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Ten Business Reasons To Green Your Office
If you’re thinking about moving or refurbishing your office, taking an environmental approach offers real, practical business benefits – for your people, your profits and your reputation.
Here are our top 10 reasons to ‘go green’:
1. Save money
Being a sustainable organisation can add to your bottom line. For example, installing energy saving lighting, heating and ventilation in your offices can significantly reduce your energy bills. The savings go straight to your profits.
Take, for example, a company that turns over £1 million. Saving 20% on their £40,00 annual energy costs is equivalent to increasing their profit by 8%1.
| Turnover | £1 million |
| Profit (10%) | £100,000 |
| Energy cost | £40,000 |
| Savings potential on energy costs (20%) | £8,000 |
| Profit increased by 8% | £108,000 |
1Source: The Carbon Trust, http://www.carbontrust.co.uk.
2. Cut your tax bill
Heard about the Enhanced Capital Allowances scheme (ECAs)? It’s a government plan that gives tax breaks to companies if they install certain energy efficient equipment and machinery. Put simply, you can write off the whole of the capital cost of your investment against your taxable profits.
What’s more, if you’re a public sector organisation, the Low Carbon Buildings Programme offers grants of up to 50% towards the cost of installing renewable technologies in your building.
The result? A handy boost to your cash flow, and your investment takes less time to pay for itself.
3. Your people can save you money
Protecting our planet has become an important issue for many people. It’s very likely that your staff will want to make a real difference – and they may already be taking action outside work. Encouraging it in the office can tap into that commitment within your team.
One way is to promote recycling. So if you’re planning a move or refurbishment you could, for example, build recycling points into your design, rather than having individual rubbish bins. You’ll save paper and reduce your costs, so there’s the potential to save even more money.
4. Stay on the right side of legislation
The government is getting serious about going green, and new legislation is constantly coming into force. That can mean hefty fines for companies that don’t comply.
Take the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme for example. Formerly known as the Carbon Reduction Commitment, it is the UK’s mandatory climate change and energy saving scheme, due to start in April 2010. The CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme has been designed to raise awareness in large organisations, especially at senior level, and encourage changes in behaviour and infrastructure. So if you’re planning changes in your office, thinking about the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme now could save the headache of financial penalties later.
5. Avoid negative press
No company wants to hold an emergency press conference on the evening news, defending themselves against bad publicity.
But many companies have found themselves in that position. That’s because environmental organisations are taking a stand against companies they believe aren’t considering their responsibilities. Greenpeace, for example, have staged protests where they’ve found companies using illegally sourced timber from protected forests.
6. Improve your brand and competitiveness
Consumers and companies are increasingly showing their environmental awareness by choosing to deal with responsible companies. So taking a green stance can give you credibility – and the edge over the competition.
7. Attract the best employees
There’s a whole generation of younger workers who’ve grown up learning about the importance of environmental issues – and it’s now a key social concern. For example, the popularity of films like An Inconvenient Truth on university campuses shows how green issues are really resonating with younger people. Reflecting those ideas at work can be a big attraction for potential employees.
This was shown in a recent survey by Eversheds. Two-thirds of employees said that their working environment had a significant influence on whether or not they’d accept a job.
8. It can keep your team healthy
A green workplace can help reduce absenteeism in your office. Plenty of fresh air and natural light are good starting points. But what about the hidden concerns?
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are substances that can be harmful to health. They include formaldehyde, which is in the top 10% of the most hazardous substances to human health. Yet it’s found all over many offices, in everything from fabric finishes and fire retardants, to gloss paints and insulation.
If you’re considering a move or a refurbishment, choosing products that contain few or no VOCs can help to improve the wellbeing of your staff.
9. Retain staff and encourage loyalty
Your employees’ priorities in life may not always match your own. For example, making money for you or your shareholders probably isn’t top of their list. But the environment might be.
So if your team sees your company doing good work, you’re more likely to have a happy, well-motivated and loyal workforce.
10. It’s your chance to do the right thing
According to the Department for Trade and Industry, the built environment – including offices, shops and factories – is responsible for 47% of carbon emissions. That’s a pretty sobering statistic.
We see this as a chance for positive change. Although it’s not always easy being green, businesses have a real opportunity to be cleaner, greener, healthier – and more profitable.
About Morgan Lovell
Morgan Lovell is the UK’s leading office design, fit out, refurbishment and relocation specialist. With our own teams of project managers, designers, surveyors and construction experts, we can design, manage and deliver your entire project, with only one point of contact.
Next steps
Intrigued? Call us for an informal chat on 0800 028 0945. We can show you a real-life example of a workplace appraisal.
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