Skip to main content

Are any offices green?

When the Swiss Re Tower (aka the gherkin) in London was built it was heralded as an eco-friendly sky scraper that used clever engineering to maximise natural ventilation and sunlight to reduce the energy the building needed. 

Eco-architecture is becoming more and more popular for new buildings, particularly skyscrapers, as a smart design helps reduce running costs for these massive structure. + BBC article on Swiss Re Smaller, older offices aren't so easy. The one I work in now is an old Georgian structure made of brick with huge windows. It can be sweltering on hot days in the summer especially with the computers and lights on. So AC went in, the windows got shut and now we're in winter, but strangely, the AC is still on because the building still retains so much heat from all of the electronic equipment and  lack of decent cross-ventilation. 

And then the windows get opened because it becomes so stifling from the lack of fresh air and we have AC pumping straight out the window...in winter. This is a classic office conundrum. The employees want to be comfortable, old buildings aren't built for comfort, new technology is put in that requires an excess of electricity, but doesn't work and....the windows get open...in winter...while the AC is on... 

Our company also has its employees fly off to see international clients regularly. So, to combat this rating 'F' for the office eco-grading, me and the office manager will be working to change all off these practices and try to turn things around. 

On our list: full recycling, new travel policies, a possible eco-office report by a professional, enforced lights and computers off at end of the day policy, the use of hybrid car companies for taxis and more. Many of our co-workers are calling out for a sustainable office so there should be some good support. Another mission! 

As for our own house, everything is ticking along. We barely use the car anymore, fill up our blue bags for recycling and have the heat on at a minimum (helped by the unusually warm winter) and all equipment goes fully off when not in use, no more standby. 

We're still getting our seasonal veg delivered from a Somerset farm and use many gentle cleaning products at home. We'll see how we go.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Recycling centre visit request

I have made an official request to visit any of London's recycling centres for an in-depth look at how they really work. Questions like a) who sorts out the 'mixed bags' full of various types of recyclables and b) how are they actually recycled?   Most people I speak to are cynical that anything happens to the mixed recycling bags and I myself don't understand how our typical mixed recycling bag, which will usually contain up to 6 types of plastic, aluminum, glass and various types of paper (including little bitty pieces) can be efficiently sorted unless there is a huge team rifling through it all on conveyor belts.  I want to know - is it all a London borough con? Where is the evidence of how it is all actually recycled? I can never find any reports on it, apart from % of waste that is sent to recycling sites, not how much is actually recycled or how it is recycled.  One of our friends accidentally put his recycling bag out a day early on his street in Notting Hill (
1 comment
Read more

Why isn't all packaging recyclable?

It's been an interesting week trying to buy household products and food only made from recyclable packaging. A mixed bag. Literally. For example, I just made a rocket (arugula) salad with fresh mozzarella. The rocket I bought from Waitrose last week was in a recyclable bag made from recycled plastic. However, the rocket I bought from Sainbury's today was in a bag that did not have the recyclable sign, nor was it made from recycled plastic. The Sainsbury's mozzarella was equally guilty. However, Sainsbury's does use some bags that are recyclable, mainly for their organic products. Less confusing were the products in cardboards boxes/cartons and aluminum packaging. All clearly recyclable. And almost all of the plastic packaging we bought was recyclable apart from a few random items we bought at Marks and Spencers and the lunch spot Eat. Things like salad containers that looked like they were candidates for the recycling pile turned out not to have any recycling symbols
4 comments
Read more

The problem with flying

Everyone who knows me knows that I hate flying. It's loud, uncomfortable, confining and if things go wrong there's no way out. (I'm an advocate of parachutes under seat, not inflatable vests.) But the real reason I hate flying these days is the environmental impact. a) Apparently you're better off driving to your destination, alone , even if it's thousands of miles away, than being on a full plane. That's how bad the fuel consumption is. b) Planes dump their emissions in the most delicate part of the stratosphere and there's nothing to help mitigate the damage. For all of the pollution cars create, we have our plant life down here to help soften the blow. c) They are noisy, booming things and no matter where we go, we seem to be able to hear one or see one, even the far hills of Scotland. d) The amount of packaging they use per passenger is amazing. When my husband recently flew on a short haul flight to Amsterdam, he asked the air steward if they recy
2 comments
Read more