Guest Post: Making your Small Business Green

February 25, 2012 by Brenda
Filed under Green Living, Guest Posts, Top Picks

Going Green – Don’t get left Behind!

Many aspects of daily life are regularly examined and reviewed as a means of determining how much ‘greener’ things can be made, or whether or not the daily grind of activities can be carried out in a more energy efficient way. Small businesses are starting to recognise the need to keep up with the latest advice and recommendations and they are ever more aware of the growing popularity to be transparent and open about how they are doing things to reduce their carbon footprint; in fact, the increasing number of consumers demanding greener methods help keep the small business on its toes and readily prepared to do make their business as efficient as possible.

But of course these changes you can take to make your business greener don’t always have to be a grand gesture such as sticking a wind turbine on your roof and limiting toilet trips for employees. It turns out that with a couple of simple and easily implementable changes to your working day and the way you manage your business can make a huge dent in not only your carbon footprint but your outgoing finances.

Small Changes now make for Bigger Changes Later

Compare and contrast energy tariffs – If you’re not already doing so, keep a close eye on energy tariffs and make sure you’re on the right one for your business. It’s becoming the norm to change tariffs regularly, not only to save money, but also to take advantage of the greener tariffs which are offered by certain energy suppliers.

Turn off electrical equipment at the mains at the end of the working day – So much electricity is wasted by leaving equipment switched on out of hours. Make a point of getting your workforce into the habit of switching off at the mains every evening and, if necessary, put notices up at various points to remind people to switch off before they leave the premises.

Open up those blinds! – By taking advantage of as much natural daylight as you can on your premises, you will not only conserve electricity and save money by keeping the lights off, you will also create a healthier and ultimately happier working environment.

Are you using recycled paper? – Changing your paper to a recycled version makes good business sense for a number of reasons, and not least because your customers will view this as a very simple but an area where you can immediately act responsibly. Better still, encourage customers (where possible) that email is your preferred ‘green method of communication’, reducing your paper needs even further.

Some of the Slightly more Ambitious changes you could consider making

Are you running a fleet of cars/vans? If so, this is one area where you could really make a difference to your business by switching at least some of your fleet to hybrid, or even electric vehicles. Fuel economy is one of the easiest ways to operate on a greener level and you can save money in this way too.

Retail businesses can take advantage of the latest trend in saying “no to plastic bags”. It may sound easier said than done, but sooner or later the number of small businesses using plastic bags will go the same way as the dinosaurs; will your business be one of them?

Possibly look at a reconsidering some of your equipment choices. Photocopiers, in particular, are not the greenest of machines and if you have the finances available maybe consider replacing yours with a more environmentally friendly version. While you’re on the subject of printing, you could even press your employees to limit their printing to that which is absolutely necessary and set your copier to print on both sides of the paper.

Better for Business, Better for You – and your Workforce!

Working together with your employees will have a huge impact in shaping your business into a much greener prospect. Take time to listen to the suggestions your employees come up with and actively encourage them to share their ideas and concerns with you.

Introducing green initiatives could vastly improve your green efforts, making your employees more aware of the necessity to keep thinking about how much of everything they are using and consuming and how they can work towards making these changes lasting and effective. Don’t forget that ‘going green’ can be fun and could be a great way to build employee confidence and responsibility; all of which go some way towards building the bigger picture.

Hi I’m Ed, and I work in the exciting, fast paced and ever-changing world of a office equipment and business services. I’ll be trying my best to keep you abreast give you a wide smorgasbord of handy hints, tips and advice to get the squeeze the best out of your business.

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