EUROPEAN GREEN OFFICE HANDBOOK

The European Green Office (EGO) Handbook serves as a guide for transforming offices into sustainable spaces through a 'light' Environmental Management System (EMS). It outlines a Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle involving top-level commitment, the appointment of a Green Office coordinator, and the monitoring of environmental performance indicators. The document provides detailed technical and behavioral advice across several domains: energy efficiency (lighting and HVAC), sustainable procurement (prioritizing local and Fairtrade products), resource reduction (minimizing paper and water use), waste management (following the waste hierarchy), and the creation of a healthy indoor environment. It also addresses social responsibility, including work-life balance and inclusive employment, and provides a detailed checklist and data requirements for an Office Ecological Footprint Calculator.

• The European Green Office (EGO) program is designed as a simplified environmental management system (EMS) based on the Plan-Do-Check-Act Cycle to ensure continuous improvement of environmental performance.
• Offices are identified as significant contributors to environmental impact, with the claim that 40% of raw materials and resources worldwide are consumed by offices.
• Energy-related emissions are a primary concern in the EU, accounting for nearly 80% of the region's total greenhouse gas emissions.
• Small behavioral changes in office temperature can lead to significant energy savings; specifically, reducing the office temperature by 1°C can decrease energy consumption by 6%.
• Sustainable procurement should prioritize a life-cycle approach, favoring locally made products and Fairtrade certifications to reduce carbon emissions and support social justice.
• Paper consumption is a major waste stream in offices, with an estimated average of 1,000 A4 sheets used per employee per month, contributing to approximately 45% of total annual office waste by mass.
• Water efficiency in offices can be improved through technological upgrades and behavioral changes, with potential wastage reductions of up to one-third.
• Indoor air quality (IAQ) in offices can be significantly worse than outdoor air, sometimes 2 to 5 times or even 100 times more polluted, leading to 'Sick Building Syndrome'.
• Sustainable transport strategies for offices include promoting teleworking to reduce commuting emissions and implementing 'eco-driving' training, which can reduce car energy consumption by 20% to 40%.
• Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the office context involves addressing the challenges of an ageing workforce and promoting a healthy work-life balance through flexible working hours and family-friendly policies.
• The use of non-environmentally friendly cleaning detergents contributes to the depletion of non-renewable energy and pollutes indoor air, increasing the risk of asthma.
• Food production is a major environmental driver, with beef production being ten times more carbon-intensive than chicken and generating nearly 80 times more greenhouse gas than wheat per kilogram.

APA

Povodör, A., Bodroghelyi, C., Mouazan, E., Moora, H., Katalin, J., Chipev, K., Kilk, K., Lesage, K., van Meesche, M., Judith, M., Emôke, P., Kern, S., & Ogarelec, V. (n.d.). EUROPEAN GREEN OFFICE HANDBOOK. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/european-green-office-handbook.pdf

Chicago

Povodör, Artur, Csaba Bodroghelyi, Erwan Mouazan, Harri Moora, Járy Katalin, Kamen Chipev, Karin Kilk, et al. EUROPEAN GREEN OFFICE HANDBOOK. Stockholm Environment Institute, n.d. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/european-green-office-handbook.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{povodrndeuropean, author = {Povodör, Artur and Bodroghelyi, Csaba and Mouazan, Erwan and Moora, Harri and Katalin, Járy and Chipev, Kamen and Kilk, Karin and Lesage, Kateri and van Meesche, Marcel and Judith, Molnár and Emôke, Péter and Kern, Spela and Ogarelec, Vida}, title = {{EUROPEAN GREEN OFFICE HANDBOOK}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, url = {https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/european-green-office-handbook.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }