In recent years, a lot of businesses have been joining the trend of being eco-friendly. It does not only show one’s concern and responsibility to the environment, but it also helps to establish a better image, and hence, has a positive impact on profitability. For a business to be eco-friendly, the things mentioned below are some of the essentials.
Reduction of Energy Use
To be eco-friendly, a business needs to be mindful of its energy consumption. Appliances should be turned off when they are not used. CFL and LED bulbs are recommended. Natural lighting and open spaces must be utilized. Equipment must be carefully chosen to be sure that they will consume minimal energy. In the case of the latter, Continental Girbau is promising for laundry shop owners as they have energy-efficient equipment, such as a commercial washing machine.
Use Green Products
Regardless of the nature of your business, you should use green products to accomplish whatever it is that you have to provide to your clients. For instance, if you have a laundry business, aside from using an eco-friendly and energy-efficient coin operated washer and other equipment from http://cgilaundry.com/, you should also use detergents and fabric softeners made from natural ingredients, not those that contain toxic chemicals.
Keep an Eye on Office Supplies
Going green can be as simple as making sure that the office supplies are not wasted. In one article from Huffington Post, the author suggests that there should be an appointed employee to monitor the use of office supplies and make sure that they do not go to waste. Using reusable inks or refillable inks can be a good place to start. Recycle papers and print on the back if the document is not important.
Use Alternative Energy Sources
There is perhaps no alternative energy source that is as popular as the solar panels. In fact, solar power is considered to be the fastest growing source of new energy. The initial costs of their installation can be huge, but the long-term savings will be significant. Depending on the place where you live, the government can even provide tax incentives to businesses harnessing solar energy to sustain their operations. You do not even need to depend fully on using alternative energy. You can start small, and eventually, when your finances permit, you can adopt such measure at a larger scale.
Educate Everyone
Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, you need to educate your employees. And for that, you may need to make yourself aware first. Probably you can use software similar to greenstone, which can access data across your organization to monitor your sustainability impacts. When you know the problem area yourself, you can then make your employees aware of the same. You have to make the employees aware of the impacts of their actions as well as of the company as a whole on the environment. They should be motivated to act without being told. The collective efforts of the members of the workforce will surely make a significant difference.
Going green can increase your return on investments by up to 233%. This is even made better by the fact that you do not even have to take drastic steps. Even with minimal interventions, such as through the things mentioned above, it will be easy for your business to become eco-friendly.