Businesses all over the world are being challenged to demonstrate their commitment to sustainable practices. Standards such as ESG (Environmental, social and governance) are being used by socially conscious investors to target criteria they are looking for when screening potential investments.
This growing movement toward more sustainable investing and socially responsible business practices is encouraging businesses and workplaces to deploy technology and systems that promote their environmentally conscious business plans.
But how are these businesses deploying technology to shape more sustainable workplace environments? & how important is sustainability within these work spaces?
The Importance Of Sustainable Workplaces
A recent Forbes article showed that more than a third of business executives were worried about the potential impacts the latest climate legislation could have on their businesses. This comes off the back of huge shifts being made since conferences like COP26 in which they delivered the Glasgow Climate Pact to combat climate change.
It’s never been more important for these businesses to demonstrate sustainable practices, not only for the benefit of investment but most importantly to put a halt to global warming. To promote these changes, incentives are being rolled out such as green taxes, designed to reward more sustainable technology and systems being deployed within businesses.
The benefits of a sustainable workplace go further than simply the top-level of securing investments too. There’s also a very strong correlation between sustainability in the workplace and employee productivity.
In fact, a study into the impact of working in a ‘green-certified building’ found that there was 26% increase in employee cognition and 30% fewer sick days across the companies researched.
The truth is that being transparent about your commitment to sustainable practices can also have huge benefits to your business’s reputation and brand too. More than ever, people are looking for companies that are adding value to the world around them – so why not shout about it.
Positive PR is hard to come by and is often out of a business’s control. However, using installations and technology to display your company’s true commitment to sustainable and socially conscious behaviours is a perfect way to build brand loyalty.
Pavegen has helped a whole range of big-name companies do just this, by showing the importance of sustainable mindsets, all through the power of a footstep.
Using Technology and Process Improvements To Shape A Sustainable Workplace
According to the European Commission, buildings are now responsible for nearly 40% of all energy consumption in Europe. It’s not surprise then that business owners and property developers are highlighting the need for designing these spaces with a more sustainable mindset.
Many companies are joining a growing movement towards nearly-zero-energy buildings (NZEBs), with the European Union requiring member states to create national plans that target an increase in NZEBs.
As technology evolves, it has become one of the most profitable ways for businesses to remain sustainable. Technology such as Pavegen uses kinetic flooring, paired with a state-of-the-art digital app to encourage sustainable behaviours within employees, all whilst converting the energy generated into data and rewards for the user.
Circular initiatives are also being promoted heavily within these sustainable workplaces. The amount of waste generated from office spaces and workplaces is on average around 230 Kilos per year. Add to that a major issue in recycling not being done correctly and its easy to see the negative impact these workspaces could have on the environment.
Technology that creates a smarter ecosystem around this waste, feeding it back into a circular process is hugely useful. Companies like Coffee Based use the wasted coffee grounds that end up in rubbished heaps and convert them into coffee-based products such as office notebooks, plant pots and cups. In manufacturing, British Sugar processes virtually zero waste by turning all their outputs into inputs to be reused during the manufacturing process.
Conclusion
It’s never been more important for businesses to display their commitment to more environmentally and socially conscious business practices. By implementing technology and processes into workplaces that promote sustainable change and more circular economies, these workspaces can not only help better the planet but their brand and employee productivity too.
Standards such as ESG are only going to become more prevalent as time goes on, forcing the hands of those more reluctant businesses that fear change, but also rewarding those businesses who are committed to sustainable growth and the betterment of the world and communities around them.
Pavegen’s award-winning kinetic technology uses the renewable energy generated by a footstep to help inspire citizens and spark a conversation around sustainability and greener behaviours. The experiences we deliver not only convert wasted energy, but influence and encourage more socially conscious behaviours within workplaces and communities.
Using 'people power', Pavegen helps move society towards a more sustainable future through highly engaging experiences that inspire people to think and act more conscientiously around our planet.