As a business, you’ve got corporate social responsibility. This means a responsibility to the society you live in, to ensure what you do for profit won’t affect society’s other members. One of the many facets of running a business you have to be cautious about is to ensuring it stays environment friendly.
At present, environmental concerns are still at the forefront of global issues. More and more people now realize the importance of taking good care of the environment, given the changes that irresponsibility has wreaked havoc all over the world. If you’re serious about making your small business earth friendly today, here are some tips that’ll come in handy:
1. Switch To Recyclable Materials
Thanks to modern technology, there are now so many items made from recycled or biodegradable materials. If you’re still using nonrecyclable or nonbiodegradable packaging, it’s time to switch to suppliers that offer such, if your business is looking to reduce its carbon footprint. Think of your mailing boxes, packaging, and other materials needed for your products.
One small step is switching from regular plastic bottles to BPA-free and 100% recyclable plastics so the bottles for your liquid products don’t merely end up as single use.
2. Recycle Office Waste
There may be times in your business operations where office waste will just pile up one after another. Instead of dumping all that trash to the landfill, find ways to recycle what you can—as you would’ve done so at home. Better yet, you could also visit the nearest recycling plant to earn a little bit of cash for your trash. If you have good recycling habits at home, there’s no reason why you should forget that when you reach the office.
Here are simple steps for you to create an ecofriendly culture in your small office:
- Segregate Waste: Dedicate a separate bin for biodegradable and nonbiodegradable waste.
- Promote Litter-Free Lunches: Encourage your team to bring their own food packed from home to maximize plastic packaging from food deliveries.
- Transition To Paperless Transactions: For transactions that don’t necessarily have to be printed on paper—e.g., instead of sending out a physical memo to every member of your small business, send it on a digital file on a group messaging platform.
3. Apply For An Environmental Audit
A good way to start being more ecofriendly is asking help from experts by applying for an environmental audit. Experts would check your business and provide any ecofriendly suggestions in your office site that you may not have considered doing.
These changes include improving natural light to reduce dependence on artificial light or switching to LED lights and improving your workspace or office’s insulation.
4. Avoid Disposable Cutlery
How does your office pantry look like? Even smaller offices and businesses should have a pantry because employees need a place to take their breaks. But is it laden with plastic cups and other cutlery?
How does your coffee station look like? If your business is providing basic pantry staples to your employees, you can save so much and be more environmentally friendly when you cut out disposable cutlery. Rather, encourage every member of your business to bring their own utensils. Make it a part of your company practice to simply wash reusable utensils after meals, as you’d do at home.
5. Think About Eco-Friendly Gestures
Is everyone in your business on board with the small but impactful ecofriendly steps that make a difference?
For instance, even as simple as switching off the lights whenever you leave the room where there isn’t anyone left or unplugging devices that aren’t in use can make a difference. These may be small habits, but if everyone does their part, it can make a huge difference. The lesser energy you use, the more environment friendly your business also becomes.
Going deeper than that, there’s always the alternative of switching to renewable sources of energy, whenever possible and viable for your business. Your small business may take a huge hit initially with such a big expense, but in the long run, taking steps to be more eco-friendly can also significantly reduce your utility expense.
Check out my list of green business ideas for eco-friendly entrepreneurs
There are so many ways you can do to turn your small business into a green enterprise. It doesn’t have to be a difficult and expensive pursuit; in fact, your eco-friendly journey begins with little changes that you incorporate to help save the world. The earlier you start, the better. In doing so, when your small business slowly expands and grows, green practices are already a part of your company culture and norm.
