Sustainability
Frankly speaking, it’s been a weird couple of summers in Europe. Last year we saw record flooding, and this year we’re in a drought. You can feel that everyone is a bit on edge as our usually intensely-green country has turned straw-coloured instead. Instead of discussing housing prices at every dinner party, it feels like we’ve all moved on to focusing on saving energy and how we’re preparing for the coming winter.
From simply buying extra blankets and sweaters all the way to choosing one main room of the house to keep warm, everyone has different degrees to which they are willing to change their lifestyles. Biking or taking public transportation whenever you can instead of driving are some of the most straightforward ways to save energy. It’s incredibly important that we all do our part.
However, we might be missing out on one of the biggest energy savings opportunities out there - commercial real estate. 39% of the world’s carbon emissions come from real estate - 29% from operational costs (electricity, heating, and cooling), and 11% from construction (The World Green Building Council).
This means close to 30% of the world’s carbon emissions are from just using buildings.
Therefore, it’s important to make sure we’re using our buildings to their full potential. Extra office space adds up to huge amounts of money and energy. That’s why Fiveoffices is connecting companies with too much office space to those seeking flexible rentals.
We believe that we can all help fix the problem of excess office space 5 ways:
- Only occupy the surface area you need.
If you do not need space for 50 employees, do not rent space for 50 employees. Rent flexibly and short-term so you can scale and add more space as needed in a modular way or by moving. Fiveoffices features several listings that include the ability to only take a small space and add more - in the same building - later. - Sublease any excess capacity
If you already have a long-term lease or own an office space/building with too much space, you can list it on Fiveoffices.com and make money from your under-utilised workspace. If you’re hesitant if hosting a tenant is for you, you can start with leases as short as 2 months. - Organise your onsite/remote working patterns well
Organise your team’s schedules so your office is always as full as possible. Creating a remote work calendar where employees can declare which days they’ll be in the office is a straightforward and streamlined way to ensure you use your available seats at maximum capacity.
- Make sure you save energy costs wherever you can (heating, cooling, lighting)
Ok, it can feel good as an employee to get a few perks at work like free snacks. Take advantage of all the benefits you can - I mean it. However, just because your employer is paying for it, doesn’t mean you get a carte blanche on energy consumption in the office. If your employer asks you to work in a cooler office this winter, there are important ethical reasons to do so - not just rising energy costs.
You can also consider taking the stairs instead of the elevator and unplugging your desk when you’re not there. Make these routines a habit so you’ll also find them easy to replicate at home. - Share and re-use resources: furnishing, decor, and any other investment!
Sharing office space allows you to economise on more than just heating and cooling - you can also rent an already-furnished space! If you’re sharing a printer, a coffee maker, a fridge, and cleaning services, you’re also ahead of the game.
And whatever you do - stop building new offices! Retrofitting is the new green approach to architecture, and with the beautiful historical buildings already existing in Luxembourg, there’s no reason not to make it the norm here.
These tips won’t change the world overnight, and they’re only part of a comprehensive strategy for countries like Luxembourg to do our part against climate change and energy waste. Fiveoffices is working to eliminate empty office space to decrease this waste. By connecting Hosts with excess space to Guests seeking flexibility, we can check every mark on this list and help reduce Luxembourg’s energy consumption this coming winter.
Join the movement to create a more sustainable way of working:
