It is a shame that many businesses are only taking action over reducing their carbon footprint when they are being called out publicly and it starts to have an effect on their bottom line. Nowadays, new businesses are very aware of the effects of public perception regarding this, and take measures to start their business off on the right foot. If your business operates from an office, you may be slightly limited to the measures you can take to improve your environmentally friendliness, but there is always room for improvement. Below, we shall look at ways you can do so.
Stop printing
In the day and age of tablets, smartphones and lightweight laptops, is there really any need to be printing off hundreds of sheets of paper with the lifespan of a few days at most? Here are some arguments against printing off documents versus keeping them digital:
- It is a waste of resources (paper, ink, electricity) and overall, money
- It takes time to print compared to looking at the file on a screen
- It is costly to buy and maintain printers
It’s understandable if it isn’t feasible to stop printing completely. Currently, contracts and such are required to be in hard-copy, but even these are slowly switching over to digital. Stop writing and printing meeting schedules on paper and instead invest in the best meeting room booking software you can afford. This will help you future-proof your business and improve its efficiency.
If every business were to take these steps, the positive effects could be profound.
Don’t provide food and drinks packaged in plastic
The selling point for plastic is that it is convenient and a great way of storing food and drinks, however the effect of single-use plastic is immense. The amount that ends up in landfills after one use storing a drink, sandwich or potato chips is incredible, and downright sad. Rather than provide water in single-use bottles, encourage your employees to get their own reusable water bottles and refill them at the water cooler. Not only will help you reduce waste, but this should save the business money. You won’t be required to purchase and maintain a refrigerator just to keep drinks cool, and a water cooler takes up much less space. It should also help to encourage your employees to consume more water and keep hydrated; having a positive effect on their work performance.
Maximise natural light
Electricity is not cheap and it is still shocking when you enter offices with their blinds down and the lights shining bright. Research has proven that natural light is more beneficial to our health than artificial light, so maximising the amount of natural light into your office will not only save you money, but improve you and your employee’s health.
By maximising natural light, a business will not only reduce their operating costs, but a lower consumption of electricity can reduce the pressure on utility services, which if done by every business, could ease a lot of the burden on the environment from carbon emissions.