The good news is it can actually be a lot easier to invest in a green office design than people may think. Even though it’s common to expect that eco-friendly options will be more difficult, in practice, they’re often very simple changes, like converting to energy saving lightbulbs. Making a large number of small changes like this can make a big difference overall, and when it’s for the benefit of the planet, making small changes is a no brainer.

Let’s get started with some fundamental ideas that will help you renovate your office into a sustainable workspace you can be proud of.

Turn to your paper products

A classic starting point is paper goods. A lot of paper is involved in the day-to-day operation of your office: copier paper, filing systems, binders, packing material, etc. All of these are worth exploring to see if you can replace them with a version made from recycled materials, or otherwise be made environmentally-friendly.

Altering your approach to paper has a number of major benefits:

• Saves trees, energy, water, and landfill space
• Protects forests and natural ecosystems
• Reusing recycled paper can save on supply costs
• Allows for better management of paper bleach and other chemicals used in paper, which are otherwise released into the environment via the landfill or incineration
• Incorporates full-cycle production costs, unlike virgin paper which includes no responsibility for its eventual disposal costs

Think Before You Print

Printing is a huge draw on resources for your average office, and it’s a much more polluting practice than people are aware of. A simple way to make your office green is to discourage your employees from unnecessarily printing. Encourage them to rely more on digital communication if possible – especially for memos that are just for communication within the office.

Redecorate & Recycle

Take a look at your office design – is it time for a new interior, or some new furnishings? If you’re already planning to contact an office fit out company to help you refurbish your workplace, why not take the chance to integrate some eco-friendly furniture or fixtures?

Here at Studio DB, we’re committed to the cutting-edge of interior design – we aim to be eco-friendly where we can in our soft and hard fit-outs. If you’re interested, we can help you source furniture with less synthetic material – dyes, laminates, etc. Eco-friendly furniture is the way of the future, and we’re happy to help you navigate the range of options out there.

On top of that, you can also choose to recycle old furniture you no longer need. Rather than sending these items to landfill, you can turn a profit on them if you look into selling them on, potentially even helping set up smaller businesses that need a hand to get their very first office furnished.

Make the most of your natural light

Not only does natural light have proven benefits for health, it also saves a significant amount of energy. It’s important to have a well-lit workspace – especially if your office tends to work late. And if you optimise your floorplan to make the most of your available light, it’s entirely possible you won’t need to run your office’s lighting for the entire day.

Here at DB, we can help you look into other options that help you manage this sort of energy usage. For example, many offices out there keep their LED strip lighting on timers, so that they can ensure it’s only on when it’s needed, saving the environment and saving them on their power bill.

What else can you do?

There’s so much you can do to achieve the green office of your dreams! Simple things like encouraging green commuting, or ensuring your HVAC systems are properly up-to-scratch can make a huge difference on your bottom-line and on the environment. We could go on forever, but the fact is that there are so many great ideas out there, you really don’t have to look far for inspiration!

Many of these things you can implement yourself, but not all of it. To really get the most out of your office, you’ll need the help of a professional Auckland office design firm. That’s where we come in. Here at Studio DB, we have over five decades of experience making office interiors work. Don’t wait, get in touch today!