8 Practical Ways Your Company Can Be More Eco-Conscious
Regardless of the size of your business, or how many years of experience, you have, creating an environmentally friendly operation can provide countless benefits. Reducing your carbon footprint, preserving natural resources and improving your bottom line can all be achieved by incorporating eco-friendly measures into the workplace.
Climate change is a serious issue that shouldn’t be overlooked, and with more and more businesses understanding the importance of going green, here are 8 practical ways on how your company can be more eco-conscious.
Conserve Water
One of the best ways to save money and be more environmentally friendly is by conserving water. If you have leaky taps, your business could be wasting gallons of water every year without you realising. There’re also the CO2 emissions to consider – there’s a carbon cost to each litre of water that’s treated, transported to your tap, transported from your waste pipe and treated again. If you aren’t sure what changes to make, a good way to become more water efficient is by making use of the free resources made available by many commercial water retailers.
Recycle
Another simple measure to make your business greener is by recycling. Creating bins that are designed for recycling and teaching your employees the importance of using them will help your business be more eco-conscious. Make sure that your bins are clearly labelled for items such as cardboard, paper, and plastic so your team know where to put excess waste. As a business owner, you need to lead by example, so if you would like to reduce business costs and help the planet, making recycling a priority is key.
Perform an Energy Audit
If your energy bills are increasing and you’re not sure why, performing an energy audit is the best place to start. Hiring a professional to visit your business premises can be a great way to track how much energy you consume every month. Once they have identified key areas and patterns, you can learn how to cut back on your energy consumption.
Use Green Cleaning Products
Keeping your office space spick and span should be one of your main priorities as a business owner. Whether you do it yourself or hire cleaners to do the job, purchasing eco-friendly cleaning products can be another great strategy in creating a greener operation. While you may be inclined to use the cleaning products on the shelves of supermarkets, know that many are filled with harmful chemicals that are destroying the planet. So, using homemade cleaning products like vinegar and baking soda can be a more environmentally friendly option.
Change Your Lightbulbs
In a typical office environment, lighting tends to be one of the key factors of energy wastage. If you’re the type of business owner who relies on traditional lightbulbs, it’s likely that you will be paying more each month in your energy bill. If you’re ready to make a positive change, replacing traditional lightbulbs with energy-efficient ones is the way forward. Energy-efficient lightbulbs not only use less energy, but you won’t need to replace them as often.
Use Email Marketing
How you market and promote your brand is a key component of a successful business. If consumers aren’t aware of your products or services, you can’t expect sales to skyrocket. Rather than using paper to create leaflets and promotional letters, taking advantage of email marketing can be an effective way of running an eco-friendly organisation. While there are many benefits that direct marketing can bring, email marketing eradicates the need of printing out hundreds of thousands of leaflets and flyers at a time.
Encourage Public Transportation
Whether you operate in a town or bustling city, many of your employees may use their car to get to and from work. If you are passionate about reducing your carbon footprint and want to set a good example, leaving your car at home in favour of public transport is the best place to start. Doing so will highlight your commitment to being environmentally friendly, and your employees are more likely to follow suit. While you may face delays and cancellations from time to time, many commuters find using public transport makes them happier. You can also be safe in the knowledge that you’re not using gallons of petrol and emitting carbon dioxide.
Turn Off Standby Equipment
After a busy day in the office is over, it’s important that you take 5 minutes to go around your office space to ensure any standby equipment is turned off. While you may think it’s not doing much harm, equipment that is in standby mode is still using electricity. No one wants to deal with a hefty bill at the end of the month, so getting into the habit of ensuring everything is switched off by the plug can help you be more eco-friendly.
Global warming is a complex and colossal issue that is showing no signs of slowing down, so if you want to help the environment and do your bit in reducing your carbon footprint, there are lots of techniques that you can implement into your business to create a greener operation. This will also help you to save money on your day to day costs.
