Businesses can all play a huge part in how healthy our earth is and will hopefully continue to be so for future generations to come. Some businesses can create such a dramatic impact on the eco-system, that’s important every company does what they can to reduce the carbon footprint they’re creating. Here are some tips to be more eco-friendly as a business.
Try To Go Paperless
There are so many of us who now use the online world and opt for digital versions of signing documents or creating files online and through software that can be shared instead of printed. That’s one of the biggest impacts that businesses of all sizes can have on the environment when it comes to the use of paper. For many companies though, there are certainly those who are trying to go paperless in order to reduce the amount of paper and stationery they’re using on a monthly basis. There might be documents that need to be printed, but for the most part, the amount of paper that can be saved through cutting down and going paperless could be astronomical. Not only that but not having to buy so much paper can save companies a lot of money, and so a financial incentive is always an added bonus.
Work With Eco-Friendly Suppliers
Working with eco-friendly suppliers can be very important when it comes to your business, and it’s one that can encourage other companies around you to follow suit. For example, there are a lot of suppliers out there that work in the packaging and manufacturing industries that are opting for more biodegradable options that are less harmful to the environment. As a society, many consumers are now expecting companies to be using materials that are less harmful to the environment, with the biggest being plastic. To fulfill the consumer’s need, one such company is Raw Tech in the UK, which deals with various recycled plastic products. The more suppliers you can work with that are doing more for the local and global environment, the better.
Recycle Everything
Not everything can be recycled, but there are more and more materials that are being recycled or have the ability to be created into something else. Whether it’s scrap metal or printer ink cartridges, that are lots of companies and resources available to help recycle as much of what you use within the company on a daily basis, as possible. Explore what your business is doing to recycle and what they are possibly not doing at the moment. This can be a chance to really change the internal recycling efforts and to move forward in a more eco-friendly manner.
Encourage Your Staff To Be Greener
Everyone can play their part when it comes to climate change and reducing the effects that we each have on the environment. Your staff also bear some responsibility when it comes to being greener, and as a company, you can encourage that. Why not introduce company benefits that help inspire them to make a change? Perhaps this could be staff members who do less printing each month or giving them an allowance to put towards a bike so that they’re using less of public transport. There are many ways that you can help staff to be more greener not only in the workplace but within their own homes too. You could organize a collection where staff bring in old clothes, books or anything that would maybe get thrown away and instead can be given to charity shops or recycling centres. Promoting eco-friendly initiatives within the workplace can inspire and encourage your staff to play a bigger part in solving climate change.
Replace Appliances With Energy-Efficient Alternatives
You may have appliances within your business that aren’t so energy-efficient, and usually, these are appliances that are old and outdated. You might want to think about assigning a budget to replace any equipment that might be quite old and is draining your energy supplies. Not only is this impacting the environment, but it’s likely to be impacting your bank balance too, and that’s something you don’t want as a business. See what equipment needs replacing and set a deadline of when you want all of these appliances replacing with more energy-efficient alternatives. It’s something that you can do every couple of years to ensure your business is staying eco-friendly.
It’s the responsibility of all of us to make sure we’re doing our best for the environment. All businesses can make an effort in some way, shape or form to help with creating a more eco-friendly organization. Use these tips to make that happen and to help make the world a greener place.
