How To Put Your Business On An Eco-Friendly Path

If you are a business owner, it is required of you to make certain efforts to see that the environment is being taken care of and if your business actions do not have a direct impact on your community.

Your business needs to take an eco-friendly path because consumers now prefer to support eco-friendly businesses. The research was done and 90% of consumers said they would switch to a brand if it meant supporting an eco-friendly business. While individual efforts can be taken, when a business organization takes the first steps and makes the efforts, it carries more weight.

Some of the ways you can use to put your business on an eco-friendly path include reducing items, sourcing sustainable materials, donating what you don’t need, reducing your water usage, lowering your energy costs, implementation of recycling and compost measures, prioritizing reusable office supplies, building sustainable relationships, and encouraging employees to switch up their commute.

If you want to find out in detail how you can put your business on an eco-friendly path, read on.

Reduce single-use items

Single-use items lead to a lot of plastic waste each year. Single-use items can easily be replaced by reusable items. For instance, if you are a retailer, you can replace plastics with reusable bags.

In the case that you use compostable materials where they are applicable, the carbon footprints of your business will be reduced. Compostable materials break down into compost instead of ending up in landfills.

In this process of reducing your impact on the environment and making use of recycled material where possible, you will be moving towards an eco-friendly business.

Source Sustainable Materials

This is an alternative way to getting your business on an eco-friendly path. Sustainable only means products and companies which make use of environmentally friendly practices. For instance, stocking shelves with products that are made from recycled plastic.

Sourcing sustainable products conserve sources of waste. This also cuts the costs when it comes to packaging and the amount of fuel that is used when it comes to transportation.

Donate What You Don’t Need

Instead of taking items that need to be replaced to landfills, these appliances, electronics, or furniture can be donated to charitable organizations. You also run from landfill costs while reducing the amount of waste that these items produce. Improper disposal of these items tends to release heavy metal toxins which are hazardous.

Donating these items while they are still in good condition helps you reduce the amount of taxes that you pay plus local organizations and community members are helped by these donations.

Water usage reduction

Businesses and institutions tend to use up a quarter of the total water output. Reducing your water usage will surely have a positive impact on the environment even if it is a small business. Your water usage can be brought down if you start identifying any leaks that might be on your property and a leaking faucet can cause a waste of about 10,000 gallons of water every year which is a very big figure. It only means you are paying for what you are not using.

Lower Your Energy Costs

Even small businesses all spend more on energy costs. If you take steps in ensuring that you are more energy sufficient, money can be saved and your carbon footprint can be reduced in the process.

Several ways exist which your business can use to reduce its use of energy and these are:

• Investing in energy efficient appliances: Purchasing these appliances may be high but in the long run, you will surely enjoy the benefits.
• Replacing incandescent bulbs with LEDs: LED bulbs are very efficient in using energy as they only use about 25% to 30% of the total energy that could have been used.
• Timer installation on lights: This will only eliminate the risk of accidentally leaving lights on in bathrooms or break rooms.
• Regularly cleaning and replacing air filters: The flow of air is blocked when filters become clogged with dirt and dust.
• Unplugging electronics at night: Is very important as it reduces energy costs.

Implement Recycling and Composting Measures

Recycling bins and composting bins have to be placed throughout your business which will be a step in ensuring that your employees and customers are part of your company’s eco-friendly practices.

As mentioned earlier, compostable materials are materials that are capable of breaking down to compost, which becomes very essential in improving the soil’s health. Nowadays, some cities offer composting options as part of their recycling programs.

Old electronics, plus ink cartridges and toner cartridges can be recycled. The only thing is these products need to be shipped back to their manufacturers for proper disposal since they can not be disposed of with other plastics.

Prioritize Reusable Office Supplies

You may not realize how much office supplies such as pens and sticky notes contribute to landfill waste. In the US, it is estimated that over four million pens are thrown away every day, that’s a very big amount.

This number can be reduced by making a replacement of the traditional pens with pens that can have their ink refilled. Digital notes can also be used instead of sticky notes. Extra and unused office supplies can also be used.

Incentivize Employees to Switch Up Their Commute

Daily commutes to and from work greatly contribute to the amount of carbon dioxide in our environment. Encouraging your employees to use public means of transport will only reduce the number of cars which will imply a reduction in the amount of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere.

Build Sustainable Partnerships

Your local community greatly affects your business and the same way your local business is dependent on your business. Make a partnership with your community to ensure the sustainable health of your community.

Your small business can:

• Make a provision of goods and services during a community clean up efforts
• Organize fundraising events to raise money and awareness
• Donate supplies to the organization directly

Remember, some of the ways you can use to put your business on an eco-friendly path include: reducing items, sourcing sustainable materials, donating what you don’t need, reducing your water usage, lowering your energy costs, implementation of recycling and compost measures, prioritizing reusable office supplies, building sustainable relationships, and encouraging employees to switch up their commute.

Ruby Clark is a content writer who loves  writing about many things including the environment. In some of her writings, she states how important it is to keep the environment clean, and in her recent involvement with C&R Lewis Skip Hire, she discovered that there are many different things people can do to take care of the environment. Ruby believes that if we all take part in keeping the environment clean, we will preserve a better world for the generations to come.