Green London Serviced Offices Strive for Sustainability

energy efficient office

London Serviced Offices are striving for sustainability! In the modern day it is more important than ever to look after our environment and whilst this may seem more easily said than done, there are a surprising number of ways that our magnificent modern infrastructures have adapted in order to make themselves a little greener, including those we at Londonoffices show businesses daily. There are even simple ways in which we can all help our workplaces be a little more eco-friendly day to day.

The Office Group – Leading the Way in London Serviced Offices’ Strive for Sustainability

The Office Group (TOG) is an amazing example of a London serviced offices provider striving to run sustainable workplaces and make a great contribution to protecting the environment. Many of their buildings feature photovoltaic solar panels to fuel energy, they harvest rainwater to use in their toilets and for irrigation, saving on water resources, and low energy sensor operated lighting is common throughout many centres.

When it comes to the extra steps which occupants of the buildings can do, recycling stations are set up in communal areas for paper, plastic and cans, encouraging less waste and more renewable energy. Many of these things save on money, happen behind the scenes and do not interrupt the flow of business, nor do they impact the appearance of the office and are really beneficial to the future of the planet.

london serviced offices Green Terrace

Many of the ways in which modern buildings are achieving greener attributes are actually incorporated in to the structure of London’s serviced offices themselves. Many of TOG’s key building materials for example are responsibly sourced and recycled materials are also used within the design of their offices. Recycled car tyres have been used within the flooring in many centres.

Some buildings such as the Stanley Building also have a green wall or green roof installed meaning that plants are grown in supported vertical or horizontal systems attached to an internal/external wall or roof. The individual systems incorporate vegetation, growing medium, irrigation and drainage in order to grow plants which act as natural insulation for the building; this centre has unsurprisingly been awarded a ‘very good’ BREEAM rating, a highly regarded environmental rating system.

london serviced offices Green Wall

Charlotte Gold, a representative from The Office Group explains the importance of being green within their company,’ Sustainability is important for the environment, for our members and for us. We do what we can on sustainability within the constraints of each building. It’s not just about a recycle bin in reception (although we do have them) sustainability is a key part of the design process for each building we open from the lighting to the loos. Each building is different but we try to include as many innovations and creative ideas within our designs to inspire green behaviour from our staff and members, helping everyone to do their bit for a clean, green future.

Further Innovators of Green London Serviced Offices

There are of course many London serviced offices which take pride in their large green footprint. For example, The Shard, the tallest building in Western Europe which is 310m tall, is the biggest eco-friendly structure in the city with 95% of the materials used in its construction made from recycled provisions. Through the money they save via their recycling efforts and energy efficient features, one meal a month is donated to FareShare community food network supplying those in need.

30 St Mary Axe, otherwise known as the Gherkin, is another highly eco-friendly London serviced offices building. Spiralling light wells allow natural light to illuminate the interiors and provide ventilation. The wells open automatically, supplementing the air conditioning system with natural ventilation which can save up to 40 percent in energy per year. The double glazed glass exterior helps to regulate the temperature with high performance coating maximizing the solar ray penetrations.

It’s not just skyscrapers that strive to create eco-friendly environments, i2 Office are an additional provider who strive to be green throughout the construction and maintenance of their London serviced offices; Gracechurch Street for example is another centre which has received a BREEAM award for sustainability.

Aside from the building itself, there are also companies dedicated to creating environmentally friendly yet productive interiors for the office. Morgan Lovell, with workspaces in London, Birmingham and Wokingham are one such example.

Their office space designs focus on making the most out of space, natural light and ventilation. With environmental office design at its heart, the company utilises recycled materials, such as plastic and timber, as well as using energy efficient technology. Another factor of environmentally friendly workspaces is within the office culture. As well as the fixtures and fittings, Morgan Lovell also encourage a green culture throughout their business.

london serviced offices St. Mary Axe london serviced offices The Shard

What It Takes To Make Sustainable London Serviced Offices

According to BREEAM (Building Research Establishment’s Environmental Assessment Method) the benefits of creating eco-friendly and sustainable London serviced offices are numerous and rich. They state that investors, owners, landlords and occupants all benefit through reduced operational costs and increased efficiency, higher attraction to tenants, improved wellbeing, increased productivity and satisfaction of occupants as well as contributing to a corporate social responsibility.

BREEAM evaluate buildings based on the ‘procurement, design, construction and operation of a development’ taking in to consideration factors such as energy, health and wellbeing, innovation, materials, pollution, waste and water.

A vast range of variables are considered and measured before awarding a structure a BREEAM rating and more and more businesses and architects are recognising the importance of these factors for the sustainability of their buildings, the businesses within them and the general environment.

During the Business and Climate Summit in London in June 2016, an initiative was launched aimed at achieving net zero emissions in the global building stock by 2050. A number of large companies across the globe including London based ROCKWOOL Group have shown their support for the project with essential financial backing.

In an article for edie.net the World Green Building Council’s chief executive Terri Wills said, ‘The support of major companies such as Integral Group, Lendlease and ROCKWOOL demonstrates the huge appetite amongst businesses to design, build, invest in and operate net zero buildings. We’ve started to pave the path towards net zero and there’s no turning back until every building gets there before 2050.’ The initiative includes the launch of zero-carbon certification programmes and councils will be expected to provide training for green building specifications as well as show support for such developments.

WGBC predicts that the number of companies with more than 60% of their buildings certified ‘green’ will more than double over the next two years due to initiatives such as these.

london serviced offices skyline

There is plenty of awareness over the current state of the climate and it appears that more and more businesses and companies such as the WGBC are taking substantial steps to improve the earth we live on through sustainable developments and further promoting awareness. However, with the rapid pace of city life producing a quantity over quality attitude concerning London serviced offices and new constructions, the city will have to be smart to maintain its reputation for impressive green developments.

Londonoffices.com are specialists in London serviced office space, providing a free, personal service for companies seeking a London based home for their business. If you are interested in viewing one of our green London serviced offices such as those available with The Office Group, call us on 020 7166 7981 to set up a tour.

Do you champion sustainability within your office?  Let us know the ways in which you strive to be greener in the comments section below!