Our office is our concrete calling card. We have created a sustainable office that suits us perfectly – and we did it by working in collaboration with leading partners.
Motivation
We believe that an office should radiate the organization’s values, so we were delighted to have the opportunity to make the 8th floor of the James Watt building in Amsterdam reflect what we at Copper8 stand for. You can probably guess what that meant: sustainability and circularity all the way to the smallest details – and preferably recognizable, so our visitors could see it.
Solution
We worked hard with our architect and the landlord of the building to bring our concept to life. This process had already started with an innovative approach to our rental agreement with Cocon Vastgoed: instead of renting per square meter, we pay per occupied workplace (FTE). In this way, the start-up costs are clear, and as we grow, the rental price grows with us in a manageable way. Once we reach a certain size, we’ll be paying a little more than the current price per square meter – it’s a win-win situation. We haven’t been able to achieve everything we set out to, but we are still very proud of the result. Read on to find out why.
- The location: fortunately, our office is only a five-minute walk from Amsterdam Amstel train station, so as few visitors as possible arrive by car.
- Building with demolition waste: in collaboration with our architect, we successfully used waste as a raw material. The office features wood and glass partitions from a retirement home, and the meeting rooms have glass panels from the former municipal district office in de Baarsjes in Amsterdam. The insulating ceiling is made of sprayed archival material, and the carpet tiles, made by Interface, consist of recycled fishing nets from the Philippines.
- Furniture: we procured all our furniture circularly in collaboration with Gispen. We do not own our office furniture – we use our desks, conference tables, lamps and chairs in exchange for a monthly payment. Some other items of furniture are ‘experienced’, and our conference table is made entirely of scrap wood.
- Light: we also wanted to procure our illumination circularly – to pay for the hours of light as a service, rather than for the light bulb as a product. This advantageously places an incentive on the manufacturer to make the light bulbs more sustainable. Unfortunately, it was unsuccessful – most providers did not yet have an attractive operational lease offer. Instead, we opted for the most economical LED lighting available on the market, and the lights are linked to motion sensors, so they don’t stay on unnecessarily.
Status
In 2015, we started using our office – one of the very first circular workplaces in Amsterdam. Are you interested in renting a workplace with us? You can contact our Happiness Manager Ilse Klaasse Bos. Do you want to know more about how you can make your own office circular? Contact one of our advisors.
