We’re two months into 2024, and in the corporate world we’ve noticed that the landscape is being increasingly defined by an urgency to embrace ESG initiatives in an organic and authentic way.
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As companies hone their responsible business practices, the call for creating sustainable offices is louder than ever and essential in building a workspace that has longevity.
While it’s a complex issue that doesn’t have a one-size-fits-all model to follow, these are three areas that companies can prioritise when building an ESG plan for their workplace.
1. A Green Office Design
Office design is so much more than just the aesthetic of a workspace. It’s about building a space that fits with a company’s values and is futureproofed for the changes that could come. Environmentally friendly office designs are at the forefront in 2024. These include changes like building efficient lighting, renewable heat sources and furniture made from environmentally friendly materials.
An Australian professional services provider headquartered in Melbourne is a great example of an office following these principles.
The company recently pursued World Leadership 6 Star Greenstar target credits in several categories, one of which being Visual Comfort. This meant including blinds and screens to ensure reduction of glare from sunlight and ensuring that more than 72 per cent of the primary work areas had access to daylight through the balanced planning of open work areas with built zones.
Additionally in the category of Product Transparency and Sustainability the company updated its loose and fixed furniture. It also installed internal partitions, ceilings, joinery, flooring, and wall coverings to either those that had a GECA (Good Environmental Choice Australia) certification or 3rd party equivalent.
GECA is an independent certification program that is a signifier of a product or service that has reduced environmental impact. The certification makes it very straightforward for specifiers and purchasers to ensure that products and materials in an office can combine to achieve the best possible sustainability outcomes.
2. Utilise AI for energy and emissions monitoring
While many employees are fearing the rise of AI and how it will impact our work, there is a way companies can utilise it with cutting-edge tools that gain real-time insights into energy and emissions usage and help them make informed decisions on the sustainability aspects of their business.
AI is an emerging tool and one that is beginning to be used to enable building management systems to learn from its occupants to create more sustainable use of resources such as air, water, electricity, and other systems.
Sensors can be installed in buildings to capture relevant data, and when combined with artificial intelligence a building’s systems can be fine-tuned to suit its occupants needs, both current and predicted. As costs are reduced and efficiency is created, this naturally leads to a more sustainable building environment that can also be personalised depending on its occupants.
These systems can be applied to individual tenancies within the building and workspaces can include initiatives such as motion sensor lighting, individual temperature control and real time utilisation monitoring.
These tools lead to a reduced real estate footprint, whilst occupancy trends and granular insights enable an organisation to combine this with AI to personalise the experience of work even further for their people and ensure optimised, sustainable utilisation.
3. In-office sustainability initiatives: nurturing wellbeing and circular economies
Sustainability transcends physical spaces; it permeates the organisational culture. In-office initiatives focused on employee wellbeing, waste management, and embracing the circular economy are integral to fostering a culture of responsibility.
Implementing waste reduction programs, incorporating biophilic design for employee wellbeing, designing for neurodiversity and inclusion and embracing circular economy principles showcase an organization’s commitment to ESG values.
These initiatives not only contribute to a healthier and more engaged workforce but also exemplify a commitment to resource efficiency and waste reduction.
The professional services provider mentioned above integrated employee wellbeing with updating its environmental practices by addressing indoor pollutants by ensuring at least 95 per cent of applied paints, adhesives, sealants and carpets met stipulated total VOC (volatile organic compounds) limits.
It also addressed indoor pollutants by ensuring that at least 95 per cent of all engineered wood products met stipulated formaldehyde limits. Additionally, the company ensured the office was outfitted with indoor plants distributed throughout the workspace and that there is a quality of amenity with at least 5 per cent of the area intended for use by staff and visitors achieving a high level of performance in interaction, ventilation, daylight, views, landscaping, and acoustics.
Waste reduction can be facilitated by initiatives such as “follow-me” printing, just in time local procurement of office items, and purchasing ergonomic furniture that is of appropriate quality and does not end up in landfill. Many furniture suppliers in Australia have buy back or recycle programs to ensure that the lifecycle of these items is extended, either through re-use or recycling.
Integrating ESG initiatives into our office spaces is not just a corporate trend or a box to tick, it is a fundamental necessity.
The three initiatives discussed – thoughtful office design, technology-driven monitoring, and in-office sustainability programs – are great starting points for businesses to start developing a blueprint for how they want to consider the environment in the office.
As the office becomes more intentional heading into 2024 these sustainability initiatives will drive this necessity even further and make the office environment an increasingly attractive proposition for staff and leaders.
