You spend a large portion of your live at work each day. Providing a healthy and sustainable work environment helps to promote productivity and create a culture that values the health of your surroundings. Anyone who has sweated at their desk through the summer or suffered headaches because of garish office strip-lighting will agree!
Integrating safety and health into sustainability provides an oppurtinity to better protect your employees and achieve a truly sustainable organization.
Most companies see direct benefits from their investment in a sustainable workplace in terms of cost savings and energy efficiency. But what do you achieve beyond this point?
PRODUCTIVITY AND MOTIVATION
Integrating a good ventilated, bright workplace results in a more vitale and more productive workforce. If you are not completely convinced about the sustainability benefits, just take a look at the numbers!
Optimizing your work environment increases productivity by an average of 10 percent. Reasons for these numbers are that people are healthier when they work in a nice, good ventilated environment.
Bad office conditions have direct and indirect effects on productivity. Draughts and noise can cause your coworkers to tire and become less productive. It can also engender dissatisfaction, again affecting productivity. Half of the office workers complain of overheating in the summer and stale, musty indoor air!
Indirect effects entail health problems and illnesses, caused by an interplay of pollutants arising form people and substances released from the office environment. This occurrence is more common than expected; around 20% of office staff experience headaches, sore eyes or an irritated nose or throat on a daily or weekly basis that can be contributed to a bad indoor climate.
ENERGY
Most people know we should switch to sustainable energy – and energy sufficiency. But, how is this arranged at your office building? Self-induced energy is not only cheaper in the long run, but also increases awareness throughout your organziation – and even beyond! There are many options for you as a company to generate sustainable energy. Solar energy for instance is becoming cheaper and cheaper..
The public dilemma might be accountable for the lack of awareness or willingness to change. But raising awareness is important. Especially considering the lack of awareness or willingness of some key players in business.
Take a look at the quote of Ben van Beurden, director of Shell:
“If we want to set the limit of global warming on 2 degrees, we must reduce carbon emissions to zero by 2070. That is an ambitious goal for society, but feasible I think. If we want to limit it to 1.5 degrees, we must eliminate carbon emissions by 2050. To me, that seems to be wishful thinking.”
Let’s be optimistic and prove him wrong. Shall we?
WASTE MANAGEMENT
We live in a massive consumption society. This society leads to large amounts of consumable goods that are consumed with a short life span and are quickly thrown away. This is why recycling waste at the office goes further than separating your banana peel from your napkin when you throw it away. It is about awareness creation of the use of materials.
Do you really need to print that document, or keep your lunch in plastic bags?
COMPLIANT WITH REGULATIONS
Wheter or not you have a drive to make your office more sustainable, you have to be compliant with rules and regulations set by the government. Positive incentives are given to make offices more sustainable, think about subsidies – MIA, EIA or Green Deals. If you have the ambition and drive to be ready for the future and subsequently future regulations, we can help you implement these regulations today.
We at Einstein & Jones are here to help to transform your office. No need to build a whole new building, just improving the one you already have.
