‘Green’ is the new ‘cool’. You do not want to be shown as somebody who wastes resources and going ‘sustainable’ makes you trendy among your peers. However, keeping the popular notion aside, sustainability is something we need to adopt and practice in our day-to-day lives. This EARTH DAY, SURFACES REPORTER (SR) presents to you some of the simplest and easy to adapt ways through which you could have a sustainable home as well as office. Have a look:
Clean Water is one of the most perishable resources on the planet. While we take it as granted, for some, it’s a privilege. So the first step towards sustainability is to Save Water. This can be easily done by opting for the fixtures that are water saving. Showers, WCs, washing machines everything that use water now come with a water saving capacity. Hence we must invest in such appliances and also make sure to fix all leakages.
Next step towards sustainability is changing the light fixtures at your place to the energy efficient ones like LEDs instead of the age old fluorescent bulbs which also generate a lot of heat. So changing them will also lead to the reduction in air conditioning cost. Unable sleep mode and power saver features at Laptops and computers to make them use less electricity. Also, connect all your electric devices in the office with Smart Power Strip. This will turn off peripheral equipment when the primary device is turned off means when a computer is shut, all the devices connected to it including the monitor, printer etc will automatically get switched off.
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While this is something that needs to be inculcated as a part of design of every structure, Rain water Harvesting is a great way to use the otherwise waste water for ground water recharging and domestic purposes. There are many less costly ways to collect and reuse rainwater which must be adopted in order to have a sustainable home.
A Living, Breathing wall for a healthier surrounding
Indoor plantation is not only aesthetically pleasing but offers a immense respite from the mounting airconditioning costs. There are many plants available today that only keeps the surrounding cool but also purify air and give plenty of oxygen to keep the lives of those in surrounding healthy. Some of such plants include Snake plant, Peace Lilly, Bamboo, Ferns, Aloevera, Weeping Fig, Spider Plant, Basil etc. From the design perspective, you could also opt for a green wall which is covered with vegetation that not only adds up to the décor but also results in a healthier environment.
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Opt for a renewable energy source to fulfil your energy needs. Govt is also providing a number of incentives on using renewable energy like solar and wind. So this must be a design’s top priority.
Buying from Local artisans is always a sustainable option
We must always strive for buying things local. For anything as small as the office stationary or making some change in the existing design, we must first look for the locally available materials and technologies. This should be the Thumb Rule for Living and Working.
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Adopt technologies that are closer to nature
If you are looking towards designing your home or office, you must adopt construction techniques that are sustainable in nature instead of the traditional Brick and Mortar structure. There are many forms of architecture and design that are low energy intensive like Mud Architecture that should be practiced for design.
Mud Architecture- Kachi Kothi by Kamath Design Studio
Make a habit of reusing and recycling old things and the same can be applied on office environment as well. Encourage the staff to recycle the used stuffs in order to minimise wastage and reduce environmental footprint.
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Calculate Carbon footprints
Every individual leaves a footprint on the environment. The same is true for any establishment. Therefore, calculate your carbon footprint and lookout for activities that are majorly responsible for the footprints and try to make a reduction. There are many websites available today that helps in calculating the carbon footprints.
Employ community vehicles for the employees. With this, there will be lesser need to bring their own vehicles to the office which would result in lesser parking hassles and cleaner environment.
All your sustainability initiatives will be in vain if you will not set up your goals. Setting baselines and tracking metrics will result in showing the effectiveness of the measures taken and will further encourage you to set up a higher goal.
Keep reading SURFACES REPORTER for more such articles and stories.
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