Plant of the month
• Newbury
Our Plant of the Month? It's got to be the Peace Lily
Thoughts from our potting shed
Plants Try Pedal Power!
Nature at Work's plant technicians, Val and Joanna, trial delivering plants by bicycle!
Our plant technicians, Val and Joanna have taken on the cycling challenge to try and use a bicycle for work!
Day four of Planet Positive’s 7 days 2 sustainability has encouraged us to review how we all travel to and for work and to make efficiences.
“Using a bicycle for our customer maintenance visits isn’t going to be a practical solution unfortunately,” says Joanna, “but there are ways we can all make a difference”. Our plant technicians have been van-sharing for instance on longer journeys for efficiency on man hours and mileage.
And of course as a small, local company, 50% of our office staff already walk to work.
It's goodbye to lunchtime packaging!
• Newbury
Day four of our week to sustainability is all about Recycling and Waste
Reuse: Tracey has been showing us how to bring our lunch to work - in reusable containers. And our staff on the road, Val, Joanna and Stella also use reusable travel mugs.
Recycle: Nature at Work is very good at recycling already - we recycle printer cartridges and Jackie recycles everything possible from office bins.
Help stop deforestation: We went digital a while ago sending and receiving invoices and bills by email.
Buy recycled products: Tracey is going to price compare recycled FSC stationery when she next places an order.
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We're switched on to switching off!
• Marlborough
The Nature at Work Green Team has been embracing Planet Positive's 'first in, last out' policy at work (and home)!!
It’s been Day Two of Nature at Work’s ‘7 DAYS TO SUSTAINABILITY’ - switching off machines and appliances overnight and weekends.
We’ve adopted the policy that the last person leaving a room is responsible for TURNING OFF and that includes printers, monitors, toasters and kettles at the wall. So because we work from home, even the family has got involved in this - with rewards for the children for every light they turn off when they leave a room!
We’ve also turned the heating down to optimum office temperature of 18C, adding an extra jumper if we’ve been chilly. Thankfully the weather’s turning a little warmer now!
Rainwater harvesting….. with a difference!
• Southampton
Solent University are collecting rainwater for their Nature at Work office plants in novel containers - old oak whisky barrels!
“The enormous old oak barrel on the roof outside the Vice Chancellor’s office fills up incredibly quickly. And when we water the plant displays, because the barrels were used to store whisky in a previous life, the aroma from the watering cans smells rather wonderful too!”
Val Amer
Plant Technician - Nature at Work
Green Team for Nature at Work!
Nature at Work has embarked on Planet Positive's '7 days 2 Sustainability' programme.
Day One:
We’ve organised our Green Team - essentially that includes all of us! - had our first meeting and created our special Green Board that will display all our activities. And we’re also putting 3 immediate actions into practise in the office to save energy and reduce waste.
The programme is all about being as ‘green’ as possible, hopefully saving money, winning business and saving the planet to boot!
“It’s amazing what you can achieve in just a short time. Just printing double sided not only save around £20 per person annually but also reduces waste!” Jackie Snell - head of Nature at Work’s Green Team.
Home sweet work: How to build your workplace around your employees
• Newbury
As boundaries between work and home environments continue to blur, office design and fit out specialist Area Sq, reports on what this means.
Whether it’s come about through a shift in power, flexible work hours or simply recognition of importance, employees are slowly becoming more and more valued at the workplace. Engaged, enthusiastic employees are appearing throughout businesses (not just at the top) and greater attention than ever before is being paid to the working process, not just the end result.
Investment in employees, among other things, often means a change in the working environment. Working in an inspiring atmosphere brings motivation and a sure-fire antidote to the Monday morning blues.
Joined up thinking: Company culture
Enhancing the office environment can mean injecting a slice of brand culture into the surroundings. Colours, design, and elements that highlight the core values of the brand (think of EasyJet’s orange offices, or the “green electricity” used at the Innocent offices).
By aligning company culture (objectives, aims and values) with office design, employees will feel inspired, motivated, and perhaps more importantly, part of the ‘family’. Culture is crucial to business, and this starts with office design.
Enhanced flexibility powered by tech
The unprecedented connectivity in the modern world has changed the way in which business is done. Many workers use their mobile device to be constantly connected to the office, finishing work on the train or checking emails before bed.
To accommodate this, companies must offer flexibility in terms of working hours, and in the way people work. Do enough companies appreciate just how much work is conducted outside of the workplace?
It may seem counter-productive, but the introduction of sleep-pods and nap areas have been used by many corporations to increase the productivity of their workforce. Sleep, apparently, is no longer an activity entirely synonymous with the home.
Work v Home: The intentional blurring of boundaries
Through the increased integration (often fuelled by incredible technology that allows it to happen) of work and home, there is something of a blurry line between what is home and what is work. It was, once, so clear to define.
A workplace must represent something in an employee’s life, for them to appreciate spending most of their time there. Sleep pods may be extreme, but simple additions like personal storage space, bike sheds, plants and greenery, additional kitchen facilities or even having office pets such as cats, dogs or goldfish, can make a world of difference in the employee’s working day. Simple shifts in office design or layout to accommodate these can often have a significant impact.
The modern day workspace has broken free from its nine to five shackles. More is expected of employees, so more should be offered in return.
A company that surrounds the working experience in flexibility, technological functionality, and motivation, will see company loyalty and productivity rise.
Why not invest in your employees and see what investment is returned?
If you’d like to find out how you can build your workplace around the modern day worker speak to one of the office design and fit out experts at Area Sq. You can call the Egham office on 01784 274 000 or the London office on 020 7291 9400. Alternatively, please visit www.areasq.co.uk or email info@areasq.co.uk.
Bring Christmas alive at the office with a REAL Christmas tree
With Christmas just weeks away, don't forget to organise your fully decorated office Christmas tree from Nature at Work!
Nature at Work’s hassle-free Christmas tree service means that we deliver a top quality Nordman no needle-drop REAL Christmas tree - fully decorated with lights - during the first week of December. We then remove it before the 12th night! All you need to decide is the size of tree and colours for the decorations.
Since all the best trees get snapped up early, unfortunately orders received after 31st October 2012 will be subject to a 20% surcharge to guarantee their quality from other sources.
Last year we supplied real decorated Christmas trees to offices all over the South of England including Bristol, Reading, Southampton, Newbury, Maidenhead and Swindon. Order now to avoid disappointment!
Spreading a ray of sunshine…… indoors!
As the rain poured down during July, Nature at Work decided to bring the summer inside by giving peace lilies to businesses across the south
During the wettest July on record, Nature at Work’s surprise delivery of tropical peace lilies to offices in Southampton, Bristol, Newbury, and Reading has certainly been lifting spirits! “You’ve made my day!” and “We’re thrilled!” are just some of the many positive responses.
“The peace lily or spathyphyllum is one of the most effective air purifiers and makes a great office plant. Our campaign to help companies get ‘greener’ involves offering them an office plant to try out. By giving peace lilies we’ve seen first hand how indoor plants automatically make people feel better. And they look great!”
David Snell, Managing Director
Nature at Work
Plants get creative revamp!
• Newbury
Glamorous new plant displays for 20:20
20:20 are an incredibly creative company, with a relaxed, informal approach. When they moved offices they asked Nature at Work to come up with a new planting scheme befitting their new premises that would be inspiring yet practical.
”From trendy, architectural plant displays in the boardroom to a flowering desktop in reception and more functional greenery in other work and chill-out areas, our fabulous new plants suit all our creative needs perfectly! The eye-catching deep red pots on our flat roof even provide continuity between the exterior and interior decor and planting.” Brian Taylor, CEO (South)
We've been tweeting some of our favourite green fingered tips!
Is it that time already? Team discussion about this years Christmas trees, over a cup of tea. http://t.co/mBQsACqjSL
Indoor Plant Decor: Design Stylebook for Houseplants (& Contest to Win Woolly Pockets Planter!) | Urban Gardens: http://t.co/cGRoU02SNq
BBC News - Cold spring: What does this mean for flowers? http://t.co/loWXNI3VBG
Another #rhschelsea begins! Celebrate 100 yrs of Chelsea with the Eco-office experiment @thatidrbloke @UniofExeter http://t.co/Um0MmWciX5
Our plant of the month is the Peace Lily. Check it out on our Pinterest board! http://t.co/Sy83yZga4W
Getting the children involved in our Sustainability Campaign! http://t.co/PJn7dehcFf
How to Create a Workplace People Never Want to Leave, by Google’s Christopher Coleman http://t.co/T1oa9sHB1d via @BW
Make sure to follow us for more!