Taking sustainability into business practices is something we’re passionate about. After all, helping to make the earth a cleaner, greener place will benefit everyone. Setting sustainable practices in your business early on will also help to set the tone for the company’s mission and goals. Plus, studies show that as many as 70% of customers prefer businesses that make a positive social and environmental impact.
Whichever way you look at it, going green is a good thing!
If you’re wondering how to make your business operations more eco-friendly, here are ten tips and ideas.
1. Audit Your Company’s Energy Consumption
One of the first steps that a business can take is to conduct an energy audit on its operations. This will help to showcase precisely where energy use is not as efficient as it could be. Once the areas have been identified, we recommend that you look at investing in various energy-saving methods. These can include changes to your lighting, air-conditioning systems, and insulation.
2. Reduce Energy Consumption
Once you’ve done an energy audit, you’ll know that reducing the energy expended will help to make your business operations more eco-friendly. You can do this by not only switching to energy-efficient equipment, but you can also simply take the easy route and turn off any lights that are not in use. You should also turn off any computers, monitors, TVs or any other office equipment that draws power when not actively in use.
3. Go Green With Eco-Friendly Products
When it comes to in-house businesses, it’s fairly easy to make eco-friendly choices by switching to sustainable, green products. Using biodegradable, natural soaps is a good option, as is swapping out harsh chemically laden kitchen and bathroom cleaning products for non-toxic, biodegradable alternatives.
4. Pick Eco-Friendly Suppliers
Try and switch your business allegiance to eco-friendly suppliers. Seek out those who’ve chosen to not only use eco-friendly products in their delivery chain but also those who are committed or have stated they plan to commit to sustainable business practices.
By choosing to go with them, you will not only support their initiatives and bolster their confidence in their chosen eco-friendly pathway, but you’ll also lessen your overall environmental impact.
This new renewable cycle you’re choosing can start as small as picking companies who use only recycled packaging options, or only provide their products in glass containers. It can go all the way up to their company only choosing to use recycled materials in its operations or planting trees to offset carbon footprints.
5. Meet Online
While going to conferences can help to bolster your networking opportunities, choosing to skip most conferences and meet online instead will help to minimize your carbon footprint.
By doing in-person conferences selectively, you will save time that would otherwise be devoted to travel days. Additionally, by only choosing some conferences to attend in person, you’ll find that you drastically cut travel expenses and you can put that budget to better use elsewhere in your business operations.
6. Make The Paperless Choices
One of the easiest ways to start making your business more eco-friendly, especially in its day-to-day running, is to opt for online document storage solutions. There’s no need to use boxes of paper if you can create and store documents online. Not only will you save trees, but your documents are safer too as they won’t easily get damaged or lost.
You can also digitize as many administrative processes as possible to save paper. Create digital staff records for HR,learn how to make an invoice using Excel or Google Docs, and use online communication platforms for company memos. Essentially, think twice before you print anything out. The chances are, there’s a paperless alternative.
7. Reuse, Recycle, Reduce
Installing a recycling area on work premises is a good way to practice sustainable and eco-friendly business operations. You can also place bins in offices and shared workspaces that allow everyone to recycle with ease. Make sure that you dedicate specific bins to plastic, glass, tin and electronic waste. This will allow it to be properly returned to their manufacturers or recycling depots.
Rather than buying new office furniture every few years, look at how you can reuse existing furniture. Chairs may need reupholstering or tables may require a bit of TLC, but there’s no need to contribute to the culture of commercialism just because things are a little worn. Just about anything can be given a new lease on life if you apply a bit of imagination or creativity.
8. Donate And Sell Items
Rather than just get rid of items that your office no longer uses, such as old printers, old office chairs, old cups or crockery, you can instead look at donating or selling these items. By doing this you’re prolonging the items use for others, and ensuring you don’t add to the already-enormous land-fill problem.
By setting a good example in this at work, employees are likely to adopt this habit, and instead of getting rid of items in their homes they don’t use, they are more likely to find alternative ways to pass on these goods back into society.
9. Renewable Energy Options
Most countries now have access to various forms of renewable energy sources. From options such as a Tesla Wall and solar panels to wind-powered alternatives, renewable energy options are increasing.
This is something your business could consider investing in for its operations—either in the main office or at some other point in the business operations chain, such as a factory or the vehicle used to transport goods. This will help to reduce overhead costs early on since most renewable energy sources pay themselves back fairly efficiently over a five-year period.
By choosing renewable energy options, your overall impact on the environment is lessened considerably. Plus, it allows you to have a way to keep the lights on when unexpected emergencies crop up that affect the national power grid, such as hurricanes, storms, floods, or power outages.
10.Water-Saving Measures
From washing water to toilet flushing, there are eco-friendly alternatives you can adopt or invest in. Low-flow toilets, water-efficient dishwashers, and other water-saving devices such as rain barrels can help to lower utility bills and conserve water.
Even a few strategically placed posters or infographics can make your employees more aware of their water use, and reduce it accordingly.
With these ten options in mind, you’ll be well on your way to curbing less eco-friendly business practices, and instead set your company on the path to becoming more eco-friendly.
Article Submitted By Community Writer
