Consumers are frequently prioritizing businesses that are environmentally focused and seeking out companies that have an eco-friendly initiative. This means that working to make your business more environmentally friendly will not only benefit the planet but your sales too.
Some small businesses might struggle with the prospect of making their company more sustainable, assuming it will require a large investment. This is not the case at all. There are many small changes that you can start making today which will help your business become more environmentally friendly without costing the earth.
Create a Recycling Scheme
Introducing a recycling scheme is one of the easiest ways of making your business more sustainable. The first step to creating a recycling scheme in your business is to identify which of your office waste products can be recycled. This can include:
1. Scrap paper
2. Printer cartridges
3. Plastic bottles
4. Newspaper
5. Junk mail
Once you have identified which substances should be recycled, you can set up recycling stations across your workplace. It is useful to put recycling bins in areas where people are already getting rid of their waste. This will ensure that the new bins are being used as much as possible. You need to make sure that you differentiate between bins and provide clear signage to ensure everyone knows what waste goes in which bin.
Conduct a Water and Energy Audit
As Utility Bidder explains, conducting a water audit is a great way to save money and reduce the environmental impact of your business. An audit will involve a professional coming to your workplace and investigating how water and electricity are currently being used. The auditor will then present you with their findings and suggestions of ways to reduce your usage and run your operations more efficiently. This means that a water and energy audit can help you to save both money and electricity.
Offer Remote Working Options
Offering staff the option to work from home can help you reduce your business's environmental impact. This is because when people are working from home, they are producing fewer emissions as they do not have to commute to work. Adopting a remote working model also enables you to save energy and money that would otherwise be spent powering office computers, kitchen appliances, and other devices.
Go Paperless
Going paperless is both good for the environment, as it reduces the number of trees that are cut down to produce paper and is good for business finances as it helps you save money too. Going completely paperless might take a bit of time, as it requires everyone to get on board with the mission, but it is not that difficult to organize. All it takes is committing small changes, such as sending around a PDF rather than printing out information before a meeting.
Going paperless can actually help to increase business efficiencies and your internal productivity rate. This is because using technologies like cloud computing helps staff reduce the wasted time looking for and sending information.