If you own a property or there’s a commercial property for lease that you have your eye on renting, there are many ways you can make it more environmentally friendly. Giving back to the earth and being conscious of our effect on the environment is extremely important, and there are certainly ways you can do that within property ownership.
Use Energy-efficient Lighting
Using energy-efficient bulbs is an easy way to be more environmentally conscious. Instead of regular lightbulbs, you can simply switch to LEDs, which last much longer than regular light bulbs. Perhaps install skylights to use natural light instead of electricity.
Consider investing in technology such as high-efficient light fixtures, automatic light dimmers that only use maximum energy when needed, lighting systems that have occupancy sensors, or even upgrading any outdated, old lighting. There are many lighting options available that will help your property be more green.
Take Control of Water Consumption
Lowering your water bill is a great way to be kinder to the environment. Consider installing low-flow plumbing fixtures into the bathrooms or even touch-free faucets so water only runs when someone’s hands are underneath. Also, looking into boosting the cooling towers’ efficiency could improve your building’s water footprint, as the towers lose a lot of water from evaporation.
Invest in Green Cleaning Supplies
Swapping out cleaning supplies with toxic chemicals for green cleaning supplies is another easy way to be environmentally friendly. Harmful chemicals in cleaners are released into the air, which are not only bad for the environment but for your health as well. If a bottle is labeled with “eco-friendly” or “biodegradable,” they might not be true and put on the label simply for marketing purposes.
A better way to determine which cleaning products are truly good for the environment is to purchase ones that have an EPA Safer Choice label.
Have a Preventative Maintenance Plan
If your equipment consistently breaks down, not only do you have to pay more for repairs and replacements, but you’re going through more materials and equipment that are then dumped in a landfill. The less waste you produce out of your building, the better. Therefore, investing in maintenance appointments can keep you from needing to constantly replace equipment.
A great way to keep track of maintenance appointments for systems such as HVAC, plumbing, or electrical is to use computer software. The right software can keep track of all issues, maintenance history, future appointments, and more. Not only will it help you keep track of the building’s service appointment needs, but it will also eliminate the need for paper receipts and reminders.
Contact Us Today
If you’re looking into commercial properties for sale or lease and don’t know where to get started, we encourage you to reach out to our team. With a wide range of properties available in the Chicago area, we’re confident we can help you find one that checks all your boxes. Not all Chicago property management companies are as experienced and dedicated as us.
Our staff can help you with brokerage, sales, tenant representation, and more. Don’t wait- give us a call today!