Nowadays, all businesses have a responsibility to make sure that they operate in an eco-friendly manner. After all, we are more educated than ever before regarding how our actions impact the planet. Not only this but our customers expect us to make an effort to go green. Therefore, not only can you have the satisfaction of knowing you are doing your bit for the environment, but you will boost your brand image too. Plus, most eco-friendly approaches provide you with a great way of saving money. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the different steps you can take to go green at your business.
Make it competitive
There is only one place to begin, and this is by getting your employees on board. After all, you can implement as many environmentally friendly and green policies as possible but if your employees do not follow them, what’s the point? This is why it is vital that you take the effort to ensure that all of your staff members recognise the importance of going green. You should explain how this impacts them and why it is important in terms of the environment and reaching your overall business objectives. Moreover, another way to get your staff members on board is to make it competitive. Why not run a green competition at your business? You can encourage your employees to reduce their environmental impact as much as possible. Whoever wins could receive a monthly bonus!
Build green from the ground up
This is not something that all companies will be able to do. However, if you are in the position to build green from the ground up, you should most definitely do so. This is all about designing your space with green business practices in mind.
Go paperless
If you have not gone paperless already at your business, you should most definitely make the switch now. It is easier than ever before to store your documents in the cloud. If you are worried about security matters, don’t be. With auto back-ups available, it is arguably safer to store your documents online than it is to do so physically.
Ramp up your recycling
Another way to go green is to ramp up your recycling. One of the easiest ways to do this is to align yourself with a quality waste company that can provide you with the right commercial bins for your business. Again, this does come back to your employees because you need to make sure that everyone is educated in terms of what bins they should be using. Do not assume that everyone knows. You may even want to put up signage to ensure that no errors are made.
Make the most of green web hosting
There are green companies popping up all over the place, so make the most of them. Now would be a good time to switch to a green web host. These are businesses that take part in a variety of activities, from planting trees to using renewable energy, all for the purpose of mitigating the environmental impact their infrastructure and servers have. Of course, you should not only consider green web hosting companies. Why not switch to a green energy provider instead?
Encourage car sharing
Another way to try and make your business more environmentally friendly is to encourage your members of staff to take more eco-friendly routes to work. Encouraging everyone to car share is a good way to do this.
Get an energy audit
It does not matter what business you run, whether it is a coffee shop or a financial services firm, getting an energy audit comes highly recommended. This entails a professional coming into your business and assessing your current use of energy. They will then assess where you are using too much energy and where you are acting in an efficient manner. They will present you with their findings and recommendations, enabling you to make a decision regarding where to go from here. This is a good way to really understand your energy usage so you can determine where you are leaking too much energy. By making the changes presented, you will also save a considerable amount of money too, so it is good news all around.
Make the switch to LED light bulbs
If you have not switched to LED light bulbs already, this is definitely a change you should make. It is a really easy one and it will have a hugely positive impact on the amount of energy you use. This is because LED lights provide the same level of output by using a much lower amount of energy. Not only does this make them energy efficient but it means that you will not have to replace your bulbs as regularly, saving you a lot of hassle and money too.
Use green cleaning products / green cleaning service
Last but not least, the way in which you clean your business also has an impact on your eco-friendliness. A lot of cleaning products today contain harsh and dangerous chemicals, which is why it is advisable to make the switch to natural cleaning products or at least choose a cleaning company that only uses green products.
Hopefully, you now feel more prepared in terms of taking the leap and going green at your business. If you follow the suggestions that have been presented above, you can make sure that your company takes the necessary steps to act as eco-friendly as possible on a day-to-day business. Not only does this benefit you in terms of doing your bit for the environment, but it also ensures that your business has a good brand image too.