When you are in charge of a business, many decisions fall into your hands. Making an effort toward shifting to a more environmental focus to your business can have both a positive impact on your company’s output as well as potentially influence others to follow in turn. If you make a concentrated effort to go green at your business, you and your coworkers could make a difference in the world. Read on for six changes you can make for a greener business.
1. Lower the Voltage
Reducing the overall power consumption in your office building can go a long way toward a positive environmental impact. The electric transformers that transfer energy from one circuit to another can be replaced with lower voltage units to lower energy consumption. Using lower wattage bulbs in each individual room can also decrease the power usage. Using less power minimizes energy waste as well as saves your company money on electric bills.
2. Use Renewable Energy
When you need to power your office building, warehouse, or other work facilities, try replacing the energy sources with sustainable energy. Traditional fossil fuel emits large quantities of pollutants into the air, whereas an alternative energy source such as solar power is considerably less harmful to the environment.
For instance, consider installing solar panels to your building for an alternative way of generating energy. Eventually, solar panel installment will make for a worthwhile investment as solar panels can ultimately save money as opposed to fuel sources that are less efficient with energy consumption.
3. Use Less Paper
Excessive use of paper can be wasteful, so replace paper products with digital means in your office building whenever possible. Send work messages via e-mail or other virtual methods like video calls instead of printing out information. Also, organize work projects to be conducted online as much as possible in order to cut back on printing any paper physically.
Paper can be reduced in payment as well. When paying employees, use direct deposit to virtually transfer funds to bank accounts as opposed to using paper checks. Using as many alternative methods can reduce substantial quantities of waste in and outside the office.
4. Use Less Plastic and Encourage Recycling
Companies tend to produce large quantities of plastic waste. If your business deals with physical wares, find alternative packaging methods as opposed to using plastic. In addition, you can encourage less plastic usage among employees in the office. For example, try to cut down on the use of plastic water bottles, instead choosing reusable glass or aluminum containers. The more reusable materials you have around the office, the less waste your company will produce, leading to a cleaner work environment.
You can also add recycle bins around the office. Properly designate these bins for plastic, paper, and aluminum disposal so that no recyclable materials get disposed with the garbage. Encourage your employees to recycle more often to keep waste to a minimum.
5. Find Alternative Ways of Getting to Work
Before arriving at your office, reconsider your daily commute. Cutting back on the number of vehicles on the road can decrease traffic and reduce air pollution from cars. If possible, consider taking public transportation or riding a bicycle to work.
You could also carpool with others, so fewer vehicles are required to be on the road. Finding alternate means of transportation can also benefit you in other ways, such as by saving money and giving you more exercise should you choose a physical method of travel like walking or cycling.
An alternative to commuting to work is to work from home. Working from home can cut out all your travel time entirely as you handle your work remotely via your home computer. As the boss of the company, you can also encourage working from home among your employees, either full time or in a hybrid manner.
6. Conserve Energy
When working at the office, reduce how much energy your appliances consume. Unplug chargers for devices that are fully charged, and shut down appliances not in use. Turn off the lights and ceiling fans in any empty rooms to prevent wasting power. Encourage these practices among your coworkers to increase efficiency.
Many of these methods of going green can follow you outside of the office as well. If you use your influence as manager of a business to help spread these environmentally-sound practices to your employees both at work and at home, you can gradually have more of a positive impact on the environment. Conserving power and reducing waste can help you and the environment in the long run.