A green office pays attention to the environmental awareness of employees and the promotion of it among them, as well as the general environmental and health friendliness of the office premises
The goal of an environmentally friendly or green office is to continuously monitor and reduce the organisation’s environmental impact, which results in cost savings, sustainable use of natural resources, reduction of waste generation, and a healthier working environment.
In principle, a green office system can be seen as a simple environmental management system. It sets out the key principles and criteria of environmental activities that offices must follow in relation to office operations. [1]
The Estonian Association for Environmental Management is the issuer of the title of Green Office as a certified environmental label.
Similar to the environmental management system, the green office also focuses on the same environmental aspects: water, electricity, and heating consumption, waste generation and consumption of various office products (ICT equipment, office paper, office supplies, etc.). In addition, a green office pays attention to the environmental awareness of employees and the promotion of it among them, as well as the general environmental and health friendliness of the office premises. There are many ways to redesign a so-called regular office into a green one. You should start by mapping these environmental aspects to find out what the current situation is and, based on this, also set development goals – to figure out the environmental aspects that you most want to improve. Here are some examples.
Electricity, water, heating. Thermostats and adjustable heaters can be set to a lower temperature when you are away from the office. We can replace electric filament lamps, fluorescent lamps, and halogen lamps with LEDs, and install switches with motion sensors in certain rooms (corridors, kitchens, toilets). We may want to add aerators to the faucets and replace dripping taps.
Waste, kitchen area(s). We create separate waste collection facilities, provide collection boxes with clear instructions, train employees, and handle separately collected biowaste on site in an earthworm composter. We use our own compost to grow herbs and other potted plants. As a motivation package, employees can be given personal reusable food boxes and drinking cups.
Transport. We create convenient opportunities for employees to use environmentally friendly modes of movement, such as by building a secure bicycle parking lot and washing facilities. We encourage ride-sharing between colleagues.
Procurements. For all purchases, both large and small, both goods and services, we follow environmentally friendly criteria, which include reduced resource and energy consumption, longevity and repairability, reuse and recycling, and, where possible, local origin.
These are just some examples. An environmentally friendly office is equipped with health- and nature-friendly materials and furniture, and employees are encouraged to consume and operate in an environmentally friendly manner both in the workplace and outside the office.
Text: Jana Põldnurk
Last modified: 13.01.2022
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[1] https://ekja.ee/et/roheline-kontor/