take it one step further, you can also learn how to perform some basic repairs and other improvements by yourself, such as how to fix a toilet that won’t flush or how to replace its defective parts.

2.      Low Flow Showerheads

When it comes to saving water and energy on showers, spending less time on them is one simple way to go about it. But if you want to be fully efficient in achieving this goal, what you need to do is install a low flow showerhead. This small change cuts your consumption during showers in half.

While traditional showerheads use up 5 to 8 gallons per minute, a low flow model will drop the amount down to 2.5 in the blink of an eye without as much as sacrificing pressure levels. This means that you also save some of the energy required to heat the amount you are using because you won’t use as much of it.

3.      Motion Sensor Faucets

More water is wasted in your bathroom sink than you’d like to think. Even when you’re being good about it and turning the faucet off whenever you don’t directly need it, you are most likely still pouring unnecessarily high amounts of the stuff down the drain, both literally and metaphorically.

The best solution for this problem is to have motion sensor faucets installed. There are quite a few reasons why you should consider this option. Not only is such a fixture a lot more hygienic due to reduced need for actually touching it, but it is most importantly water efficient. In fact, its usage is 20% lower than that of traditional faucets, which is a considerable improvement.

4.      Energy Saving Light Bulbs

To further optimize energy usage in your bathroom, replacing your bulbs with LEDs is an incredibly forward-thinking decision. They are some of the best green technologies available today, which is why you should take the leap and say goodbye to your old fluorescent lights if you haven’t done that already.

Shutterstock Licensed Photo – By vasabii

Final Thoughts

Updating your home so that it’s eco-sustainable can very well start in your bathroom. By using low flow fixtures and installing motion sensor faucets, you are taking important steps towards using less water overall. Thus, you are doing your fair share for protecting our environment.

And if you want to take it all one step further, replacing your old light bulbs with energy-efficient LEDs is a great idea that can be applied to the rest of the house as well. All you need to achieve this is ambition and an appropriate budget.

The post 4 Money-Saving Tips for a Greener and Highly Efficient Bathroom appeared first on Green Building Insider.

For a lot of people, this concept is closely tied to ideas such as switching to solar-powered energy or installing a gray-water system. But contrary to popular belief, going green does not have to entail taking up major, costly projects. There are small things each and every one of us can do around the house that can significantly improve our quality of life while saving us a lot of money along the way.

Here are some simple ideas to get you started:

Become Water-Wise

Water is one of the resources that is wasted on a regular basis through different habits. Whether it is washing the dishes, clothes, or showering and bathing, we tend to be unaware of how much water we use. At the same time, we forget that not everyone has access to clean, safe water soures.

One of the first steps we can take towards living a more sustainable lifestyle – and saving money on utility bills – is to try to raise awareness about water consumption, both our own and our family’s. Once we’re mindful of what we’re doing, it becomes easier to remember not to let the water run unnecessarily during any kind of washing up.

The next thing you can do is get practical and check all your faucets and shower heads. They can be leaky, broken, or simply older models use more water than modern, more efficient designs. In either case, it’s a great idea to replace them.

This is a pretty simple DIY project that will not cost you a lot. Many types of low water-usage or energy-efficient shower heads and faucets are available on the market at very affordable prices. They will decrease your water usage, and if you have many of them around the house, the difference on your monthly bill will be significant.

Switch to Green Lighting

Changing your lighting is another simple change you can introduce into your household. Replacing your old light bulbs with new, energy-efficient ones will save you both energy and money.

CFL and LED incandescent lamps last much longer than the regular, old ones – up to 5 years. They are more expensive, but when you take into consideration that one can last for years and will waste significantly less energy, it really comes out cheaper in the end. Of course, you still need to remember not to leave the lights on when you leave the house!

Seal All the Air Leaks

Air leaks around the house present another source of energy waste and increased utility bills. Luckily, it is a problem that can be easily solved by caulking and weather stripping.

Try to locate the leaks by checking all of your doors and windows – there will usually be a small draft there. Then, add weather stripping to your doors, or replace the old ones, and caulk or put foam on all of the other leaks.

Unplug Your Appliances When Not In Use

Many of the appliances around the house consume energy, even when they are turned off. They don’t use a lot, but it adds up when you consider how many of them you have. It’s a good idea to unplug your televisions, computers, stereos, and even your phone chargers when they are not in use.

If you don’t have the time to always unplug everything, then another solution is to get a power strip. It is a small, affordable control device that cuts power to all of those devices.

One appliance you could consider unplugging for longer periods of time is your tumble dryer. Dryers use a lot of energy. And there are free, natural alternatives for drying your clothes. Simply put a clothesline outside in your backyard or on the balcony, and use it whenever you can – especially during spring and summer when the temperatures are higher.

Program Your Thermostat for Energy Efficiency

Setting your thermostat to optimal temperature is a great way to save energy on heating and cooling. If you want to maximize your energy savings, the ideal temperature during the winter would be 68 degrees, and during summer 78 degrees. Even if you’re not used to those temperatures, don’t worry, your body will adapt quickly and your indoors will be nice and comfortable!

Another thing you could do is get a programmable thermostat. You can set it to automatically adjust the optimal temperature according to the season and the time of the day, as well as to turn the heating off when there’s no one home and turn it back on just before you arrive.

Water heating requires a lot of energy as well. We usually leave it on all the time, but that is not really necessary. Even if you turn it down a bit, you can save energy and money on your utility bills. 10 degrees lower than your usual setting, or somewhere between the ‘low’ and ‘medium’ mark is usually more than sufficient.

Save Money and the Environment

Living green does not have to be complicated or expensive. Just the opposite. With only a little effort you can make a big step towards reducing your living costs and taking care of the environment at the same time.

Do some research, get informed on the benefits of green, sustainable homes and don’t be afraid to make that first step. You definitely won’t regret it.

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While offices and warehouses are able to enforce practices overnight like going “paperless”, for construction and building sites, it can be more of a challenge. Luckily there are a few steps your site can take to ensure your business is working towards a much greener and environmentally responsible future – no matter what your industry!

Cleveland Containers, a leading supplier of shipping container solutions to the industry, offer some green advice for construction business leaders…

The material world

What materials you use, how you use them and where they are sourced from, will play a vital role in your eco-friendly construction practices. Current materials predominantly used in construction produce too much C02 during and after construction, which makes these materials unsustainable. Fortunately, there are more sustainable materials available and the list is growing as the industry adapts:

• Sustainable concrete – Regular concrete is actually responsible for 7-10% of global C02 emissions but there is an alternative. Sustainable concrete is mixed with recyclable materials like crushed glass and wood chips.
• Wool bricks – These clever bricks use non-toxic materials and are actually up to 37% stronger than regular bricks while being more resistant to corrosive elements.
• Paper insulation – A great alternative to chemical foams like fibreglass. Recycled newspapers and cardboard can be used instead and are fire-retardant thanks to the inclusion of borax, boric acid and calcium carbonate – all natural materials!

A question of demolition

Recycling shouldn’t just be reserved for paper, plastics and glass – demolition practices can contribute too. Countless tonnes of used concrete and steel are simply dumped into landfills every day when these can be recycled for future construction jobs. Contact your nearest industrial crushing facility who can crush these materials into dry aggregate for future use.

Household construction waste like carpet, tiles and ceiling debris can also be used in a variety of ways. Plus, you will save money by avoiding the costs associated with disposing toxic materials, which are a hazard to everyone.

Keep it local

By using locally sourced materials, you will be cutting down on the huge energy usage associated with transporting large amounts of materials over long distances. Cut down on your carbon footprint and get your hands-on materials quicker too with locally sourced materials.

Remember, you’ll also be supporting your local businesses and suppliers and using local materials is something your business can shout about in the press and be proud of.

Energy efficiency best practice

There are also several basics you may be missing on your construction site that can have a large impact on your energy usage and efficiency. Take a walk around your site or create “green champions” in your company who look out for the following on site:

• Lighting – Switch to high efficiency lighting anywhere you can on site which will also help reduce your monthly bills.
• Site accommodation – Ensure your staff rooms, cafeterias and other site accommodation have an Energy Performance Certificate rating of A, B or C. Prioritise insulation and natural light over artificial heating too.
• On site offices – The same applies to your on-site offices. Keep windows closed and doors shut when your heating is on, keep computers shut down or hibernating when not in use and recycle everything you can.

Accept the green challenge

The challenges of sustainability and green practices are felt very heavily in construction– perhaps more than in any other industry. Heavy material usage, transportation and energy are at the heart of construction and are unavoidable by-products. However, if every company begins to take small green steps the impact on our environment could. be considerable.

Credit: Shutterstock

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