Ways to Reduce your Carbon Footprint: Commercial Buildings

The first step to energy-efficient building is to evaluate the building’s design and come up with the best eco-friendly practices. Come up with your building’s layout and determine what materials you will be using. Figure out how to reduce consumption in these four areas: water, waste, energy, and materials.

Believe it or not, heating, cooling, and ventilation systems take up a large portion of utility expenses for commercial buildings. So, this step is very important in lowering your carbon footprint. By installing energy-efficient HVAC systems, you will lower your electricity bill, and reduce your carbon emissions significantly. Indoor air quality is an important factor in a lot of energy efficient building certifications as well.

If you want to learn more about green building certifications, check out:

• LEED Certification : What is LEED Certification?
• Green Globes: What is Green Globes Certification?
• How Do I Get My Building Energy Star Certified?

Your lighting system is also a huge energy sucker, so implementing an energy-efficient lighting system can go a long way. Installing large windows and sky lights is just one way to reduce your lighting bill. Buildings with a large amount of daylight can lower the need to have the lights on during the day. Installing LED lights is also a great way to lower your energy usage, as they use a considerably lower amount of energy than traditional fluorescent or incandescent light bulbs.

Energy efficiency is the future of sustainability, and now is the perfect time to make the appropriate changes to your building. Reduce your carbon emissions, reduce waste, and reduce water consumption by making the first steps toward change.

“Sustainability has to be a way of life to be a way of business.”

~Anand Mahindra~