Being eco-friendly is a huge concern for consumers now. If you want to reduce your carbon footprint, here are some ways to green your business.
With 71% of shoppers saying they consider the environment when they make their purchases to green your business. That you’re also helping the planet in a time of crisis, is another great reason to make better choices.
If you’re considering taking steps to reduce the carbon footprint that your business leaves, we have some tips for you. Ranging from minor changes to bigger ones, we hope there’s something for every business regardless of size or budget.
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9 Ways to Green Your Business:
Making changes to be more environmentally friendly can help lower your costs, bring your staff together as a team, and impress your customers. Here are our top 9 ways you can add to your green credentials.
1. Think About Paper:
Because of the availability of wood and the convenience of the printing press, our use of paper has grown by 400% in the last 40 years. This doesn’t only add to deforestation; paper production leads to both air and water pollution.
One obvious way to be environmentally responsible and cut costs is to avoid using paper where possible. Where you do need to use printed material, try and use paper which is recycled from post-consumer waste (PCW). Making PCW paper uses less than half the energy of traditional paper.
Some companies have successfully used paper which has been printed on one side for a second time, either as scrap paper or in a separate printer drawer for documents that don’t need to be shown to clients. Make sure paper recycling bins are freely available to collect all the scraps.
2. Consider Cleaning Products:
Cleaning products tend to be filled up with chemicals, and while some of those break down in the environment, others don’t. There are thousands of chemicals in use which haven’t been tested for their environmental impact, and others that we know have an adverse effect on the water supply and wildlife.
Whether you clean yourself or have a service that does it, ask about switching to more environment-friendly choices. This doesn’t only include the products themselves but also the packaging, which should be recyclable and not contain CFCs.
3. Green Your Bathrooms:
There are several ways you can make your bathrooms more environmentally friendly. The first is to use toilet paper made from PCW. Secondly, you can choose hand soap and cleaning materials which have ingredients which will not damage the environment.
Using a toilet which has a dual flush system can help reduce the amount of water used, and cistern displacement devices will cut the amount of water used in each flush. Converting your toilets to use rainwater, or ‘grey’ water that has previously been used for hand washing or dishwashing is another option to consider.
4. Change your Electricity Supplier
Not all energy suppliers are equal in their commitment to renewable energy. You can support the development of this technology by switching your business to a supplier which uses wind or solar powered energy.
Alternatively, you could take your business off-grid and look at installing your own energy solution such as a wind turbine or solar panels. You can even green your disaster recovery plan with a portable solar generator from PoweredPortableSolar.com.
5. Shed Some Light:
One simple change that environmentally friendly companies are making is to switch from traditional incandescent or fluorescent bulbs to their more modern equivalents. Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFL) and LED lights are an investment, the bulbs cost more than their conventional counterparts. But they need replacing less often, and they use considerably less energy. This results in money saving, over time. Use a calculator to see how much money this could save you.
6. Get Audited:
If you want to cut your energy use and its associated cost, then call in an energy auditor. They’ll tour your premises, and give you advice on how you can decrease your consumption.
This doesn’t just include behavioral changes, but also small repairs such as cracked or ill-fitting windows which might raise your heating bills. They’ll also advise on whether you can upgrade your electricals to more energy-efficient models.
7. Alternative Transport:
Can you limit the number of car journeys that are made for your business, or by staff getting to the office? Perhaps a car-share scheme would help, or an incentive to those who want to come to work on foot or by bike. Mass transportation is more environmentally friendly than a single person in a car.
You might also want to consider letting staff work from home. Cutting out the commute doesn’t just help the environment, it also keeps your staff happier and healthier. Working from home isn’t a perk, though. There are some great benefits for your business, too, including increased productivity.
8. Have a Green Space:
If you work in a town or city, you probably have concerns about air pollution. Luckily, nature has the answer to that problem. Plants can clean the air, taking in carbon dioxide and giving out oxygen.
Whether you have space for a garden (rooftops are a great place to plant up and add a new social area to your building) or just window boxes, the presence of plants helps to lower blood pressure. If you only have indoor space, consider a moss wall or air purifying plants instead.
9. Eliminate Plastic Bottles:
They’re a staple of business meetings, but plastic bottles are a huge cause of pollution. Instead, consider filling glass bottles with filtered water. Ask your employees to stop bringing in plastic bottles, too. You could order in some branded water bottles to help drive the initiative. Give them out to customers for marketing and green kudos combined.
It’s Easy Being Green:
Despite what Kermit the Frog sang, it’s never been easier (or more important) to green your business. Climate change is a major threat, and customers are increasingly looking for companies with environmental credentials so why not do the right thing and enjoy the benefits.
If you enjoyed this article, then you might also like our other business-related pieces. We share advice on a wide range of topics, so have a browse today and see how we can support your venture.
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