Offices

There are many steps you can take to reduce carbon emissions in the office and lower your energy bills. You can also engage your workforce in your drive to go net zero. An effective communications campaign, training such as carbon literacy and a cycle to work scheme could change the behaviour of your workforce and further help reduce your energy costs.

Below we have calculated the top five actions that will enable an office to reduce carbon emissions by up to 30%.

What offices can do to reduce carbon emissions by up to 30%

• Install solar panels
• Replace lighting with LEDs and maximise natural light
• Prioritise energy efficiency when replacing monitors, appliances and IT equipment
• Install electric vehicle charge points
• Adopt and embed energy reduction targets and behaviours.

Refurbishment of office building cuts energy bills by £60k

Premier House is a multi-tenanted 3,800 square metre office in Twickenham refurbished by the Low Carbon Workplace, a property development partnership between sustainability experts the Carbon Trust, asset manager Columbia Threadneedle and developer Stanhope. Before its refurbishment the building had inefficient heating, cooling and ventilation systems, single-glazed windows, a leaky façade and an E-rated Energy Performance Certificate.

Premier House has now been totally refurbished to radically improve its energy efficiency. Measures included: enhancing insulation to walls and ceilings; improving air tightness; installing a new ventilation system that recovered 85% of energy from extracted air; window replacement; fitting low energy lights; and the use of daylight controls and occupancy detection on lights. The refurbishment reduced energy consumption in the building by 64%, cut energy bills by £60,000 a year and delivered a return on investment of 18%. Find out more.

LED lighting saves over 100 tonnes of CO₂

Electricity North West had a range of lighting systems that varied in age and efficiency at its eight non-operational sites with lighting accounting for between 20-50% of the overall energy use at each site.

We therefore chose to install LED lighting at all of these sites to reduce energy consumption and costs. We expect the investment of £360,000 to be paid back within three years and to save 107.62 tonnes CO₂e every year. Find out more.

To find out more about cutting energy bills for your office, download our guide.

A guide to reducing carbon emissions for offices