As buildings become smarter and more connected, it’s easier than ever for companies to reduce their carbon footprint.
Living greener is important to everyone, whether at home or work. There are specific ways that smart offices can reduce their carbon footprint and make less of an impact on the environment.
Some building owners opt for LEED certification, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. The certification system was devised by the US Green Building Council (USGBC) and there are rating levels ranging from Silver to Platinum, depending on a building’s energy efficiency.
“LEED-certified buildings have 34 percent lower CO2 emissions, consume 25 percent less energy and 11 percent less water, and have diverted more than 80 million tons of waste from landfills,” said Alan Ni, director of vertical marketing for Aruba, a Hewlett-Packard Enterprise company.
“LEED is the benchmark standard for energy-efficient buildings, so it’s a good reference for the percentage saved over your average inefficient building,” Ni added.
Aruba took deliberate steps to improve energy efficiency when it designed a new headquarters in Santa Clara, CA.
“When the building opened in January 2017, some of the key energy-efficiency elements included smart lighting, efficient space management, asset tracking, and a large number of sensors all connected via Aruba’s network infrastructure. Going forward, Aruba plans to integrate the network with the access control and other building management systems (BMS), such as HVAC. This will allow the company to closely align energy utilization with building occupancy, outside temperature, degree of sunlight, time of day, and other factors,” Ni said.
Cisco offers a range of cost-saving options for companies wanting to save on energy usage. Cisco’s digital building solution focuses on making buildings smarter through optimized lighting, building automation, and IoT technology. Standalone building systems are converged into one IP platform through this foundation, said Anil Menon, global president of smart cities for Cisco.
If you want to make your company more energy efficient, here are ten of the best ways to save energy and save the environment:
1. Get a carbon footprint measurement
First, find out how big a carbon footprint your office is leaving behind. The University of California, Berkeley, offers a quick calculator for businesses that gives an estimate of how many tons of CO2 per year your office creates. It’s not all-inclusive, but a good starting point, and it’s a way to open the conversation among your co-workers.
