Adopting environmental practice in your business not only help the environment, but they can earn you more money! In fact, 53% of global consumers (that’s 1.1 billion people!) prefer to purchase goods and services from a company with a good environmental reputation. Additionally, some environmental practices will even save you money. Going green is a great way to optimize company budgets, gain more customers, and help the environment. Keep reading to see what the best environmental practices for businesses are and how you can implement them today.
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Green Initiatives For Your Business
Switch Off At Night
One of the easiest ways to adopt environmental habits in your business is to simply make sure all lights and electronics are shut off at night. Making sure there are no lights on at night can save your company’s electric bill a ton of money. You could even install motion-detecting lights, which turn off automatically when no one is around. This option could even save you money during the day.
Additionally, leaving your computer monitor takes up just as much energy as if you were working on your computer. Making sure computer monitors are turned off at night can thus cut your energy consumption drastically!
Use Natural Cleaners
Green cleaning products can lessen water and air pollution, promote recycling, and reduce the disposal of toxic products. Essentially, many cleaning products contain hundreds of harsh chemicals that have been linked to asthma, cancer, and developmental/reproductive harm. Essentially, going green with your cleaning products not only help the environment, but it also can help with the health and wellbeing of your employees.
Ban One-Use Dishware
Bottled water, paper plates, paper cups, and plastic utensils are convenient, but ultimately create a lot of waste. Additionally, because these materials are only good for one or two uses, you have to replenish your supply of paper and plastic dishware constantly. By investing in reusable plates, cups, and silverware for your office, you could save a ton of money in the long run while also helping the environment. On the other hand, you could simply encourage employees to bring their own reusable dishware.
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Purchase Recycled Materials
Using recycled materials in your office is a great way to go green. One of the major recyclable materials you can purchase for your business is paper and office supplies. Though recycled paper is more expensive, there are many benefits to using it. For example, in production, recycled paper uses less water, energy, and chemicals.
You can also buy refurbished electronics for your business. Buying recycled electronics means those products won’t contribute to landfills or electronic waste. Additionally, refurbished products can be purchased in practically new condition and can cost half of what you would normally pay. Purchasing refurbished products saves you money while helping the environment. You can also donate or sell your old electronics when you are ready to purchase new ones.
Digitize
When you keep your documents digital, not only do you help the environment by producing less waste, you also save your company tons of money. For example, when you make all of your files and documents digital instead of printing everything, you don’t have to manually file anything. By not manually filing, you can optimize office space and you don’t have to hire anyone or waste your valuable time filing those documents. Essentially, incorporating more technology into your business can increase productivity as well as help the environment.
Another way to go digital is to limit in-person visits to customers, making calls instead. By making a phone call or Skyping a customer, partner, or employee, you save fuel emissions from driving and you can better optimize your time for the day.
Stay Up To Date On Maintenance
Most people don’t think about office maintenance relating to environmental practices. However, ensuring that your office is securely maintained can help save water, electricity, and money in the long run. For example, a dripping, leaky faucet can go unnoticed for months. However, this wastes water and enables the problem to get worse. Instead of fixing the small drip right away, the problem could escalate and turn into a burst pipe or other major issues.
Similarly, a leaking sprinkler can be a huge water waster. Not only will staying up to date on maintenance help the environment, but it will also ensure the safety and comfort of employees.
Reduce Employee Commuting
Reducing the commute for employees can be a great environmental practice for your office. If your business is located in a convenient area, encourage able-bodied employees to walk or bike to work. If other workers live close to each other, perhaps they could carpool.
On the other hand, if your business is able, allowing some employees to work from home is a great ergonomic solution. Remote work can be especially helpful for employees who have a long commute to work. Not only will it boost morale, but your company will be reducing greenhouse gas emissions drastically!
Recycle!
When thinking about going green, recycling is often one of the first solutions people consider implementing. However, incorporating recycling into your business can be easier said than done. For example, there are different kinds of recycling, such as plastics, paper, glass, or electronic devices. Does your company plan on using one recycling bin? Multiple ones? Industrial recycling services can help your business find creative ways to achieve your sustainable goals.
Go Green Today!
Efficiency is practically synonymous with going green. With so many ways to make your company environmentally efficient, it’s easy to start now. Make your business as environmentally effective and efficient as possible by implementing these easy practices.
