Sustainability is becoming more and more of a requirement, rather than a hope and desire. As we move through the 21st century, the need to improve climate change is becoming ever-present in our daily lives, however how many really think about it when in the office? Many will expect their employers to be paving the way for the business to be net-zero so we wanted to explore this further with you. There are some agencies who have a public pledge for net-zero, others who have already managed it, but most wont have much of a plan if anything.
We’re not a fan of the ‘plant a tree’ option to net-zero, it feels a lot like throwing money at a problem you don’t really have the time to deal with. With the exception of this, here’s some tips from us!
🔥 Energy provider. Consider switching to a provider who gives 100% renewable energy.
🚯 Waste. Provide ways for your teams to avoid waste, and consider a way to avoid landfill. Provide glasses or even water bottles for drinks rather than plastic cups, offer a compostable option for food waste, look to donate used items (even furniture!) rather than throwing away.
♻️ Recycle. Hand in hand with the above, give recycle options for teams, paper bins, printer cartridges. Think about setting up a space in the office for recycling so that the team only need to visit one place to be able to help!
📲 Tech. Move to tech to help you go paperless. E-signing reduces the need to print hugely, but also consider the ‘move-in pack’ can that be emailed (so less likely lost and can be evidenced at the end of the tenancy!), also file sharing options for the bigger docs or e-business cards! Consider alternative options for indirect carbon producers in the business.
🚘 Transport. Try to limit the need for teams to travel (online training?!), but also consider remote working, just once a week will instantly cut emissions by 20%. Encourage use of public transport, virtual viewings and cycle to work schemes🚲(ok, not so great where you can’t switch that viewing to virtual) are all great ways to avoid the car!
💡 Lighting. Consider ‘consumable’ items like lightbulbs, are you utilising LED fittings or still in the dark ages with strip lighting?!
👫 Culture. Many sustainable incentives are absolutely reliant on your people. Make a culture of it, celebrate new ideas, make it prominent in all offices!
We’d love to know how you’re intending to go sustainable, or how you’ve managed to get there already!
If you’re interested in automating maintenance to free up time for your property managers and save money for your landlords, you can book a demo of the Help me Fix video triage service.