As Galvanize’s team continues to grow, we’re proud to announce the opening of our new office at 251 Park Avenue South in New York City. With headquarters in San Francisco and an office in London, Galvanize launched a NY presence in 2021, which has since grown with the addition of new colleagues and now makes up nearly 25% of our global headcount. Moving from an original space of 700 square feet to now more than 7,000 square feet, we took this opportunity to create a physical workplace that thoughtfully reflects many of our defining principles as a climate-focused global investment firm.
Given restrained supply of existing net-zero office space in New York City, we took an intentional approach to place values of sustainability, diversity and inclusion at the heart of our renovation.
In addition to standard energy efficiency measures like LED light bulb conversion, occupancy light sensors, temperature control and access to natural light, our design efforts were grounded in utilizing renewable materials in our finishes and furniture. This includes carpet and tile made from regenerated nylon, eco-friendly grasscloth wallpaper, stools crafted from recyclable polypropylene and zero waste tables constructed with upcycled wood. Many of our office chairs, desks, tables and other furniture were also upcycled and repurposed. In our pantries, we used countertops made from recycled glass, cement and non-toxic pigments, as well as partnered with a food composting organization to ensure we have multiple waste streams to divert trash from the landfill.
What’s more, echoing our commitment to fostering a welcoming and inclusive environment for all our employees, we are in the process of retrofitting the office with a dedicated lactation space for new parents just returning to work. While we view these types of amenities as generally expected in a modern office, we are proud to have worked closely with our expecting and returning parents to integrate the features they expressed they most needed.
To beautify and brighten our space, we also sourced socially conscious artwork in partnership with Artlifting, an organization that creates opportunities for diverse and disabled artists that have traditionally been underrepresented by the contemporary art market and lean on art therapy as a resilience tool. To date, we’ve purchased and installed 10 unique pieces around the office with special plaques that showcase each creator’s inspiring story. Artlifting’s model ensures that the working artists earn 55% of profits from art sales with an additional 1% going toward Artlifting’s Community Impact Fund, which provides art supplies to individual artists in need as well as nonprofit community partners (often studio art programs where ArtLifting artists work). Aligning closely with Artlifting’s mission to drive income and social impact for disadvantaged communities, we are excited to explore opportunities to implement this program across our global office footprint as well as, eventually, with tenants in our real estate investment portfolio.
As we welcome the team to our new office space this fall, we are so excited to bring our Galvanize colleagues together to collaborate, innovate and learn from each other in a space that meaningfully reflects what we stand for as a firm.