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Easy Ways Your Facility Can Help the Environment and Save Money
A report by the International Energy Agency found that buildings account for 28 percent of global carbon emissions. This is mainly due to unsustainable building designs, poor maintenance, and inefficient technologies. Approximately 30% of energy used in commercial buildings is wasted.
Sustainable facility management is not just good for the environment but also gives a good image to companies. Just by making a few changes you can help your company save a lot of money. In this blog let’s check out some easy ways to make your building environment-friendly.
How to Make Your Building More Eco-Friendly
Use smart Lighting
One of the best methods of making your facility eco-friendly is by utilising smart lighting technologies. Smart lighting refers to highly efficient lighting options that consume less power and coffee features like automatic light dimmers, occupancy sensors, remote controls, and motion detectors. These features help reduce energy consumption and energy wastage which can save the facility a lot of money in the future.
Upgrading outdated lighting is an easy way to get started on the eco-friendly journey and it guarantees a quick return on investment. You can also consider using skylights in areas receiving lots of natural light.
Efficient water management
Many people underestimate the power of effective water management, and it is not as complicated as many people make it out to be. It can start with something as simple as good etiquette, proper maintenance, and regular inspections for leaks. It is important to educate and spread awareness among the employees too.
You can also install low-flow plumbing fixtures in your facility’s restrooms along with low-flow versions of flush valves, sink aerators, and faucets. Motion-activated faucets are also effective in saving water, by preventing users from accidentally leaving faucets running for longer than necessary.
Preventive Maintenance
Preventive maintenance is the regular maintenance of machinery to keep them in the best condition and avoid downtime. It involves regular monitoring of the equipment so that even the smallest problems can be identified as soon as they occur and fix them.
With preventive maintenance, equipment lasts longer and performs better. This means assets will be used to their fullest potential and facilities will not lose money from constant repairs, downtimes and not using machinery to their full capacity.
Facility management software will make the entire process quicker and seamless, allowing facility managers to track an asset’s age, previous issues, and maintenance history, keep detailed records as well as schedule the appropriate preventive work. As a bonus software eliminates the need for paper.
Go green with your cleaning solutions
One area often overlooked is the impact of chemical cleaning solutions, which are bad for the environment and the well-being of the employees. These chemicals end up in water bodies as runoff, and can even release toxic chemicals into the air.
All of this can be avoided by choosing environmentally friendly cleaning supplies, and while deciding on a product remember to look for the EPA’s Safer Choice label, which means the product meets the expectations for its Design for the Environment (DFE) program. With the increased focus on greener cleaning solutions, many suppliers are beginning to offer alternatives at competitive prices.
Go paperless
Paper production is a significant driver of global deforestation and water consumption. In an organisation where paperwork seems indispensable, going digital can be one of the most impactful sustainability moves.
Instead of maintaining records on paper, consider shifting to technology that focuses on real-time reporting on dashboards. Today several facility management software enable everything from data collection, and reporting, to work orders that monitor the completion of tasks.
Adopting sustainable facility management practices can significantly reduce your building’s environmental impact while also saving money.
