More and more companies all over the world are turning their offices into sustainable environments that can benefit both their employees and the bottom line. This isn’t really surprising seeing as how eco-friendly offices can lead to a healthier work environment overall. In fact, more than 90 percent of today’s CEOs believe that sustainability is vital for success.

If you want to transition to an eco-friendly office, here are five green tips from the Daikin Singapore office that you can emulate at your own workspace.

Tip 1: Use steam cleaning to service your air-con units

Since the weather in Singapore can get hot and humid at times, you should service your air-con every six months to prevent a build-up of mould and bacteria. Although it is true that chemical cleaning can get rid of dirt that accumulates in the system, steam cleaning is a much eco-friendlier method.

Steam cleaning uses high-pressure steam instead of chemicals that can penetrate thick air-con oils to provide cleaner and healthier air in the office. Our steam cleaning test report on bacteria and mould count proves that our steam cleaning service can reduce the bacteria count from 4,000 to 200 and the mould count from 1,100 to 90 at the drain pan.

Additionally, our steam cleaning service can improve air flow and cooling in your office, as well as prevent water leaking without polluting the draining system or risking corrosion on the coil fins. Since there are no chemicals involved in this process, steam cleaning is the ideal solution to service the air conditioning systems at food and beverage establishments, educational institutions, hospitals, clinics, preschools and childcare centres.

Tip 2: Opt for air-cons with reclaimed refrigerants

A lot of refrigerants, including those in some air-cons, damage the ozone layer when they leak into the atmosphere. This leakage can be attributed to poor maintenance, or improper disposal. Because of this, it is illegal in some countries like New Zealand to release refrigerants into the atmosphere altogether.

If you are aiming for an eco-friendly office, it would be best to invest in air-cons that have low negative impact for the environment. Daikin air-cons use reclaimed refrigerants to avoid the release of ozone-depleting and global warming gases, and to reduce the production of new refrigerants.

As an advocate of zero waste and eco-friendly measures, Daikin’s continuous green initiative has prompted the use of reclaimed refrigerants like R410a and R134a, which go through a more intensive and thorough filtration process to remove impurities from used refrigerants and restore their purity levels to meet international standards. Aside from being more sustainable, these reclaimed refrigerants can also be reused on any air-con equipment.

Tip 3: Segregate your waste for recycling

By now, most Singaporeans are familiar with recycling. After all, we all have a large blue bin downstairs of most HDB blocks for recyclables. However, some Singaporeans tend to see the recycling bin as a place for general bulk waste without a second thought. Food waste could taint all of the clean recyclables in the same bin, rendering them unrecyclable.

As such, it would be a great help to introduce proper waste segregation in your office so you can help the environment. Plus, by doing this, you and your colleagues might be tempted to incorporate the same practices at home, extending your help for Mother Nature beyond your workspace.

To succeed at this, make sure you check and learn what is recyclable and what isn’t. Generally speaking, recyclable waste includes paper, plastic, metal tins, and aluminium soft drink cans. However, it should be noted that not all plastic packaging can be recycled. Disposable plastic cutlery, Styrofoam, clear egg crates and plastic fruit boxes, for instance, cannot be recycled. The key lies in checking the “chasing arrows” (the small number in the triangular recycling logo embossed on the packaging) to see which type of plastic (1 to 7) it is made of. Plastics 1, 2 and 5 are recyclable in Singapore.

Tip 4: Use LED lighting

There are many eco-friendly options for lighting nowadays, including halogen lighting, compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), and light-emitting diodes (LEDs). These types of lighting use up to 80% less energy than traditional lighting, so they can contribute to your eco-friendly journey and save money on electricity bills at the same time.

At Daikin, we use LED lighting at work. Since 95 percent of the energy in LED lighting is converted into light, only 5 percent is wasted as heat. Fluorescent lighting, on the other hand, does the opposite. It only converts 5 percent into light and 95 percent is wasted as heat.

LED lighting is also great because it uses less power, decreasing greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, it can last up to six times longer than other kinds of lighting. Since its quality of light better, you won’t need a lot of lights in the office by switching to LEDs. LED lighting doesn’t contain any toxic elements, either, so you do not have to worry about contaminating the environment when you dispose of it.

Tip 5: Use an eco-friendly tap

Nobody is perfect and sometimes, forgetting to turn off the water after washing still happens at work. By switching to an eco-friendly tap, you can prevent waster wastage at the office. Eco-friendly taps can reduce the amount of water that is used when washing to up to 95 percent compared to a traditional tap. Aside from saving water, you will also get to save on your energy and water bills at the office.

These are just some of the green tips that you can practice to create an eco-friendly office and maintain it. It always helps to do more research and keep learning in order to succeed on your eco-friendly journey. Good luck!

Learn about Daikin’s new iSmileEco Series to enjoy an ECO smart, ECO friendlier aircon with great ECO savings!