Newly-built sustainable offices tend to be very well received; they win numerous awards, are the focus of much publicity and people come to recognise them for their environmental credentials. But how do businesses go about creating a sustainable office?

BREEAM

The most common route for larger organisations is to adopt the Building Research Establishment’s Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM). Over 200,000 buildings have been certified by BREEAM and over a million registered for assessment since it was first launched in 1990. The assessment, which involves a point scoring system carried out at the design and post-construction stages, results in an environmental rating of Pass, Good, Very Good, Excellent or Outstanding depending on factors such as the building’s energy and water use, internal environment, pollution, waste and ecology.

BREEAM assessment then enables developers, designers and building managers to demonstrate the environmental credentials of their buildings to clients, planners and members of the public.

According to BREEAM, initial commitment to achieving a high level of sustainability for the building – both in its original design and construction, and its use – is the most important step to take when attempting to create a sustainable office.

Sustainable design, however, is changing all the time. BREEAM even caters for innovation as part of its assessment process. In recent years, a number of developments have taken place: real-time energy use displays have been created to help educate people about energy efficiency and promote renewable technology; facilities for low-emitting and fuel-efficient vehicles have been made to encourage the use of alternative fuel vehicles, and a thermal wall has been designed to allow heat to be conserved naturally.

Despite such innovative developments, there are always problems that need to be faced. The biggest issues people come across when pursuing sustainability are cost, feasibility and the stage at which it is considered. The earlier planning starts on the sustainable elements of a design, the more efficient and cost-effective the building will be.

The issue of cost, though, is not quite as problematic as you might imagine. Investment in sustainable design has increased in recent times, despite the tricky economic circumstances. Simon Guy, a BREEAM spokesperson, says: “Last year, in spite of the recession, our registration levels were the highest we’ve ever seen. We take that as a metric that people are still looking at sustainability as a serious issue, and not just because they want to be seen to be green but because it’s a way of reducing costs in the long term.”

One way of making sure that expenditure is kept to a minimum is to utilise BREEAM In-Use, which was set up two years ago. The scheme was created to help reduce the running costs and improve the environmental performance of existing buildings, and is carried out two or three years into a building’s operation. In fact, to keep a rating of BREEAM Outstanding, a BREEAM In-Use assessment must be carried out within three years. Although primarily used by those offices that were assessed during construction, the assessment is also available to other offices.

When it comes to examples of best practice, there are many BREEAM assessed offices. Currently, One Angel Square, the Co-operative Group’s headquarters in Manchester, is one of the highest rated in the UK. But with the drive for sustainable design still going strong, the number of offices rated BREEAM Outstanding will surely only rise in the future.

WRAP

Although much progress has been made in sustainable design, most offices lack environmental features. In fact, ‘green’ buildings currently comprise just two per cent of the market. So what help is available to current offices wishing to increase their sustainability? And what’s the incentive?

According to a study commissioned by Green Office Week, companies that don’t take their environmental responsibilities seriously are less likely to benefit from a productive and motivated workforce, and there are many environmental and financial reasons for offices to go green.

One issue that all offices have to deal with, whether they’re ‘green’ or not, is waste. According to Linda Crichton, Head of Collections and Quality for WRAP: “Many businesses underestimate how much waste is costing them – it could be as high as four per cent of their turnover. The true cost is often hidden as it also includes wasted raw materials, energy and labour, which can add up to 5-20 times more than the cost of disposal. In many cases, much of this expenditure could be avoided quickly and simply, through low or no-cost actions.”

Councils, however, are only obliged to offer recycling services to households, not businesses. To address this, WRAP has launched a Business Recycling and Waste Services Commitment for local authorities, which sets out 12 principles for business recycling and waste services, mainly covering accessibility of services, fees and guidance for businesses. Local authorities can sign up to all or some of the principles, and are free to edit the commitment and adopt a bespoke version that reflects their local circumstances. Any local authority can get involved – whether they provide services directly or use their role to improve access to services that are run by private or third-sector organisations. Only 12 councils have actually signed up so far, although more are said to be in the process of doing so.

There are, of course, steps that offices can take themselves to improve resource efficiency and reduce waste. If not using them already, looking into recycling services and their costs may be worthwhile, as costs are often perceived to be higher than they actually are. Also, businesses generally pay ‘per lift’ for their waste collection service – in other words a charge is levied each time a bin is emptied. So if a business can reduce the number of refuse bins they use or reduce how often they are emptied, they will see a reduction in costs.

Aside from waste and recycling, there are a whole host of ways in which offices can become more sustainable, though they are somewhat on their own these days. The government-funded body Envirowise used to offer businesses free, independent support in their quest to become more resource efficient, but when Envirowise was absorbed by WRAP, most of its expertise (apart from waste advice) disappeared from the public realm. Businesses can always pay for consultancy services or find free help on the internet, and there are, of course, many commonsensical steps any office can make. An interesting way of saving water, for instance, is to install an Interflush system – a device that allows people to use exactly the right amount of water needed to flush the toilet by holding the handle down until the pan is clear. This simple system can allegedly reduce water use by up to 47 per cent and costs less than 20 pounds. Also, turning off electrical equipment when it’s not being used (particularly at night) could reduce energy used by 50 per cent, and using energy-efficient lighting, metering energy use and printing double-sided documents whenever possible will all make a difference.