Many consumers are looking to make their lives more environmentally friendly, and this will often mean they spend more time scrutinizing the companies they use and seeing whether they have green credentials.
Making your business greener can have a number of advantages, from bringing in new customers to saving you money, so here are some ways you can get started.
- Encourage reuse and recycling
Even office-based businesses will create large amounts of waste, whether it’s from paper and plastic cups, or obsolete equipment. You can quickly cut down on your waste by going paperless, which is becoming much easier thanks to the different types of software available and the fact that many customers are now happy to receive things digitally. Providing mugs and cutlery means employees won’t have to bring in plastic cups and forks, and you could provide separate bins for things like food waste, as people are more likely to recycle if things are easy for them.
- Look at your packaging policies
If you’re a business who ships to lots of customers, then you no doubt spend a lot of money on packaging, from durable cardboard boxes to paper and packing peanuts. However, it’s common for businesses to use too much packaging in the quest to get products to the consumer in one piece, which means you’re helping to create a mountain of waste.
If your products already come in cardboard boxes, consider whether they need another layer of protection. Amazon is saving time and money on packaging by shipping items such as toys in their original boxes. If customers are ordering the item as a gift or just want more privacy, they have the option to get it shipped in a plain cardboard box as usual.
- Choose renewable energy
Switching to renewable sources of energy can save your business a lot of money in the long-term, as you no longer have ridiculous energy bills. There are many ways to use green energy. For example, you could switch to solar power by having solar panels installed by Cola Solar, or you could opt for electric trucks for your work fleet.
- Embrace remote working and carpooling
Around 85% of Americans go to work by car, many of them alone, so when you take the working population into account, that’s 128 million people commuting by road each day. Your business can do its bit by encouraging carpooling, perhaps by being a bit more flexible with hours so people can organize a pool or offering incentives to get people driving in pairs. Another way to cut your employee’s impact on the environment is to let them work remotely at times. Each day they work from home, that’s two fewer car journeys impacting the environment, and people like the flexibility of remote work.
While you may not think your business makes much of an impact on the environment, there’s a lot you can do to make it greener. From recycling and reusing items as much as possible, to cutting down on car journeys and deliveries, you’ll soon find your company saves money and gets green credentials.
