The recent recession impacted upon demand for environmentally-friendly office spaces, but as the recovery gets underway businesses are expected to regain their eco-expectations.
Michael Shanks, chief technology office of Ultraspeed, said that the recession took people’s minds off ‘going green’
He said that as firms came under increasing amounts of financial pressure – saving the environment with the latest office space technology was seen as an “expensive proposition”.
Mr Shanks said: “I think that the majority of people are conscious of being green in their personal life and this will inevitably fall over into their work lives as people demand more from their employers.”
However, he added that firms have to be aware of the environmental impact that the manufacturing process has.
“Switching equipment before it has served its full potential and swapping for environmental equipment may have a converse effect resulting in an increased environmental impact,” he concluded.
Recent research from Lexmark showed that embarrassed office staff would go as far as hiding aging and unsightly office equipment – like old fax machines – from visitors.
