The businesses are booming left and right, and today, more than ever, it’s essential to differentiate yourself from competitors. One of the ways you can speak out on your company and single it out from the competition is to take a green turn. Not only that this move can also help you beat the competition, but it can also make your company a better place to work overall.
In this article, we will talk about ways that you can go green with your company. Now, all items on this list are not going to be easy to fulfill, but you need to take it one step at the time. So, please stick with us as we take you through our six tips on making your business environmentally friendly. The goal is ahead; you only need to reach for it. Let’s start with basics – paper.
1. Go With Post-Consumer Waste
This might seem like an impossibility, but turning your back on paper is possible. These days everything can be done through e-mails, and bu using computers and smartphones. This eliminates the use of paper in more instances that you can see. In a case, you can’t stop using paper completely; you can help your company being greener by using eco-friendly paper.
Eco-friendly paper is not the one that has a recycling sign on it; it’s made entirely out of post-consumer waste. The recycling sign can mean that it’s eco-friendly, but that doesn’t have to be the case. So, in order to make your firm as green as it can get in terms of paper, you need to buy only paper designated with 100% PCW. If you can’t get your hands on 100% PCW, you can go with a smaller number, but with a promise that you will strive for the complete package.
2. Do Not Use Car as a Mean of Transportation
Yes, this sounds hard to do, but you can manage it with proper planning and a bit of effort. The first thing you need to do is to work on your location. It would help if you made it accessible to your workers by other means of transport such as bicycles, for example. Furthermore, it would be best if you encouraged your employees to come to work on foot, bike, or to carpool. One car for a couple of employees is better than every worker coming to work in its vehicle.
In addition to your employees, you should also keep in mind to offer the same opportunities to your consumers. Your business should be accessible via transit, bike lanes, and to pedestrians. If you manage all of these, your business will not only be more eco-friendly, but it would create additional revenue in the process.
3. Use Biodegradable Cleaners
Cleaning your office is not something you put at the top of your priorities? Well, it should be. There is considerable space to be exploited in this area in order to get greener. In most instances, business owners do not care about the products their employees use to clean the office space. Now it’s time to start paying attention.
By switching to natural, biodegradable cleaners, you’ll do yourself a favor and make a huge step to an eco-friendly environment at your office. By doing this, you’ll also reduce the exposure of everyone involved with your business to toxins and other chemicals present in regular cleaners. Green products are now available in most stores; you only need to pick them up. And, if after hard cleaning, you need a way to dispose of all junk, there’s an option in toledoohdumpsterrental.com to be considered.
4. Recycle Your E-Waste
These days e-waste is present in every office just like any other type of waste. Because of this, it’s essential to take good care of it and recycle it accordingly. We are talking about waste in the form of smartphones, tablets, computers, printers, monitors, and other devices. Only in 2018, there were 49.8 million metric tons of e-waste across the globe. Most people don’t care about what happens with old equipment, which consequentially ends in third world countries where its disposal is not handled correctly.
What you can do for your business to make it greener is to handle the recycling of these items by yourself. We do not think you need to do this internally within your company but to find who can do it for you in a way it’s recommended. Furthermore, there’s an option of doing something socially responsible with items no longer required by your office, and that’s donating them to charitable causes such as Cell Phones for Soldiers.
5. Switch to Green Web Hosting
Here’s a fun fact you didn’t know: the Internet is not all that good for our environment. Major internet companies are putting a strain on our surroundings by not using renewable energy for their data centers. This data is confirmed by Greenpeace, who is trying to put attention on it since 2010. The good news is that massive companies such as Facebook and Google are doing this for some time now.
These are huge brand names, and you would be wise to follow suit. By switching your web hosting to a provider who is already green, you’ll do yourself and environment a favor. Today, many web providers run their data on renewable sources, and you can switch to any of them anytime.
6. Use CFL or LED Lights
This move will not only make your office more eco-friendly, but you’ll also save in the long term. Yes, at the moment, both of these lights are more expensive than standard options. But, at the same time, their life-span is longer, and they consume less energy. In the long run, you can save up to $200 per bulb, not to mention the green effect it would have. If you don’t trust us, just put it all on paper and calculate, you’ll see the math.
Furthermore, if you start with bulbs, you can also change your entire policy on energy use, and switch to alternative energy sources. Electric power can be replaced by more greener options such as wind, solar energy, and even geothermal solutions.
