Save money and the environment with an eco-friendly office

As the old saying goes, if you look after your pennies then the pounds will take care of themselves. In simple terms, if you don’t waste small amounts of money here and there then eventually you will begin to reap the rewards of your thriftiness.

Moreover, this mantra applies to businesses just as much as it does consumers. At a time when companies have to be concerned with an increasing number of issues, from climate change to recession, it can be all too easy to lose focus on what really matters.

Most business owners want to run a socially responsible operation, but they also have to worry about balancing the books. However, there’s no reason why companies can’t kill two birds with one stone: building an eco-friendly office space doesn’t only help the environment, but it can also save companies thousands of pounds in needless waste.

In cold weather, it’s fairly common for businesses to overcompensate with the heating – just because it’s freezing outside, doesn’t mean staff need to be boiling inside. Similarly, during heat waves, there’s no need for personnel to freeze with an over-performing air conditioning system. Thermostats are designed to regulate temperatures – by maintaining the office ‘climate’ at more tolerable levels in the winter and summer months, this won’t only create a happier, more productive workforce, but it will cut energy costs and, importantly, be less harmful to the environment.

Thermostats aren’t the only devices that can simultaneously save companies big bucks whilst helping to cut their carbon footprints. Technology underpins most modern businesses and with the advent of the internet era, digital communications means less need to travel.

A dedicated teleconferencing room, fitted with the latest voice over internet protocol (VoIP) technology enables businesses to meet, network and build relationships with organisations and customers all over the world. Even for small to medium sized businesses with tight budgets, Skype offers a fantastic free video and audio communications service, making it a very cost-effective way of keeping in touch. Ultimately, it saves businesses a great deal of time travelling - and time, as we all know, equals money. Moreover, less travelling means another tick in the ‘eco-friendly office’ box.

Paper has traditionally been one of the biggest wastes produced by offices. With networked computers and centralised storage, everyone in an organisation – whether they’re in the same room or a different country – can access the same files simultaneously. With laptops, PDAs and mobile phones, documents can be viewed digitally any time, any place, meaning that there’s no real need to print any more.

Indeed, it is the duty of businesses across the globe to cut their waste. Whether an organisation has an office space in Washington DC, London, Paris or Sydney, the time to act against climate change is now, but everyone needs to be on board for a difference to be made. The fact that companies can save thousands of pounds a year in cutting their waste might be the very incentive.