Five Easy Tips to Take Your Business Green Right Now
For many businesses today, going green is no longer the optional fad it used to be a mere decade or two ago. It is now a requirement for a business to be seen as being an active participant in saving the planet. Factors that help a business’s environmental status include getting a commercial EPC, having an efficient recycling policy, and of course, making staff a key part of the green campaign.
The spectre of a hefty financial commitment keeps many businesses from taking the healthy plunge into environmental friendliness. However, there are ways that you can take your business green without spending too much money. Here’s how:
1. Start with a Commercial EPC
A commercial EPC (or a non-domestic Energy Performance Certificate) is a document that states the way energy is used in a commercial property. It rates the building’s energy efficiency and provides other details such as energy ratings and general compliance to local building code requirements. By law, a landlord or owner is expected to provide this free of charge to a new occupant.
Among other things, an EPC may suggest how to reduce the energy consumption of a building, as well as make clarifications on whether or not more than one EPC is required. For example, some buildings may have separate or individual units. It also contains information on the building’s total energy use and carbon dioxide emissions.
You will need a good energy assessor to properly evaluate your commercial property’s energy state, while staying within legal limits. The EPC is usually valid for ten years and each property survey takes up to 45 minutes or an hour.
2. Encourage your staff to use green transportation
It’s all about reducing carbon footprints individually. You can hold seminars that make your workers aware of the possibilities and benefits of choosing more eco-aware modes of transportation. If staff don’t live far away, riding a bicycle or walking may be more ideal ways to get into the office.
For daily commuters, a bus, train, or a shared car represents viable alternatives to reduce individual emissions.
3. Using water dispensing systems
Instead of offering customers and visitors bottled water, you could do better by installing water dispensers. Not only does this reduce your recycling, it helps customers save money if they need to purchase the pre-packaged water.
Overall, this system cuts down on plastic waste from disused water containers.
4. Minimising energy usage through policy
While it is worthwhile that your business helps the environment by minimizing power usage generally, it is not always so easy to implement. Staff will frequently show absentmindedness in keeping to a committed energy usage practice.
As a business, by making it an official office policy to power down machines not in use in the office, you can limit energy usage. Also, you can choose to use LED lights instead of say fluorescent. You may also choose to automate this by having a simple timing device that shuts down your non-essential machines and lights at a particular time each day.
A committed policy will soon have all staff equally steadfast in pursuing energy savings.
5. Adopting digital methods rather than paper
Going paperless is an essential move towards being green in your office. World Atlas state that roughly 80,000 to 160,000 trees are cut down each day for office paper. By reducing your paper usage in as many ways as possible, your business can limit its impact on the deforestation of the world.
As a business, pushing for digital methods instead of physical reaps other rewards. With a 100% digital filing system, organisation in the office can be improved. All memos and documents can be stored online, saving an enormous amount of time searching for individual paper copies.
Conclusion
Going green in your business is an essential response to the environmental needs of the planet. In the long run, it also reduces overhead and helps increase your profitability. By managing your brand and ensuring you move towards an eco-friendlier future, you can ensure your place in the green campaign.
