Sustainable office design advice for firms

Office design news from Morgan Lovell

Published on 24-06-2011

UK companies have been offered advice on how best to implement sustainable office design measures and other green initiatives.

Dominic Wood, programme co-ordinator for Groundwork, said firms should begin by looking at legislative requirements. By doing so, they are then able to formulate energy-efficiency plans to ensure wholescale improvements can be made to green credentials across a company's infrastructure.

He advised: "Benchmark existing performance - what is your current status? If you don't know what it is, you can't take steps to improve."

According to Martin Sandbrook, director of education programmes at the Schumacher Institute, companies could cut up to 15 per cent from their carbon footprint through small changes to the way they manage their IT.

He said simple measures like turning off electrical equipment overnight and installing timers on plugs are just two such solutions.

Posted by Ian Johnson

Sustainable office design advice for firms

Office design news from Morgan Lovell

Published on 27-01-2010

Companies looking to improve their green credentials could do so by following some simple advice.

Leanne Tobias wrote in a blog for Greener Buildings that sustainable office design can be achieved without the need for large-scale overhauls of premises.

Instead, businesses can focus on making small changes - such as introducing more energy efficient lighting or replacing constant speed drives with variable speed ones - in order to cut back on energy consumption.

She noted: "One of the most intriguing trends is the extensive use of passive heating and cooling to minimize reliance on mechanical systems."

Ms Tobias added retrofitting existing office space is one of the key areas that companies should look to achieve in the challenging of reducing emissions and boosting environmental performance.

Elsewhere, Samuel Keehn, LEED AP and Environmental & Sustainability Manager at Energy Management Services, recently told Construction Week Online that businesses looking to improve their green credentials talk to consultants about where they can reduce their energy consumption and what other methods they can use to cut emissions.

Posted by Ian Johnson.