Green and Environmentally Friendly Office Solutions at Winnersh Triangle
Businesses all over the country are joining the frontlines in a battle for sustainability. The green revolution is well and truly underway. Will your business answer the call of duty? If you don’t, not only could you find yourself with higher operational costs, you could risk alienating a sizable eco-conscious clients.
Consumers and brands with a clear focus on sustainability want to see that dedication reciprocated throughout the supply chain. Winnersh Triangle is leading the way on sustainable workspaces. With a firm focus on renewable energy, priority use of recycled materials, and building biodiversity, health and wellbeing, it is a hub of renewable operations. Winnersh Triangle and Frasers Property UK are committed to being totally carbon neutral by 2050, aligned with the Science Based Targets Initiative.
Here we’ll look at how you can make your workplace greener and more eco-friendly, as well as the benefits of green and eco-friendly solutions in the office.
Embracing eco-friendly office solutions at Winnersh Triangle
Your business can’t be expected to transform into a paragon of sustainability overnight. It’s more a matter of making small operational changes that will, over time, make embracing eco-friendly solutions in your office feel as natural as sending an email. Sending more emails and fewer paper memos is a great place to start.
Let’s take a look at a handful of eco-friendly office solutions you can implement today.
Keep it digital
We produce over 12 million tonnes of waste paper in the UK every year, plus 1.6 billion disposable pens are thrown into landfill every year around the world. To keep it green, the first step is keeping it on the screen. Substitute post-it notes for digital apps like Evernote. Digitise your paperwork and processes wherever possible, and only print out documents when necessary.
If you must print out, refilling your ink and toner cartridges is much more sustainable (and affordable) than replacing them.
Change your business energy plan
Whoever provides your business energy, take a look at their fuel mix. Avoid energy suppliers that use fossil fuels like coal and natural gas. Instead use a renewable energy provider like Bulb, Octopus or Ecotricity, which generate energy through wind, solar and hydropower. These are getting more affordable to produce every year. So not only can a renewable business energy plan improve your green credentials, it can also save you money! At Winnersh Triangle, for example, we have installed solar panels.
Introduce green incentives for employees
You don’t need to do all the heavy lifting yourself. Get your team to paint your workplace green with you. Incentives like the cycle to work scheme are great ways to reduce your operation’s carbon footprint. You may also want to incentivise carpooling or, if you provide meals for your employees, add more plant-based cuisine to your menu. Meat and dairy products require much more water, land and resources to bring to the plate than fruits, veggies and grains.
Rethink your workspace
Rethinking your office itself can be a decisive step in the right direction. Coworking spaces are inherently greener than conventional office spaces, as they use less heating, energy and amenities. Likewise, perishables like milk get used up faster so less goes to waste.
What are the advantages of going green (and eco-friendly) in the office?
Now that we’ve looked at how to make the office more environmentally friendly, let’s look at some of the inherent advantages. First, it can be remarkably easy! Relocating to coworking spaces like Winnersh Triangle can make it effortless to facilitate a green workspace, as it has its own green infrastructure in place to improve sustainability. By going green and eco-friendly in the office, you can also:
- Reduce operational costs and improve cash flow
- Demonstrate a clear sense of Corporate Social Responsibility
- Help keep your team happy, healthy and motivated
- Reduce wasteful spending and cut down on unnecessary overheads
- Improve your brand’s green credibility in meaningful ways
- Make your company more desirable to future prospective employees who want to work for an ethically focused business
The green office ideas you implement today can have a lasting positive impact on your operation, business, corporate social responsibility, and contribute to help meet the government targets for reducing emissions.
Winnersh Triangle’s commitment to sustainability in 2021
Frasers Property UK and Winnersh Triangle are committed to a more sustainable way of working. The businesses that share this dynamic space benefit from knowing that their workspace has a proactive approach to eco-friendly operations. Here are some of the facets that make up Winnersh Triangle’s commitment to sustainability in 2021:
- Carrying out climate change risk assessments and implementing the resulting recommendations
- Carrying out sustainability technical assessments
- Installing more EV charging points to encourage the use of electric vehicles
- Installing solar panels on several buildings within the development
- Installing smart meters and smart sub-meters to identify sources of energy waste and track the efficacy of energy-saving measures
- Implementing a Sustainable Travel Plan
- Achieving additional BREEAM certifications (the world’s foremost sustainability assessment method) throughout the development
