With global warming, greenhouse gases, deforestation, and more, it’s more important than ever that businesses look for ways in which to operate in a greener, more sustainable way. As well as the environmental benefits, doing your bit for the planet can also lower costs and boost your public image, which will increase profits and allow for larger growth. With that in mind, here are six smart ways to make your business more eco-friendly.
- Upgrade Your Office Equipment
We all know that leaving equipment on in the office wastes unnecessary amounts of energy, but few people realize that this might be the case even when your printers and computers are in use. For this reason, you should consider switching slow and inefficient devices to more efficient models. This will cost you slightly more, but you’ll make the money back in reduced energy bills.
- Install A Bike Rack
Cars are one of the largest contributors to emissions, causing huge amounts of damage to the ozone layer. With that in mind, you should encourage your employees to cycle to work by installing a bike rack. This relatively simple, one-time investment will also help to keep your team healthy, thus decreasing the stress and cost that comes with employee sickness.
- Introduce Flexible Work Policies
The cost of heating and lighting an entire office is large, as is the damage it contributes to the world around us. To remedy this issue, you should introduce flexible work policies that allow your employees to work from home, even if it’s only for part of the week. This has significant advantages for everyone involved, but the most important is that it reduces your carbon footprint.
- Sort Out Your Trash
Throwing all of your trash into one bin may be the most convenient choice, but it isn’t the most ethical. For this reason, you should ask employees to divide their rubbish between three bins – One for plastic, one for paper, and one for general waste. You should also consider investing in compactors. These reduce the number of trips needed to remove waste from the office.
- Look To The Web
Paper and ink may not seem like particularly big costs, but, in the long run, the harm they do to your budget and the environment is large. Because of this, you should aim to reduce the amount of paper you use in the office by turning to the web instead. You can store documents on the cloud, send emails rather than letters, and take meeting notes on a tablet.
- Always Buy In Bulk
When something runs out in the office, whether it be paperclips or coffee, the simplest solution is usually to send an employee out with a company credit card to pick some up. Unfortunately, by doing this, you end up spending more than you need to, as well as contribute to emissions. With that in mind, you should buy in bulk over the internet instead, preferably from a local company.
An eco-friendly business benefits everyone, so remember the advice above, and start to green your company.
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