Sustainability
With office utilization at about 40 per cent, our offices are potentially responsible for 52.5 million tons of excess CO 2 emissions.
Despite a strong business case, there have always been people who do not want to share a desk or check into a meeting room. This attitude is changing as employers and employees understand the moral need to operate more sustainable offices. Today, working in a modern office is not about owning a particular desk or having dedicated meeting rooms for each department, but having guaranteed access to the right kind of facility for getting the work done. This might be a desk, a meeting room, a quiet workplace in a resource area, a training facility or a touchdown space.
Office research data indicates that heating, lighting, ventilating and air-conditioning in office buildings accounts for nearly 50% of CO 2 emissions each year. If companies were to ask 6 out of 10 staff to head to the office, not do anything for the day, and then go home, it would be frowned upon. Yet, it has become acceptable for companies to treat their second most expensive asset - property - in just this manner. The problem with environmental issues in our offices is that it is always someone else’s responsibility.
Anti-emissions legislation is increasing, and organizations will come under rising pressure to act responsibly by managing energy conservation to higher standards.
With the pressure of expensive, under-utilized real-estate and the impact of our office on the environment, more enterprises are responding by implementing smart working practices where employees can work or collaborate flexibly.