For any business operation, going green is more achievable than it’s ever been before. It’s beneficial for businesses to make a proactive effort in going green, not only to help save money but to minimize the carbon footprint that is otherwise produced.
Businesses are often held to a higher standard when it comes to their energy usage, so the more you can do to be greener as a company, the better.
In this guide, you’ll learn all of the cost-effective ways that can help you go green and achieve more eco-efficient practices for the benefit of the business and the environment.
- Go paperless
Going paperless is a great start to being more sustainable as a whole. When it comes to going paperless, it’s often a lot easier than you think because you’re likely as a company to use more digital devices to access and work on documents.
Of course, not every business will be able to go completely paperless, especially when it comes to places where signatures and hard copies need to be made of documents for legal purposes. However, there’s a lot within your business operations that can be digitized in order to use less paper.
Another benefit of using less paper is the amount you spend on your office supplies, such as printer ink, running the printers themselves, and all the stationery costs that come with it.
You’ll likely find that, as a result, you waste a lot less paper than you would typically do in the average day or week of working. This is even more so when you have a lot of staff working from home.
- Make use of renewable energy sources
Renewable energy sources are a helpful step towards a greener and more sustainable business. With that being said, you should look at what renewable energy sources you could introduce to the business.
For example, how about solar energy? Solar panels have long been an effective way of producing electricity and, therefore, powering properties through an alternative fuel source. It can also lessen the strain and pressure that’s put on the national grids that are responsible for providing the power.
To introduce renewable energy sources, look at how they can be implemented across the workforce. You could switch your fleet management to all-electric vehicles, perhaps? There are many ways to explore the use of renewable energy sources in this day and age of business.
- Have a good recycling and reuse program in place
The materials that you both recycle and reuse will contribute positively to your carbon footprint as a business. Every effort should be made to reduce this carbon footprint as best as possible, which is why having a good recycling and reuse program is critical.
How much of your waste do you recycle currently? Could improvements be made when it comes to reducing that amount of waste? There are plenty of recycling services that will pretty much take everything and anything away that you no longer need.
Reusing things that aren’t quite at the end of their shelf life is also helpful in reducing carbon emissions and removing your reliance on virgin materials, which you could put off purchasing for a few more years at least.
- Educate your employees on greener practices
Your employees bear a certain amount of responsibility for the efforts being made to be greener as a business. The efforts they’re making both in their professional and personal lives are beneficial to know as an organization.
You may even be able to help the business to ensure they’re doing more to be greener and more efficient in their working efforts.
For example, you could offer company benefits such as a cycle-to-work scheme or a carpooling service. These are great ways to reduce the emissions produced by transportation.
You could also provide plenty of educational resources and materials through the method of training so that employees know how to save on their energy usage. Whether that’s in the workplace by switching off desktop monitors, to finding eco-efficient practices at home too. It all helps in the grand scheme of things.
- Invest in energy-efficient appliances and equipment
To go green as a business, look at what your company is currently using when it comes to appliances and equipment. While some equipment and appliances may be fairly productive in their energy usage, some will likely be using more than their fair share and even more than they utilized when they were first purchased.
Over time, even the best equipment, when it comes to eco-efficiency, is likely to be less productive and more reliant on increased energy usage.
With that being said, look at how you could invest in energy-efficient appliances and equipment moving forward. Consider what options are out there, and if you’re wondering how much usage of energy each appliance uses, it’s worthwhile getting a smart meter and monitoring every appliance where possible with an energy gauge.
- Save water
Water is often wasted in the workplace, from using external water sources to maintain the exterior gardens to taps within the workplace being left on for far too long.
Saving water is a good way to help contribute to a greener environment, and a lot of that can be done through the education of your staff. Not just that, but it’s also worth looking at how you can conserve water on your property. Rainwater can be conserved with a water tank, and this can be an effective way of using less water in the workplace via your main pipes.
- Work with green and sustainable suppliers
There are great benefits to working with greener and more sustainable suppliers. After all, you want to be partnering with people who care about the impact they’re making personally to the world, too.
There are some great technologies that you can implement into your business, like waste hauler software, for example, which is useful to help optimize waste management practices. You may also want to explore
- Offset your carbon
Offsetting your carbon emissions is a good way to reduce your overall carbon footprint as a company. Look at initiatives and programs available locally, nationally, and even internationally that you can get involved with, whether it’s providing various resources or investing in such programs.
It’s a small contribution, but one that can make a big difference to the environment, especially where funding for these organizations is concerned.
- Offer remote working for employees
Remote working can be useful when it comes to going green because not every employee needs to be in the office at all times. While it might not be possible for all business types or specific employees, there are a lot of employees who can work from home and therefore benefit from doing so for the environment.
With fewer staff in the office, you’ve got lower overheads and a lot less energy being consumed. Your staff are also commuting less, which means less strain on energy usage by transportation.
- Speak to your customers about what improvements can be made
Your customers will likely have plenty of feedback that they can offer to your business in general when it comes to making improvements. In the interest of eco-efficency and sustainability, they may be able to highlight tips and tricks that your business hasn’t yet thought about doing.
Going green with your business operations is a smart choice and something that can do wonders for the planet as a result. Make sure to use these tips and to continue adapting in order or to reduce the carbon emissions that will have a negative impact on the world and for future generations yet to come.
