Sweet New Suite

Sometimes the best way to change your thinking is to change your surroundings. When it comes to improving your eco-paradigm, a little remodelling can do the world some good, too. Here are some ways to transform your workplace into a model of productivity and sustainability

Aug 1, 2008

by Gregory Hudson

COLOUR ME GREEN
You’d think that going green would be safe. Sadly, painting your office can do some serious damage to the planet. Improperly discarded paint can find its way into streams and groundwater, creating a potential risk to people and ecosystems. Calibre Environmental Ltd. allows you to paint your office guilt-free, though. The Calgary-based company rescues post-consumer paint and reprocesses it without losing the original quality. www.calibreenvironmental.com

SHED SOME LIGHT
Edmonton-based Visionwall Corporation is Alberta’s leader in custom, high-performance, energy-efficient windows. No matter what size you want, the windows will decrease the amount of heat you lose and the amount of outside sound you hear. They also trap heat better than polyethylene foam. www.visionwall.com

WALL-TO-WALL SAVINGS
It’s hard to make walls sound exciting. They kind of just stand there. That’s their job. Still, walls from Calgary’s TitanWall Inc. do their job darn well. These walls provide impressive, nay, nearly unbeatable insulation, which saves you money and reduces the amount of fossil fuels you’ll burn to keep your office cosy in the winter. www.titanwall.com

PERPETUAL RENOVATION
According to the people at DIRTT Environmental Solutions, lovingly referred to as DIRTTbags by its own, one of the major environmental sins of business is the recurring cycle of building, demolishing and rebuilding. The office interior, and its need to continuously adapt as a business evolves, is one of the biggest culprits in this perpetual waste of resources and materials. Calgary-based DIRTT (which stands for Doing It Right This Time) helps enterprises accommodate growth and change in the workplace with attractive movable walls and partitions that can be planned out for maximum flexibility using the firm’s proprietary software. They’re so eco-conscious, they don’t even have a flyer to show you. www.dirtt.com