5 sustainable design choices for your office

When the world started working from home in 2020 and everyone saw the significant environmental gains this triggered, there still remains an appetite in most companies today to continue this good work and apply innovative methods to save energy, cut waste and boost the quality of life for employees from the space in which they operate.

Read on to find out 5 sustainable design choices you can make for your office space.

     1) Define your sustainable goals for your office space and design

Setting SMART targets and goals is a good way to measure progress for anything, and is equally relevant when making design choices for your new office space. Consider sustainability goals such as utilising 100% of the natural light, reducing the amount of electricity consumed by the office by 10% in the first quarter, or going paperless in six months.

A good place to start is consider setting sustainability goals for some of these:

Energy consumption

Reducing waste in the office

Giving back to the environment

Going net zero / carbon neutral

2) Use environmentally conscious furniture in the design

The suppliers that we use, at Officeinsight are as conscious about the effect that their products have on the environment, as we are. Some examples of the suppliers we use are:

By including these sustainable options in your office design, you can ensure that your office space not only reflect the sustainable goals of the business but also be reassured that the pieces you select will last a long time and not end up in landfill at the end of its life.

Opting for timeless palettes of materials and colours can also help eliminate the need for frequent replacement when trends go out of style.

       3) Utilise natural light in your design

Did you know that, according to a study carried out by Future Workplace,  natural light and views of the outdoors are among the more highly-sought workplace perks? Not only does using natural light mean that you can avoid turning on light bulbs during the day, but it also has numerous other benefits such as the attraction of talent, and employee well-being. Natural light has been proven to improve mood, vitamin D levels, eye health and productivity levels.

      4) Avoid traditional office layouts in the design

By having an open-plan office, you can have an all-inclusive space that meets everyone’s needs. The ability to adapt space to evolve with changes in the office means that the space is agile and can be repurposed quickly and cheaply as the business growth.

It also provides your employees the ability to choose whether they want to work in a booth, or need to have a quick meeting using hot-seating allows for maximum creativity and productivity in the office space.

By having fewer walls to restrict the flow of light and improved air circulation, you will see a decrease in your energy consumption and an increase in satisfaction from your staff!

     5) Use acoustic barriers in your design

One of the myths or objections to having an open plan office design is usually that it can be much noisier than the traditional approach. This may be true in some cases, but that must have been before any acoustic barriers were installed.

Acoustics help to mitigate noise and reduce the reverberation in a space. They are also good at sectioning off areas and/or showcasing the branding of your company.

Take a look at our recently finished case study for Invisible Systems,  where we used acoustic panels on the ceiling to optimise noise reduction, and these were also installed as the Invisible Systems logo. There were also acoustic panels, to help differentiate the different areas within the space.

Interested in getting in touch about your new sustainable office design and build project today? Fill in an enquiry form below or give us a ring on 0161 246 2363.