6 Ways Your Business Can Go Green
Going green as a business is a smart decision for various reasons, like how a growing number of potential customers seem to be choosing eco-conscious companies over others.
Some are making the switch because going green usually results in more efficiency, which can speed things up and even save money. The following are six ways you can turn your business into an eco-friendlier one.
1. Switch the Lights
There are complicated and simple ways to be greener, and this is one of the easy ways because all you have to do is replace your light bulbs with LED lights. These types of lights are much more energy efficient, which not only saves you money but reduces your use of electricity. Keep in mind that electricity is made with the help of either natural gas or coal, and the byproduct of these is carbon dioxide.
2. Invest in Green Manufacturing
Another thing you can do is work on becoming a green manufacturer. Of course, this applies to manufacturing businesses, but it is important to address because these businesses are quite common.
There are a few ways you can do this, like you could invest in purchasing hybrid vehicles or electric vehicles for transportation. You could also recycle your waste somehow. If the waste in your manufacturing plant is organic, you could turn it into compost or have your waste recycled.
Going green with your business doesn’t have to be an impossible task. Investing in green manufacturing is a tangible way to reduce your carbon footprint and contribute to sustainability efforts. For example, personalized custom mailer boxes are an ideal eco-friendly packaging option for businesses that need to ship products to customers. These personalized mailers offer unique branding options while having minimal environmental impact since they are readily decomposable and recycled.
3. Choosing Eco-Friendly Appliances
You can install eco-friendly appliances instead of the ones you are currently using in your company. Now, this does depend on the type of business you are running, but there are a lot of ways to do this.
You could install energy efficient water heaters or AC systems. These are bigger changes, and if you can’t do something this big, then start small. Maybe you can start by making sure the office microwave is energy efficient. This small step still shows that you are on the right path.
4. Choose a Green Power
Green power comes in many forms. Those who happen to be close enough to wind farms could choose to get their energy needs from them. The power generated from these types of farms do not produce a byproduct like carbon dioxide and is usually affordable.
You should also consider installing solar panels so that some if not all of your power comes from a renewable source. This is not only good for your eco-friendly goals, but it’ll save you money, too.
Aside from using renewable energy to power your business establishment or industrial facility, you can go green by taking advantage of deregulated energy. Electricity is deregulated in many states. Business owners can shop around and compare business electricity prices from different suppliers to get the best rates. That’s savings that can go to the bottom line.
5. Encouraging a Different Path
You may have a lot of employees, and most of them probably come to work in a car. The chances are some of these vehicles are not too eco-conscious, so why not consider encouraging your employees to take buses or other forms of public transportation every so often?
Moreover, suggest that your employees start using bikes or other similar modes of transportation to get to work. Some employers go so far as to provide a private company shuttle so that their employees all carpool together and reduce their dependence on private cars.
Encouraging your employees to embrace environmentally friendly practices can be challenging. But it’ll only be difficult at the beginning. Eventually, your employees will adjust and realize that going the green path leads to a sustainable future. They’ll also admire you for caring for the environment and promoting a green culture.
To motivate employees to go green, you can offer incentives or rewards for taking sustainability challenges successfully. You can even offer commuter passes that are already paid for. Another way to inspire employees to be eco-conscious is to set up a sustainable committee, which will keep your staff engaged.
6. Promote Corporate Goodness
It may be a good idea to consider changing your company’s culture if you’re serious about going green. What you should do is figure out ways your company can contribute to the planet. One thing you can do is to have your entire staff plant a tree every year, which will be a great company tradition.
Following a meaningful tradition will not only give your company a good image but also give your employees an opportunity to feel like they’re contributing to the planet. An additional thing you can have your employees do for others is to donate items they no longer need or that you’ve recently updated. Donating will promote recycling and prevent people from throwing away good items that others can still use.
Take your green business culture to the next level by supporting local farmers who engage in sustainable farming. The same is true of your other suppliers and vendors. You can avail of policies offered by green insurance companies as well. Some insurance policies support tree-planting, recycling, and other environmental projects.
Hopefully, you can get started with one of the aforementioned suggestions and keep going from there. Making the switch is going to take some time and will be costly, but your entire team is going to feel fulfilled from adopting eco-friendly habits. The rewarding feeling your team gets will improve morale and increase productivity.
