Sustainable Facilities

Buildings are big and they're expensive to own and operate. They consume large quantities of raw materials and energy - 40% of total energy, 65% of total electricity, 38% of raw materials, 12% of potable water. What's more, per year office buildings account for 5 billion pounds of cleaning and coating chemicals, 30% of greenhouse gas emissions and 30% of total waste output.

Little wonder that in today's economy, many business leaders are looking for ways to save money by using less space. What starts out as a problem can turn into a discovery, says Sudhakar.

"Inside the so-called problem of real estate compression are huge opportunities to make the workplace more relevant."

During the past 15 years, Steelcase has completed 380 research projects to address various workplace issues, including an in-depth project in 2009 focused on real estate compression. This research has resulted in insights that can help customers get significantly more value in less space. For many companies, alternative work strategy has been synonymous with telecommuting, an arrangement in which employees regularly work from home. However, attention is veering to newer work strategies that can radically change office environments, providing opportunities to support work and workers as never before. With innovative new furniture solutions and product applications, Steelcase is helping customers discover how to reduce floor space while making their employees feel valued and supported in how they work best. By sharing what Steelcase has prototyped and implemented in our own facilities and operations, we can help our customers dramatically reduce their real estate footprint. The total impact goes far beyond what Steelcase can achieve as one company.

"It's satisfying to help customers realize they can reduce their real estate, take a vastly smaller bite of the earth's resources and provide sustainable work settings that are better for their employees. They can connect with all three goals - profit, planet and people - by working with Steelcase. It's great to see customers' eyes light up when they see the value of space in a completely different light."

As part of a Steelcase team that recently completed extensive research into Generation Y's influence in the workplace, Sudhakar considers real estate compression a good problem to have because it's helping companies achieve more collaboration.

"By squeezing people out of the isolation from big individual workstations into more open, flexible spaces, you're increasing people's interaction with each other. That's the most preferred way Generation Y wants to work, and it's also how most people in the other generations prefer to work, too. By opening up the workplace and adding spaces for collaboration, you open up minds of employees and your culture. Your company becomes more transparent, collaborative and innovative."

Helping organizations achieve smart, hardworking offices has large-scale impact on creating a more sustainable future.

"And who doesn't want that in today's world?" ■