Cutting Costs By Greening Your Office

The thought of greening your workspace can be overwhelming. You aspire to be more eco-friendly, but can’t bear to add another item to your never-ending to-do list.

However, going green doesn’t have to require an enormous effort. There are many small changes that you can make to transform your office to a space that is more sustainable. These small changes can also have a significant impact on your bottom line.

Making environmental exchanges
Simple swaps can make a substantial difference. One way Marc Heisterkamp, director of commercial real estate for the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), advises property managers to go green is by going paperless.

“Paper is a very resource-intensive product, and can be a large financial expense,” says Heisterkamp. “Cutting it down certainly has an environmental impact.”

Property managers can use Microsoft Office applications or Adobe PDFs to create electronic versions of documents such as invoices, proposals and even leases. Kandy Meehan, RMP, president of Home Rental Services in Overland Park, Kan., says that electronic leases, which are emailed to tenants and then returned with a digital signature via e-mail, can also be a huge time saver.

“It really streamlines [the lease process],” says Meehan. “Someone can be sitting in the airport in Hong Kong and sign a lease. It makes it really easy and fast.”

Another way to reduce costs is to evaluate your energy use. Rethinking the way you brighten your business can have a particularly profound impact. For example, high-efficiency light bulbs such as compact fluorescents cost less to run and last 10 times as long as conventional bulbs. Another way to reduce costs is to rethink your lighting system distribution, says Heisterkamp.

“Even with your current system, integrating some relatively cheap sensors in areas that will be left vacant, particularly during off-hours, can be beneficial,” he says.

You can even reap financial benefits by making minimal restroom renovations. For example, Heisterkamp advises purchasing aerators to screw into the faucets to drop your faucet flow-rate. Aerators are available at retail locations, typically cost just a few dollars and can drastically decrease your water bill.

Recycling can also have a bottom-line impact. Establishing an office-wide recycling program not only gives your scraps a second life, it is also a wise financial decision.

“Waste management tends to be thought of as an environmental thing, but it has financial impacts as well,” says Heisterkamp. “You have to pay to take away garbage, yet recycling is cost-neutral, since materials that can be recycled often have a residual value that companies will pay for, or at least not charge you to take it away."

Satisfaction through sustainability
Thinking ecologically doesn’t have to merely occur behind the scenes. You can also display your eco-savvy when dealing with customers. For example, Meehan serves coffee to clients in china cups instead of Styrofoam and uses real silverware instead of plastic. Both are simple swaps, but ones that Meehan believes help bolster client satisfaction. Many potential renters appreciate sustainability when they see it. 


An eco-friendly office can also boost workplace morale. Since saving the environment has become a passion for many, employees are often eager to green their workspaces.

“It’s amazing how many employees get excited about this topic,” says Heisterkamp. “You tend to get volunteers who are interested in and dedicated about this work.”

“It’s a total win: You save time, you save money and you get perks for boosting your professionalism,” says Meehan. “You’re giving superior service and staying up with the trend to be the best that you can be.”