Sustainable Office Design and Fit Out
Worried about your carbon footprint? We are pioneers in sustainable office design and fit outs, helping you protect the future of our planet.
What sustainability means to us
Positive wellbeing is rightly placed at the forefront of businesses’ priorities today, and it's always where we start when working on a project with sustainability at the core. This includes examining operations, climate change and resource efficiency, indoor environment, waste management, consumables, and building materials too.
Accountable for our actions
At Area, we seek to be accountable for our actions and be a force for good. We see opportunities to combine brand enhancement with sustainability in ways that increase asset value and staff retention. For us, sustainable office design and fit out services are the standard, and we always offer complete support to make these adaptations to your project.
Our holistic approach to sustainable office design
People and the planet are at the centre of our approach to sustainability. We look at our clients’ challenges holistically, taking environmental, social, geographical, and financial factors into consideration, along with other factors essential to each project.
Our perspective on achieving success differs for each client to support their unique positioning and objectives for sustainability. We tailor our sustainable office design and fit out service to what you need, whether that’s a complete sustainability audit and assessment or a one-off consultation on the materials for your office fit out.
What does a sustainable project look like?
Like the cyclical nature of sustainability, our methodology for design and construction is a wheel of strategy, implementation, maintenance, and continual improvement.
01.
Strategy & Consultation
Working from the ground up, we set the foundations for a sustainable project. This could be an audit of a client’s existing practices and assets or an assessment of the objectives of a new build. We aim to clearly understand our clients’ objectives at this stage to clarify all the opportunities and limitations.
Defining our strategy early on is what helps us drive towards net-carbon zero for our clients. It also means we can work within our clients’ budgets to make the best impact.
02.
Design
Sustainability is considered in each element of the design stage, no matter what shape your project takes. Whether it’s office relocation or a full construction project, our designers specialise in sustainable office design solutions – such as harnessing natural light to minimise power usage, selecting recycled materials or designing for reuse
In a relentless drive to close the design and performance gap we proactively look for ways to integrate cutting-edge technology and flexible working space to future-proof our clients’ spaces.
03.
Integration & Construction
With our sustainability brief and project objectives clearly defined at the earliest possible stage, our project managers are adept at skilfully liaising with multiple in-house and third-party teams to deliver and exceed your objectives throughout the project.
To maximise the impact of our environmentally conscious solutions, we partner with contractors whose sustainability objectives align with our own.
04.
Ongoing Support
At the end of the project, we supply our clients with documentation and evidence to demonstrate how we performed against sustainability goals. This is part of our highly valued transparency ethos, essentially providing the evidence of successful implementation.
Achieving low carbon or net-zero carbon emissions is an ongoing mission. It’s not a case of simply ticking a box. We offer ongoing support and maintenance to help our clients continue on their sustainability path, working with them to keep on track of their unique objectives.
Sustainability Accreditations
We aim to act as advocates for the most impactful accreditation schemes in Sustainability , specifying them within our own business as well as encouraging their implementation with clients and across the projects we are involved with.
We can deliver the requirements for a range of assessments and certifications from high-authority organisations to help our clients measure and demonstrate sustainability subjectively and objectively.
Similar to the efficiency star ratings found on household appliances, NABERS provides a rating scale from one to six stars for offices. This system assists building owners in evaluating their building’s performance compared to similar ones, serving as a benchmark for progress.
In the UK, two product offerings are available for office buildings: Design for Performance and Energy for Offices.
Design for Performance entails a commitment from developers or owners to design, construct, and commission new office developments or major refurbishments to achieve a specific NABERS Energy rating.
NABERS Energy evaluates the efficiency of an office building and assigns it a performance rating.
For indoor air quality certification, our advisors will guide you through assessments and specifications to achieve a leading AirScore.
Certified B Corporations are leaders in the global movement for an inclusive, equitable, and
regenerative economy. Social sustainability, environmental performance, transparency,
honesty, and accountability are central to our B Corp accreditation.
As a company with our impacts measured, we’re proud to have this accreditation along with
the other leading businesses in the B Corp community.
Drive operational sustainability improvement using BRE Global’s science-based suite of validation and certification systems for the sustainable built environment.
Given the growing importance of EPCs as a measure and legal driver for commercial property energy performance, we are increasingly involved in the production of requisite SBEM (Simplified Building Energy Models). Alongside the delivery of the necessary calculations, we can provide consultancy on the most effective means of improving performance based on the space and its intended use and occupancy.
Implementing a vision for a healthier future where all buildings and communities are enhanced to strengthen health and well-being, a Fitwell rating undertaken with our assessors helps to positively impact building occupants and surrounding areas.
For our investor clients, we can assist in navigating validated ESG benchmarks and performance data to help them make impactful decisions.
We help businesses achieve the most recognised certification of sustainability achievement and leadership. LEED provides a framework for healthy, efficient, carbon and cost-saving green buildings.
The SBTi is a global body enabling businesses to set ambitious emissions reductions targets in line with the latest climate science. It is focused on empowering organisations to transition to a net-zero economy, halving emissions by 2030 and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.
We are proud to have had set ambitious targets to reduce our own emissions in line with climate science as verified by the SBTi.
For our fit-out clients, this assessment is uniquely dedicated to helping identify and meet environmental benchmarks and sustainability good practice criteria for commercial projects.
Transforming the fit-out experience for eventual occupiers by ensuring the protection and consideration of building occupants’ wellbeing are duly considered and prioritised, we can help our clients achieve an excellent WELL score.
As the technology standard for the built environment, we can offer guidance in undertaking a WiredScore assessment for digital connectivity and promoting and facilitating Sustainable Business Practice.
Our Team can
01.
Assess Energy Performance
We look closely at closing the energy performance gap to create sustainable solutions that translate into reality. Where building modelling usually only accounts for predicted regulated CO2, Area are proponent of Designed for Performance, that evaluates operational energy use alongside predicted to provide a complete picture of energy performance and where our design can influence and impact.
02.
Provide Expert Insights
At Area, we stay abreast of developments that help us to continue our drive towards sustainability. Working closely with RICS, RIBA, and BRE Global helps us remain at the cutting edge of sustainability advancement and supports our Design for Performance commitment.
03.
Reduce Waste
We promote an approach towards the circular economy wherever we can, aiming to make optimal use of resources before reusing, recovering and recycling them at the end of their life. We operate to move away from the linear economy and the negative impacts that come with the 'make-use-dispose' mindset.
04.
Reduce & Mitigate Carbon
To our clients with ambitions for Carbon emission reductions, we have the expertise to help you get there. We are ISO 14001 Certified, and our sustainability team contains expert in- house BREEAM, Ska, LEED and WELL building consultants that, working alongside our delivery teams, can assist our clients in achieving both project and companywide decarbonisation targets. Our project positive initiative results in carbon neutral fit outs for every project with the potential for climate positive action via the use of carbon removal schemes.
Sustainable Office Design & Fit Out FAQs
What is sustainable office design?
Sustainable design refers to the creation of workspaces that prioritise environmental, social, and economic sustainability. It involves integrating eco-friendly practices and materials into the design, construction, and operation of the office space to reduce its environmental impact and enhance occupant wellbeing.
Why is sustainable office design important?
Sustainable office design promotes resource efficiency, reduces energy consumption, and minimises waste generation. It also contributes to a healthier and more productive work environment for employees. By adopting sustainable practices, businesses can demonstrate their commitment to environmental stewardship and social responsibility.
What should my company's main sustainability goals be?
Each organisation is different, so no two will have exactly the same sustainability goals. Ultimately, your sustainability goals should cover three main areas (the three pillars of sustainability): economic, social, and environmental. To help you determine achievable goals, we start by understanding what you and your key stakeholders want to achieve.
How can we ensure our sustainability initiatives are effective?
From our experience working with many clients committed to sustainability objectives, we know there are two critical foundations to following through on these goals.
Firstly, during the consultancy and design phase, we collect as much data as possible about from an energy consumption and emissions perspective. We establish our projects in hard science and facts to determine how we can realistically achieve goals.
Secondly, we stick systematically to our strategic plan and train our clients on how to continue this strategy with their own workforce after the completion of the project.
How do we measure carbon in construction?
Carbon measured in construction is called ‘embodied carbon’ and consists of all greenhouse gases emitted from the building construction. Embodied carbon consists of all emissions associated with building construction, including those from the extraction, transportation, manufacture, and installation of building materials on site, as well as the operational and end-of-life emissions associated with those materials.
