Due to the rising concern for the environment, organisations are finding methods on how they can reduce their impact on the environment and go green. This trend has led to an increase in eco- friendly coworking spaces that are comfortable and efficient.
These eco-friendly spaces not only help to achieve efficient business productivity but, at the same time, enable businesses to be environment-friendly and sustainability-inclined. So, let’s delve deeper into how these spaces are shaping the future of work.
What Are Eco-Friendly Coworking Spaces?
Sustainable co-working spaces are found with the concept of environment-friendly on the central theme. These green office spaces apply the core principles of sustainable workspaces. This means by using energy-efficient products, these shared office spaces help mitigate an organisation’s effect on the environment.
Sustainability in coworking spaces can sometimes extend beyond that of standard environmentally friendly working offices, with unique designs added. Such designs may include a green roof, which helps cut down energy bills because it acts as an insulation layer, and a biophilic specification that integrates aspects of nature like living walls and natural lighting.
All these design decisions are sustainable and provide health-related and productivity-related advantages to the users.
Importance of Sustainable Coworking Spaces
Environment-friendly sustainable workspaces are very relevant in the modern world. Some important reasons are:
- Environmental Impact Reduction: Sustainability within working environments implies styles and designs that have a low rate of using natural resources, especially power, hence less production of carbon copies.
- Healthier Work Environment: These eco-conscious coworking spaces think about the sorts of products they use and where they locate their sustainable workspaces, which help keep air quality higher and improve the quality of the air people breathe.
- Resource Conservation: The fixtures in these areas, such as the water-saving fixtures and recycled material used in the construction of the areas, ensure sustainable resource use.
- Enhanced Corporate Image: Coworking sustainability practices adopted by companies signify that they are environmentally conscious and thereby gain the trust of their clients as well as workers.
- Cost Savings: In the long run, these eco-conscious coworking spaces will help shed a lot of costs on utilities and maintenance of the building.
These coworking spaces promote green practices and help reduce the amount of harm to the environment by businesses as well as help in the preservation of the environment.
Benefits of Eco-conscious Coworking Spaces
Some key benefits of these workspaces are:
- Reduced Environmental Impact: The first advantage is that they are friendly to the environment, thus cutting down on impact. In one way, the common characteristics that these eco-conscious coworking spaces display include the use of renewable energy sources like solar or wind power for their energy requirements.Also, they promote other cost-saving measures like recycling and composting to avoid wastage and their environmental impact.
- Healthier Work Environment: These sustainable workspaces reduce illnesses within the working environment. These spaces do not use toxic substances in their construction and implement adequate ventilation to lower the level of indoor air pollution and make the employees’ working environment more enjoyable.
This can further result in better health and fitness of the employees.
- Cost Savings: Some of the options or products for ecologically sensitive offices may cost more than traditional office-oriented solutions during the first purchase, but the overall advantage can be impressive. Utility costs are lower when utilising energy-efficient systems and water-saving systems. The utilisation of durable and sustainable materials also has the potential to lower maintenance expense.
- Enhanced Corporate Image: Firms that decide to work in these sustainable workspaces could improve their image as well. Proving sustainability will help them secure the market of like-minded clients as well as environmentally friendly employees.
- Increased Employee Productivity and Satisfaction: It helps to influence efficiency and perceived satisfaction among employees of a company, thus supporting the case for the establishment of a sustainable workplace. Lighting, air, quality, and temperature are some of the aspects that make the working environment comfortable and hence better.
Key Features of Green Office Spaces
Some key features of the eco-friendly workspaces are:
- Energy Efficiency: Energy efficiency, such as energy-efficient appliances, lighting, and air conditioning systems, is one distinguishable characteristic of eco-friendly offices. They might also pursue the use of smart technologies to control and regulate the amount of energy. Smart thermostats, among other smart home devices, can learn if individuals are present in the house and adjust the temperature accordingly, thus saving more energy.
- Water Conservation: Adopting measures like using body shower heads, aerators or flow reducers on taps, and low flush toilets to reduce the use of water. Some spaces also employ greywater systems to reuse water for purposes other than the consumption of water.
- Materials Used in Sustainable Workspaces: Reclaimed, recycled, or sustainable materials for construction and interior design are the major characteristics of green coworking facilities. This cuts the demand for new resources and also reduces wastage.
- Indoor Air Quality: These sustainable workspaces should be healthy indoors, and air quality should be kept optimum. This can involve the utilisation of air cleaners, house plants, and all those systems that help to introduce fresh air into the closed rooms. Not only do plants act as antithetical to pollution since they take in carbon dioxide hence producing fresh air, but they also bring in the feeling of nature within workplaces.
- Waste Management: Other sustainable practices, such as reusing, recycling, and composting, are critical in this type of space. The actuality of the barriers and adequate signs help the users sort their waste in the right manner.
Contributions to Eco-Friendly Coworking Spaces to Sustainability
Ecological coworking spaces influence sustainability. These spaces can help us be more sustainable by saving energy and water and maximising the amount of waste produced. They also fulfil a dignitary role, showing other organisations that it is possible to have productivity and sustainability in organisations.
Also, these sustainable workspaces depend mostly on densely populated areas in cities with easy access to public transportation, cycling, and walking. This reduces the negative effects of travelling to work and helps establish well-planned cities and very environmentally friendly offices.
Technological Integration in Sustainable Workspaces
Technology is essential in improving the sustainability of coworking spaces. The integration of smart building systems, for instance, would enable the observation and adjustment of building energy use in real-time.
Install sensor lights so that if there is no activity, they will automatically turn off, or install coolers with temperature sensors so that they will cool only if the temperature rises above a certain temperature.
In addition, sustainable workspaces can use technological applications to organise ridesharing and other forms of green transport among users. This helps to cut the emission of carbon through membership transport and also helps create fellowship, unity, and togetherness among the members.
Community Engagement and Education
Many sustainable coworking spaces incorporate their communities into the sustainability process, conducting programs like workshops and seminars in areas like recycling, energy conservation, and sustainable living. By raising awareness, such places enable members to make environmentally conscious decisions in the workplace and in their personal lives.
Moreover, some coworkers partner with local environmental groups to activate environmental projects as part of the community. This could include organising cleaning activities, planting trees, or any other activities that could improve the locality’s environment.
Green Coworking Spaces Examples
Out of several examples, one of the most prominent names in the green co-working industry is Innov8 Coworking. Below are some features of Innov8 shared office spaces, which help us foster futuristic work environments:
- Workflo Ranka Junction, Kr Puram, Orr: Bangalore’s coworking space, Workflo, has 100 flexible seats. Some facilities include on-site staff, cleaning, fresh coffee, a lift, common rooms, air conditioning, internet, and CCTV. The prices for private offices range between ₹7,499 and ₹5,499 per month, and optimised desks cost ₹5,499 per month.
- Workflo Umiya Emporium, Koramangala: This central Bangalore commercial space has over 700 seats. Facilities include onsite staff, cleaning services, micro-roasting, a lift, specific common areas, air conditioning, fast internet, CCTV, etc. Private cabins, dedicated desks, meeting rooms, and event space with monthly rent start at ₹7,399.
- Innov8 Mantri Commercio, Bellandur Orr: Innov8 Mantri, in Bangalore, has 406 seats and some add-on services. These include on-site staff, cleaning, coffee, 24/7 access, AC, fast internet, and CCTV. The rent of meeting rooms starts at ₹500 per hour, and event spaces starting at₹5,000 per hour.
Innov8 invites you to experience our eco-friendly coworking spaces spread across 10 cities across India. Join us to work smarter, greener, and more efficiently!
Conclusion
Sustainable coworking environments have a vast list of advantages that range from diminishing pollution to healing the workplace. Therefore, sustainable office design and the adoption of various eco-friendly office solutions play a significant role in promoting environmental responsibility.
These green workplaces not only serve an exemplary function for other companies but also contribute to the education of the inhabitants about environmental issues. The presented coworking spaces promote the idea that everyone can work in comfortable conditions and enjoy his work, making business sustainable at the same time.
