Press Releases

Planet Office - 10 Top Tips To Make The Workplace Greener

Tuesday 21st August 2007

The ongoing ‘green’ debate means office politics are about to heat up, but workers can avoid getting hot under the collar by taking some small steps to avoid being labelled the ‘in-house waster.’

With the business industry now responsible for 40% of the UK’s annual carbon emissions, there is a call for all companies to seriously address the impact they have on the environment.

Sustainable workplace specialist Morgan Lovell has drawn up a ten-point plan to inspire office workers to cut down on waste in terms of resources and energy - and play their part in the UK’s growing corporate social responsibility culture.

The company – which develops sustainable office environments - has come up with the findings after researching people’s work patterns through its sustainable office design projects, carried out across the UK.

Morgan Lovell spokesman Paul Kelly, said: “The problem is that the daily office routine is made up of numerous carbon emitting activities.

“For example, switching the computer on at 9am and leaving it on until 5pm, only to have holiday photos flashing up as the screensaver the majority of the time, is common office practice, but the amount of energy wasted by using computers inefficiently would be enough to laser print 800 sheets of A4 paper.

“Leaving the lights on overnight wastes enough energy to heat 1,000 cups of tea and over-indulgent printing wastes two-and-a-half trees per person each year, on average. 
 
“Implementing some small, realistic and achievable changes into the office routine will help to significantly reduce carbon emissions and undoubtedly save money - and ultimately improve the environment of both the office and the planet.”

Morgan Lovell’s 10 steps to going ‘green’ in the office.
 
1. Shutdown: When leaving the office for lunch or a meeting, switch off the computer completely. 
2. Switch Off: Switch off the lights whenever a room is empty. Better yet, get your company to install sensors that turn off the lights when no one is there.
3. Unplug: Unplug mobile phone chargers, one of the worst culprits for putting a drain on energy. 
4. Open up: Open up the blinds to emit natural light and use the window to provide natural ventilation. On hot days, close the blinds to reduce the energy drain from air conditioning.
5. Take A New Route:  Leave the car at home one day a week and opt for public transport, car pooling, walking or cycling. This would cut rush hour traffic by 20% each day.
6. Print-Wise: Print on both sides and print conservatively.           
7. Bin The Bins: Get rid of the bins under your desk. This forces you to get up and recycle. In total, UK businesses waste more than 4.6m tonnes of paper each year, which laid end-to-end would stretch 360,000km - almost the whole way to the moon.
8. Adjust the Setting: For each degree you raise your thermostat setting by on your air conditioning, you reduce seasonal cooling costs by 7%-10%.
9. Champion the Cause: Each week allocate someone in the office to manage office sustainability; essentially ensuring that lights are switched off and that all the equipment is properly shut down at the end of each working day. This will develop a sense of responsibility within the office workers and make energy conservation part of an everyday routine.
10. Set A Target: Outline a plan to help cut office CO2 emissions. Once a target is achieved, continue to monitor CO2 levels so that sustainability can be successfully maintained.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

Located in London, Birmingham and the Thames Valley, Morgan Lovell is the UK’s leading office interior design, fit out and refurbishment specialist. With its own teams of designers, surveyors and project managers, the company can design and deliver entire projects, with the benefit of just one point of contact. 
www.morganlovell.com

It is a member of Morgan Sindall plc, the construction and urban regeneration group which operates through four specialist divisions: fit out, construction, infrastructure services and affordable housing.

Morgan Lovell is a licensed BREEAM® Offices Assessment Organisation. This means it is now licensed to measure the sustainability score of an office in order to identify ways companies can reduce high energy usage and waste, whilst increasing comfort and satisfaction for users of the building.