Definition of a Green Office

The environmentally friendly functioning of the office has long been part of the life of Europeans. Today, Kazakhstani leaders are increasingly thinking about the benefits of a "green office".

In general, a "green office" means a set of technical and motivational measures to form a company's environmental policy and conserve office resources. Simply put, an eco-office works according to the principles of environmental protection, while also reducing the financial costs of maintaining the premises.

Practice has shown that the environmental component in management decisions is of great importance in the organization of an eco-office. The introduction of green procurement, resource saving, waste minimization and environmental education, which are mandatory criteria for eco-standards, make the office greener. Moreover, this is true for offices located both in the old fund and in modern certified green business centers.

The experience of the offices shows that technical modernization and staff involvement are at the forefront of environmental and economic achievements. For example, to ensure the rational consumption of water and electricity, one cannot do without upgrading equipment. For example, for careful water consumption, water-saving nozzles with a water flow regulator are used. This allows you to reduce its consumption by 30-50%. Installation of sanitary equipment with two drain systems helps to save up to 24 cubic meters of water per year per piece of equipment.

At the same time, rational use of resources cannot be achieved only with the help of office refurbishment. It is necessary to comply with the environmental standard by employees. Thus, turning off three hundred computers at the end of the working day contributes to saving up to 4.5 million KZT per year on electricity losses. Double-sided printing and not printing messages that can be read on the screen can help reduce paper consumption.

WASTE COLLECTION

However, minimization and separate collection of waste and disposal of hazardous waste requires not only the involvement of employees, but also the search for a reliable partner among enterprises involved in the disposal of solid waste. According to the standards, the office should at least sort waste paper and hazardous waste. At the same time, taking into account their characteristics, offices sort waste into additional fractions. The use of reusable utensils allows eco-offices to eliminate such types of waste as plastic and paper utensils. However, it is not the separate collection that is environmentally friendly, but the guaranteed further processing of waste. Therefore, another feature is that eco-offices trace the entire chain of solid waste management to the place of waste disposal and processing.

GREEN PROCUREMENT AND HEALTH

The green procurement system prescribes the purchase of equipment, stationery, paper, goods for repair and decoration, household chemicals with the best environmental characteristics. Green procurement helps to take care of the health of employees and stimulates the production and consumption of green products, reducing the impact on the environment. Preference is given to recyclable products, as well as eco-labeled products. The green purchasing system introduces offices to not only environmentally friendly goods, but also services.

ECOCULTURE OF THE OFFICE

Another socially important responsibility of eco-offices is the environmental education of employees, customers and partners about the company's activities to reduce environmental impact.

Information begins with an “eco-office” sign at the entrance to the premises and continues through information displays with recommendations, corporate mailing lists, information on the website, informative and educational lectures with the involvement of eco-consultants, presentations for managers, conversations with employees and other corporate events.

TYPICAL DIFFICULTIES

The introduction of an eco-standard allows you to create an office that is favorable for the health of employees and has a minimal impact on the environment. However, meeting environmental criteria is not as easy as it might seem. On the one hand, this is due to the still insufficiently developed infrastructure for waste processing and the production of eco-products in Kazakhstan. On the other hand, with a low level of consciousness in relation to the environment in our daily behavior. Besides, in addition to investing and motivating colleagues, it is important to combine the environment with meeting the needs of employees.

However, the main motive for using the benefits of a green office should be a real contribution to the conservation of nature and human health. Wise leadership, in addition to solving urgent problems and improving trading results, always looks further, realizes the importance of strategic planning and implements future-oriented technologies.