Being environmentally conscious is something that is (or should be) at the forefront of everyone, but it could be argued that it must be high on the priorities of business owners in particular. These are places that are responsible for innovating the consumer technology of the future. They see customers and clients and investors coming in every day, and you want to demonstrate a dedication to keeping environmentally friendly.
Committing your business to being environmentally conscious will not only help keep the world a healthy place, but it will also save your business money. Things like renewable energy and other responsible green solutions are being developed every day. Electing to ignore the opportunity is burning money like you would coal on a Victorian fireplace.
Shutterstock Licensed Photo – By junpinzon
So how does one go about turning their office or place of work from an energy-wasting black hole to a lean mean green machine? Here are some tips for going green and saving money for your business.
Let There Be Light
Most places of work are probably pretty easy to imagine in your mind. You have the long light tubes illuminating every corridor and corner, blinding any unfortunate soul walking past. However, instead of using the outdated, migraine-inducing fluorescent overhead lights, consider looking into LED drivers which can be programmed to adapt to the natural light of the office, warehouse, stadium, or whatever else your business is focused on.
Not only will this save your business money on energy bills as the lights will only operate when needed, they will also ease stress and other issues on your employees. Poor lighting systems can contribute to exhaustion and headaches, as well as both presentee- and absenteeism.
Switching to a greener lighting solution reduces the possibility of this and creates a more relaxed office atmosphere, as eye strain and other issues are not as frequent. You also get more out of your employees, as they are taking fewer days off.
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Smart Office
You’ve heard of the smart home, but the smart office is just a viable. Investing in a smart office can help you program parts of the office to only operate when you want them to. This is ideal for those months where the weather is all over the place as having a smart thermostat will be able to adjust accordingly all by itself, instead of trusting Jake or Joan with being in control.
Furthermore, the smart office can have benefits for new employees as it will help with navigation. This is especially helpful if you run a business in a large area and requires a lot of moving from one side to the other. Wasted time is wasted money, after all.
In addition to this, the smart office will help with internet connectivity like local VPN services to ensure secure connections, as well as cloud storage, allowing your employees to work anywhere they please.
The world of the smart office is just beginning, in the future, there will no doubt be further advancements that will contribute to a more streamlined and efficient working environment, whether it be for us or the robots.
Sack off The Conference Room
The advent of technology has been embraced in the workplace and while most may be more familiar with organization apps like Slack or Trello that has saved time searching around the office for Dave or Susan, the potential of this technology can have even more beneficial effects on your green footprint and your expenses.
Deciding to remove the conference room from your workplace’s routine will not only cause a ripple of cheers throughout – who likes the conference room, anyway? – But also reduce the amount of time people need to travel to and from the office.
As an alternative, have you, your employees or even clients reduce their carbon emissions by leaving their cars at home and electing to utilize teleconferencing or working remotely in order to communicate. Sometimes, there is no need to go into the office, and choosing to discuss business issues over Skype or a similar video messaging service will save having to organize your day around getting to the office, sit in a meeting and get back out.
Green Dream
While your business will not alone be responsible for pushing towards a more sustainable planet, the least you can do is adopt the practices that are aiming to make this a reality. Investing in green tech now will put you ahead of the curve and allow you to reap the extra profits you have saved through changing your ways, but also give you peace of mind that you are contributing to a cleaner, safer planet.
