The problem with a lot of businesses is that many of them damage the environment, in one way or another. Even simple office work can be a burden on the environment from all the paper they use and the electricity they consume. If you want your business to be more environmentally-friendly, here are a few things that you can do to improve your company’s position.
Move Away From Disposable Culture
The first thing that you should do is to move away from the various disposable items around your office. The most obvious one is the use of paper cups near the water cooler. While it is convenient to have a cup anytime, it is better to have your employees bring their mugs and cups. For guests, you’ll want some cups in a cupboard for them. This shift should allow you to get rid of buying paper cups. If you are a retail store, there are a lot of disposables you can remove. For example, supply sustainable tote bags to customers so that they don’t have plastic bags to throw away.
Increase Remote Work
Another way you can cut down on the waste in your office is to encourage remote work. This can immediately reduce your light and energy bills. Going fully remote can eliminate a lot of waste in your operations. Even if you don’t want to shut down your office completely, you can start a rotating workplace. Have half of your employees working in the office and the others at home. On certain days, they exchange places. This can greatly reduce your company’s rent and utilities since you will lose less space.
Push For Better Recycling Protocols
The next move is to be more aggressive with recycling. There are several things that you can recycle, considering that 75 percent of solid waste is recyclable. This can range from paper to your electronics. It is very important when it comes to office equipment. While your printer may seem harmless, it has several components that can be toxic. If you want to be smart about recycling, look for buyers of used electronics so you can sell them. You get a final return from your office equipment, and you can be sure that they will get proper disposal.
Be More Energy Efficient
You can also improve the energy efficiency of your operations. A definite favorite is changing out the lighting, and if your office has not started using LED lighting, then you should make the change. Brighter while also using less electricity, LEDs represent long-term savings despite the expensive initial rollout. Insulation and improving your HVAC system do something similar. Heating and cooling are important in keeping your employees comfortable and working hard.
Create Green Partnerships
For green policies to be truly successful, they need implementation across a wider set of the population. So that this can happen, you should encourage it by partnering with others that have green policies. A lot of businesses can be a bit hesitant when it comes to implementing sustainability. But give them a good business reason, and you should be able to develop a block of companies that focus on being green and sustainable. A good way to do this is to announce a target goal and a date publicly. For example, Adidas announced that they would reduce their carbon footprint by 30 percent by 2030. Other companies noticed this declaration and have been working with them to reach that goal.
Assist Employees To Have Sustainable Lives
Sustainability can also extend into the lives of your employees. If they only practice sustainability in the office, they are still creating problems for the environment. Support them to move to a sustainable lifestyle. For example, some companies offer to pay for an employee’s solar panel installation. Facebook is another excellent example. They give employees over $10,000 to move closer to their Silicon Valley campus. This means that they commute less and have lower carbon emissions. While you don’t have the big money to do this, assisting your employees in working remotely or having a mass transit service for them should be within your reach.
Sustainable practices are often perceived as expensive, with little to no return. But you can start small and move on to bigger efforts to be sustainable. There are also very tangible benefits to going green. For one, employees are often happier and healthier with green practices in place. There is also a very notable increase in savings after the initial expenses. These changes can pay for themselves as long as your company maintains them. Think of how you can improve your company’s operations in a green way so that you can also benefit from them.