Many business owners are interested in doing what they can to reduce their impact on the environment, but many worry about the cost of going green. Although some technologies might be too expensive for some businesses to comfortably afford, there are plenty of options for reducing your company’s impact on the environment while saving money, especially in the long term. Here are some ways to go green while improving your company’s finances.
Go Paperless
The dream of the paperless office has fallen somewhat flat over the years, as paper has proven to be too entrenched in day-to-day business activities to completely abandon. While we still rely on paper more than we hoped, it’s still likely that your company can cut back on its paper use. Before printing out documents, consider whether an email memo would be just as effective. Instead of passing printed documents between employees, take a look at collaborative writing programs, which allow employees to share their document edits in real-time. If you haven’t yet considered bringing in cloud operations to your company, think about how much you might be able to save by reducing your paper and printer usage.
Invest in LED Lighting
LED lighting has taken off in recent years, but the price tag of LED bulbs has caused many to consider older options. However, it’s worth considering the overall lifetime cost of LED lighting, which can make it a wise investment. LED bulbs are sometimes rated to last decades, making them cost less over the years. In addition, they offer remarkable energy efficiency, letting you realize significant savings each month. LED lights run much cooler than their incandescent counterparts, which helps you save on cooling costs, and they’re considerably less likely to break than other types of lighting.
Embrace Telecommuting
Because we do so much of our work on computers, companies are better able to allow employees to telecommute. Telecommuting reduces the stress of having to spend energy showing up to the office every day, and it’s great for reducing energy consumption. It’s also a major perk that employees are increasingly looking for in their jobs. Letting employees telecommute saves floor space, and it reduces the amount of energy you use in the office. Note that telecommuting doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing proposition. Simply letting employees work from home one or two days a week can have substantial benefits.
Invest in Insulation
Climate control is an unavoidable expense for nearly all offices. Even though upgrading your HVAC infrastructure to a more efficient system might be too expensive to justify, you can still cut back on your energy consumption by taking a look at your office insulation. Simply upgrading doors and windows to cut back on leaks can save you a significant amount of money each month while reducing your impact on the environment, and adding better insulation in strategic locations can reduce wasted energy. These upgrades don’t have to be expensive, and they can have a side effect of making your office more comfortable.
Empower Your Employees
Let your employees know that your company is making an effort to go green and provide them with opportunities to make a difference. Consider putting together a sustainability team to think up new and inventive ways to cut back on waste and budget some time for meetings. Your employees know how your company operates, and you might be surprised at some of the ideas they come up with. You might also want to consider providing small incentives for sustainable activities. Providing a gift card or other small prize for cutting back on paper usage, for example, can give employees a fun incentive for putting in a bit of extra effort to reduce waste.
Going green has a number of advantages. Customers love to see it, and it helps give your company a shared goal. However, too many business owners and managers worry that investing in sustainability is expensive, which is rarely the case these days. Make sure to take a look at technologies that you thought were too expensive in the past; you might be surprised to find out just how affordable these technologies have become over the years.
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