Three Ways to Implement Office Eco-Friendliness
December 15, 2023
In an environmentally conscious world, businesses are increasingly seeking sustainable solutions for their operations. Whether the office is large or small, we have seen a significant increase in businesses making an extra effort to be more eco-friendly. McFadden Engineering would like to suggest practices that can easily be implemented by your business to reduce negative environmental impacts and decrease your organizations environmental footprint.
Transition to LED lighting
Light-emitting diodes, otherwise known as LED lights, are commonly considered the most energy efficient and quality lights available. In fact, the Department of Energy states that LED lights use at least 75% less energy than incandescent lights, with a lifespan of up to 25 times longer. Not only do they last significantly longer, making them a cost-effective alternative, but they only produce 20% of their energy as heat. By not emitting more heat than necessary, LED lights can maximize energy efficiency at a cost-effective price. By switching your office to LED lighting, you can reduce your budget and experience much more efficient lighting.
Invest in a Smart Thermostat
Smart thermostats have been on the market for more than 10 years and continue to improve in both energy savings and cost efficiency. Thermostats are deemed “smart” if they connect to wireless internet allowing the user to remotely make changes in the operational settings. These thermostats also allow for the use of implementing programming and quickly and easily making system adjustments. The most important feature to identify when shopping for a smart thermostat is the “ENERGY STAR” criteria, ensuring that the product meets strict energy efficient criteria set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or the U.S. Department of Energy. Data gathered by the E.P.A. shows that thermostats that meet this particular criteria save users an average of 8% on their utility bills.
Additionally, smart thermostats consume significantly less energy by simply turning off the heat or air conditioning on a more regular basis than normal thermostats. Smart thermostats can function without sacrificing comfort by adjusting the temperatures when nobody is using the office space. This energy-saving mode is automatic in many thermostats, however, other capabilities like customizable schedules allow for more user control of your offices’ overall energy savings.
Make the Push to Paperless
While going completely paperless is an incredibly challenging undertaking and can take and the commitment from team members to properly complete, making the effort to greatly reduce paper usage in the office can be an achievable goal. This reduction can reduce your operating costs, increase your business’s competitiveness in the market, and greatly reduce waste as well. By implementing and incentivizing the transition from paper usage to digital solutions, such as moving all communications to email rather than print or mail correspondence, you can embrace new technology, as well as support sustainability goals. According to Forbes, approximately 26% of waste dumped in American landfills is discarded paper. To make matters worse, rotting paper is a source of methane gas, which the U.S. EPA reports is more than 28 times as potent as carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the environment.
From a financial standpoint, according to Corp! Magazine, businesses in the United States waste up to $8 billion on paper management per year. Your business can take small steps by implementing paperless software that will reduce costs and cut your carbon footprint.
Businesses making efforts to embrace eco-friendliness is no longer a rarity and is becoming an expectation by company leadership and employees. For organizations to be at the forefront of their industries, both large and small, steps must be taken to reduce their carbon footprint and show their desire to be more environmentally friendly.
If you’re interested in learning more about what your business or you as an individual employee can do to support office sustainability, read our blog about workplace recycling for additional steps you can take to be eco-friendly.
McFadden Engineering’s team of water and wastewater experts specializes in providing environmentally sound solutions to solve unique civil and environmental engineering needs. Based in Mobile, Ala. for more than 30 years, McFadden Engineering has worked on projects including environmental permitting for municipal, commercial and industrial dischargers, site assessments and remediation, master planning for utilities, water quality projects and wastewater process design. Visit mcfaddenengineering.com for more information.