Make Your Office a Greener Place
Over the past few years there has been a clear shift towards going green in the workplace. This has been seen in the increase in education and awareness towards the damage happening to the environment. Many offices, business and services are now putting environmentally friendly policies in place, such as turning to electric vehicles or going paperless, as a way of cutting down on carbon emissions and waste. These are great steps but there are other eco friendly tools that you can employ, as a business, that will not only be friendly to the environment but can also boost your staff morale – and if that isn’t incentive, what is?
There are small things you can do, like switching to fairtrade teas and coffees or giving back to the community by running business volunteering days. However, one of the best things you can do is to create areas of calm and serenity within your office, through the installation of mini gardens. Here are some of the best ways to create the ideal office garden and how this will help not only the environment but also your business productivity.
Fresher Air Makes For a Healthier Environment
When you are stuck in a windowless cubicle with only air conditioning to keep you cool it can not only lower your general morale but also affect your health. Air conditioning and a lack of fresh air is one of the worst conditions for your health as well as the general environmental conditions. One of the best ways to combat health issues in the workplace is to install small garden areas, full of luscious greenery and plants. If you don’t have the money to spend on plants, which is one of the reasons many companies still haven’t moved towards this, then why not consider hiring them? Companies such as Gaddy’s indoor plant hire, offer this and advice on how to create greener office environments.
In the 1980’s NASA conducted a series* of trials that specifically looked at the type of plants that provided the best levels of fresh air through filtration systems. It was concluded that indoor air had almost double the levels of pollution compared to the great outdoors and one of the best ways to tackle this was to install certain plant species. Flowers like Gerber Daisies and Chrysanthemum contain filters for benzynes and other harmful atmospheric pollutants. By adding these to your office you will have a fresher environment, plus they look great too.
Blend Filtration Plants with Acoustics
One issue that affects many office workers is noise pollution. Although this doesn’t directly affect the overall environmental issues the planet faces, it does have a negative affect over the productivity of staff. Once you have put in place plants that filter out air pollution, look at leafy greens to decrease the amount of noise disturbance within your business.
The general rule for noise reducing plantation is 1 plant for every 100 square feet, although if you are creating 1 indoor garden area, you may want to include a variety of plants to work on a grander scale. Some of the best floras and faunas for this issue are Peace Lillies and Ficus Benjamina (Weeping Fig).
Plants Promote Productivity through Living Energy
There have been many studies over the past few years that look specifically at whether plants have a direct impact upon productivity within the workplace. According to the Chinese practice of Chi, having living energy within the workplace can balance out the negative effects of pollution, stress and overcrowded offices. So, by installing a miniature garden, desk plants or simply installing plants in certain high traffic areas your office can find a great way to be both environmentally friendly and also boost your employees morale. These are great ways to reduce their stress and give them a cleaner, greener environment to work within.
