You can never overestimate the importance of water to human well-being, whether it’s the broader subject of ecological stability or the more personal-scale effects of having clean, fresh water readily available. And since “readily available” doesn’t necessarily mean “free to waste,” setting up a workplace that is capable of both providing and conserving water is of the utmost importance in terms of sustainability and convenience alike. In terms of workplace activity and culture, businesses and communities can not only chip in but benefit from the myriad ways to keep water usage mindful and efficient. Here are just a few to consider for starters.
Get a “Water Audit”. You might not even know how big (or small) your office’s water-usage issues are until the numbers are right in front of you. That’s why it’s key to have a commercial water audit, typically offered by utility companies and sometimes provided free of charge or with an incentivized rebate. Services like this can detect anything from unusual usage patterns to potential avenues for conservation, whether it means fixing a few unseen leaks or identifying large-scale water waste.
Use Water-Efficient Fixtures and Appliances. If your building’s supervisor or management hasn’t done so already, encouraging them to add restrictors to faucets and install low-flow toilets can cut water usage down to as much as ⅓ of previous usage. This goes for other appliances, too; more efficient water-saving measures have been built into everything from dishwashers to air-conditioning units. As a money-saving gesture, it should take little time to pay for itself, and as a conservation effort it’s even more helpful.
Give Employees The Knowhow. Sometimes wasting water is something people do without even really thinking about it: do you really need to wet that towel before cleaning up a spill, or rinse that plate before putting it in the dishwasher? Giving people awareness of the problem is already a strong step towards solving it, so promoting and giving tips on water-saving behavior is key to creating and sustaining a workplace that saves water.
Aura can keep all these things and more in mind when building sustainability-minded office spaces and workplaces. Just contact us for more information on how we can help you develop a strategy to keep your office ecologically efficient.
