How offices can help combat climate change

Today, October 24th, is the International Day Against Climate Change, an event designed to raise awareness about the negative effects it has and will have on the planet.

Greenhouse gases, caused by the pollution generated by human activity, are the cause of rising average temperatures and sea levels as well as an increase in extreme weather events and melting polar ice caps.

What can we do to help stop climate change?

While it is true that today is an important day for raising awareness about the current state of our planet and its inevitable future if the trend is not reversed, from a business point of view we must never forget that our efforts and responsibility must go much further. The actions being proposed to tackle the problem must be based on a real commitment to sustainability and the environment and, in particular, not be formed on an ad hoc basis but belong to long-term strategies.

Colonial’s commitment to sustainability

One of our main goals is to ensure that our buildings are highly energy efficient and low in emissions while always taking into account the comfort and safety of users. These commitments correspond fully with international obligations and, in particular, the aim to limit global warming to below 2ºC, as a result of the Paris Agreement.

By examining the different lines of action to which Colonial adheres, we can define them as follows:

• Adaptation measures to make buildings more resilient to the climate changes that have already occurred and implementing measures in anticipation of future impact. This means increasing the use of renewable energies, high-performance air conditioning units and improved automation and control systems in buildings.
• Mitigation measures to reduce the effects that our buildings have on the planet and their direct impact on climate change. In this case, the main goals are attaining efficient buildings, using sustainable materials to reduce the amount of emissions generated, encouraging recycling and reducing waste as much as possible.

At Colonial we believe it is vital that we are aware of the impact of our work on the planet, which is why we calculate the carbon footprint of all our buildings in order to assess their true impact. This is a crucial step in order to begin reducing and compensating for areas that are most sensitive to improvements.

Last but not least, it is important that sustainable mobility is always encouraged among users by improving car parks, installing cycle racks in locker rooms and electrical charging stations and reserving spaces for carpooling.

A vision based on climate change must carry with it strategies that involve the whole company while not forgetting that they must be implemented today, as the countdown has already begun and our duty as businesses and as individuals is to do everything within our power to mitigate it.