Making your business more eco-friendly can have a major impact on your brand's image and ability to save. If you want to make the change but aren't sure how you'll do it, the following guide will help you become as eco-friendly as possible.
Install a Filter
Consider installing a water filter in your business. If you notice that your employees bring single-use water bottles into the office or you have a coin machine with water bottles, you're not helping the environment. Installing a water filter that turns any water into good drinking water is a great idea. Doing this might be costly, but your office won't be creating waste with plastic bottles. You'll also encourage your employees to drink more water, and hydration does everything, from promoting good health to improving mood.
Go Paperless
The next thing you want to do is go paperless. This isn't something you can do overnight, but you can definitely get started. Internally, you can stop using paper memos to communicate with employees. You can just switch to text messages or emails. Snail mail can also be replaced with emails. If your customers need to sign documents, you can use an app that helps you share all necessary documents. You should learn how to make an app on your own so that you can add the functions you need to go paperless.
Use Solar Power
You could invest in solar panels to stop relying on electrical companies as much as you can. This change is going to cost you a good chunk of money, but you'll end up paying less for electricity. A business is always going to love spending less. On top of that, blackouts won't affect you as much since the power your company needs is stored onsite. It might be a good idea to ensure your employees use less power. This means unplugging appliances that aren't being used at the moment, and it means investing in energy-efficient appliances.
Switch to Electric Cars
Some businesses own a car fleet, and if this is you, then you have another opportunity to be a bit greener. What you want to do is invest in electric cars or hybrids. These types of cars are a little more expensive, but they'll also end up saving you money on gasoline. Electric cars don't use gasoline at all. Imagine using no gas in your vehicles. The revenue you spend filling up these vehicles can go back into your business. A hybrid is another option that still uses some gasoline, but it's significantly less.
Install Solar Tubes
Solar tubes or skylights look like normal light bulbs, but they're not. They're skylights that use natural sunlight to light up a room. You can install these all over your office to illuminate your place of business without having to use electricity at all. You don't have to worry about replacing light bulbs ever again, your electric bill is going to go down, and you'll have a greener office. Of course, if your office needs to stay open when there's no sunlight you'll need regular lights but at least you won't have to use them all day.
Using Chemical-Free Cleaning Supplies
Sometimes, the cleaners used in an office can be detrimental to the environment. If you want to reduce your company's footprint, then it's a good idea to invest in chemical-free cleaning products. Have your cleaning staff only use these types of cleaners. The reason you want to do this is that cleaning supplies without questionable ingredients might end up in a natural body of water. This could end up hurting wildlife, and that's no good for anyone. This change doesn't take too much out of you, and most chemical-free cleaners are relatively inexpensive.
Be Sure to Recycle
If you haven't introduced a strong recycling program in your office, then you need to make sure you start one as soon as possible. Place color-specific bins all over your office to encourage your employees to recycle. You also want to make sure you teach your staff how to recycle so they know what goes in which bin. You may want to start a recycling reward program to give everyone an incentive to recycle. Have pictures detailing how to recycle properly throughout the office to serve as a friendly reminder for everyone.
These are just some steps you can take to make your business more eco-friendly. If you want additional help, talk to an energy expert to see what other steps you can take.
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