With the environmental crisis becoming more common and climate change becoming inevitable and irreversible, consumers and businesses are looking to lower their environmental impact. If you’re reading this article, that means that you’re one of the many who want to do their part to keep our planet healthy.
That’s fantastic! There’s just one minor problem: you don’t know where to start. Fortunately, there are plenty of easy and inexpensive ways to reduce your business’s carbon footprint. Here are a few ways to make your business environmentally friendly.
Offer Remote Work
The pandemic has shown us that remote work is a viable and effective option for many industries. If remote work is in the cards for your business, offer it because the benefits are immense!
Remote work reduces the number of cars on the road and, consequently, the amount of CO2 pumped into the air. And the fewer people in-office, the lower your business’s water and power consumption will be.
Less Material Is More
How much waste does your business produce in a day? A week? A month? A year? Cutting down on waste is a fantastic way to make your business environmentally friendly because it reduces the amount of product in landfills.
Does your business use a lot of paper? Ask yourself if it is necessary to have printed documents. If not, consider bidding farewell to your dozens of storage cabinets and making the switch to digital storage.
Do you package and ship products to customers? Ensure you use green packaging solutions and aren’t unnecessarily wasting packing material.
How many single-use products do you use? Paper towels in the bathroom and plastic dishes and utensils in the breakrooms are common, but swapping to hand dryers and reusable dishes and utensils is eco-friendlier.
Reduce Energy Consumption
Reducing your business’s energy consumption doesn’t just help the environment. It can also improve your business’s bottom line by reducing how many monthly utilities withdraw from the company bank account.
Investing in water- and power-saving fixtures is the best way to reduce long-term consumption of energy. Install low-flow sinks and toilets in the bathrooms, Energy Star-certified appliances in the breakroom, and LED bulbs in every light fixture.
Can’t afford all-new fixtures? Instead, set up a stringent maintenance and cleaning schedule for the ones you already have. Fixing leaks as soon as they start and keeping your HVAC system dust-and-debris free will keep your water and power consumption to a minimum.
