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As the effects of climate change become more noticeable – and more threatening – businesses across the UK are making a determined effort to ‘go green’. In fact, a fifth of small businesses have made sustainability a ‘core business strategy’, with the eventual aim of achieving net zero status.
If you’re keen to join their ranks, here are some of the most effective techniques you can include in the daily running of your company to improve its sustainability. Not only will you be doing your part to help the planet, but you will also become a more attractive prospect for both clients and staff.
How To Make Your Business More Environmentally Friendly?
Reduce Your Paper Usage
We all know that most paper is recyclable. Still, paper remains a particular problem when it comes to the environment because of the amount of energy and resources it uses in the production process.
For one thing, turning wood into paper racks up significant amounts of carbon emissions, and the sad fact is that when this paper is thrown out, it makes up a quarter of the contents of our landfills. Not only that, but as it breaks down, paper waste generates harmful amounts of methane, which only helps to worsen the effects of global warming.
Want to break the cycle? There are a few steps you can take which can help you to reduce your paper use.
Try to reduce your paper use, and if you need to have paper in your office, make sure you always recycle it. Also, you can go one better and become a paperless business, switching everything online and cutting out the need to use paper altogether.
Buy Recycled Office Supplies
Using recycled products is another way to benefit the environment. For example, you might want to consider purchasing recycled and recyclable packaging for your products – which will be appealing to your customers.
You can even source recycled office products, such as these alternative recycled cartridges for HP MFP M283fdw, provided by Cartridge Save. Not only will you be doing your part for the planet, but buying third-party cartridges from a reputable supplier can help you to make significant savings. In other words, it’s a win-win situation.
Consider Composting
In 2020 alone, England generated over 33 million tons of commercial and industrial waste. To try and off-set the problem of the sheer amounts of waste being sent to landfills, the government implemented the UK Waste Regulations, which require businesses to recycle glass, paper, and plastic.
Composting is one way to reduce waste, particularly if your office has a kitchen. It’s good for the environment and easy to do.
If you have space on your property, you could even use this compost to create a workplace wildlife garden, with specially chosen plants and shrubs that will provide a source of nourishment for pollinators and other at-risk species.
Boost Your Energy Efficiency
Becoming more energy-efficient as a business is a crucial aspect of embracing sustainable practices, and there are plenty of ways to improve your current levels of energy efficiency.
For one thing, you can make sure that your commercial property is well-insulated and that you ensure the boiler is serviced each year; this will help to prevent unnecessary heat loss. You can also switch to renewable energy lighting options, turn off any lights and unused machinery when they are not needed, and consider installing timed switches which will make sure lights are always kept off outside office hours.
These are just a few of the simple but effective alterations you can make to your business to significantly improve its energy efficiency – and reduce your expenses at the same time.
Work Remotely
One of the few positives that the arrival of Covid-19 brought us was the profound realisation that work from home can and does work.
While it may have its downsides, remote working can bring a number of substantial benefits to you, your employees, and the planet. Arguably the most significant contribution of remote working, in terms of sustainability, is the way in which it reduces the carbon emissions from the workplace commute. After all, if all you need to do to get to work is turn on your laptop rather than hopping into your car, this will mean less carbon being released into the atmosphere – resulting in cleaner air and a greener way of doing business.
Embracing a remote working model will also benefit your company bank account too, as you won’t have to pay for a pricey lease on a commercial property or worry about additional expenses such as electricity and water bills.
Think About Carbon Insetting
You have probably heard the term ‘carbon offsetting, but perhaps it’s time you became acquainted with the concept of carbon insetting.
Carbon insetting is when a business works with its suppliers to create a greener, cleaner supply chain. Not only does this help to reduce your carbon emissions, but it also allows you to build stronger and more fruitful partnerships, and it can also help to support local suppliers and their communities.
Both offsetting and insetting have their pros and cons, but they are helpful – and increasingly essential – methods of working toward a net zero business.
