A handmade and vintage product retailer has received a green certification for its headquarters in New York.

Etsy’s Brooklyn office is the largest building in the world to have acheived the Living Building Challenge Petal award, which takes into account a wide range of sustainability criteria.

As well as considering the green credentials of materials, installation, construction and design, the award also takes into account the effect of the building on the health and happiness of surrounding local communities and its occupants.

Etsy vetted thousands of items, ranging from one-off handmade furniture to mass-manufactured phone systems, for toxic or harmful materials commonly found in many commercial office buildings.

The company only used wood sourced from invasive species or that was salvaged, reused or sourced from responsibly managed forests.

The building features solar panels on its roof to provide renewable electricity and is host to a range of greenery inside to help maximise air quality.

As well as landing the green acheivement, Etsy has also announced its commitment to diverting at least 90% of its global waste from landfills by 2020 as well as attempting to reduce its total waste output, for instance by reducing packaging in its supply chain.

Costa recently unveiled its £38 million energy and resource efficient coffee roastery in Essex.

However, a third of businesses are reportedly not taking measures to make their offices environmentally friendly.