Green Office

In recent years, the importance of the concept of “green office”, which is a practical environmental management system for offices, has been increasing. The main goal of green offices is to create a good environment for health, save energy, reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere and reduce the ecological footprint of offices.

The concept of green office was first defined, developed and managed by WWF in Finland in 1999. According to this organization, green office is a practical step or measures to solve the impact of daily office activities to the environment. Therefore, it is an environmental management program for the offices, which can be applicable to all kinds of organizations, large or small, public or private, having the ultimate aim of reducing the carbon dioxide emission, greenhouse gas emission and its footprint ecologically. The number of offices that want to cause less harm to nature while carrying out their work is increasing day by day. More than 600 offices around the world participate in the Green Office program initiated by WWF-Finland. The Green Office Program was adapted to Turkey in 2011 as well.

There are various studies describing the aims and principles of the green office, the characteristics of the green office as a green building, the steps of green office installation and the analysis of green offices. We can summarize the main objectives of all these studies, programs and standards in this field as follows:

– Reducing the consumption of natural resources by making offices more environmentally friendly

– Promoting sustainable environmental practices in the office by training employees to improve environmental awareness

– To raise awareness about the impact of climate change and the necessary countermeasures to reduce these effects, through energy saving measures and the use of renewable energy sources.

 Here are a few of the small measures that can be taken to make your office green and environmentally friendly:

1. Paper should be used more sensitively and double-sided when necessary, and thrown into recycling bins instead of garbage.
2. Offices should be lit by daylight as much as possible. By making use of natural light, the energy required for lighting can be reduced.
3. The air conditioner should not be operated while the window is open.
4. Motion sensor lighting systems should be preferred in areas where it can be used. There will be a reduction of approximately 30% in energy consumption.
5. Unnecessary waste of office supplies such as post-it and notepads should be avoided.
6. Printers that can print on recycled papers should be preferred.
7. Computers must be turned off before leaving the office.
8. Recycled or FSC certified paper should be used.
9. Recycling should be provided by using separate boxes for wastes such as paper, plastic, glass and hazardous materials.
10. Electricity savings should be achieved by changing the type and location of high-voltage lighting bulbs in the plazas.

Green office in workplaces should be promoted through behavioral changes and efficient office management practices, by reducing the consumption of natural resources, increasing environmental awareness of employees and promoting sustainable lifestyles. As Meetrooms, we pay attention to environmentally friendly and sustainable practices in our work and services and create “green offices” for our customers.