10 WAYS YOU CAN MAKE YOUR BUSINESS MORE SUSTAINABLE IN 2020

1. Recycle

 

Business recycling will reduce your carbon footprint and will not only have a positive impact on the environment but also your business finances.

Paper: – coloured, paper, documents, newspapers.

Electronics, ink cartridges, Glass, Tins, Food waste, and old furniture

 

2. Reduce

 

We can reduce our printing costs by:

Doing a test page weekly so the ink doesn’t try up and then we are wasting that ink.

Preview your print before you print it out, there is are a selection to tick on the Print page.

Reduce printing by using smaller margins, or font size.

Or switch to using digital resources

 

3. Upcycle

 

Before you throw out that old office furniture try to think how you might be able to upcycle it, or maybe some else can so donate it to a charity shop or someone you know that might like it.

 

4. Consider Remote Working & Online Meetings

 

I love remote working, sure it’s not for everyone, but I really do feel that the future of remote working is our way to a sustainable future.

Working remotely saves business and employees money, staff have increased productivity, and employee turnover is reducing.

All those good things and we haven’t even discussed the positive effect on the environment.

No more commuting to the office means reducing our carbon footprints.

Business can expand without the extra costs for space, furniture, and other office resources.

5. Use LED Lighting

 

LED lights are 80% more efficient than fluorescent or incandescent lights.

This means 80-90% of their energy is turned into light rather than heat.

They are 100% recyclable and they have almost no UV emissions.

 

6. Shop Locally 

 

The reasons we should use local businesses is a blog in itself, we really need to support each other.

If you are walking to the high street to buy you supplies rather than driving somewhere or getting goods delivered you are already reducing the air pollution, traffic and supporting other small businesses.

 

7. Use Sustainable Suppliers

 

Supporting sustainable suppliers helps them help others, this might help you to choose

How to select a sustainable supplier

 

 

Not only is walking or cycling to work great for your health and mental wellbeing, but we are also again reducing air pollution.

You could encourage staff by creating competitions or even treats of some sort.

 

Switching from a car to a bicycle saves 150 g of CO2 per kilometer.

Each 7 km by bicycle will save an emission of 1 kilogram of CO2 as compared to the same distance covered by car.

In a five-year period, Dutch people avoided 1.41 million tonnes of CO2 each year through cycling. 

https://www.unenvironment.org/

9. Reduce Water Usage

 

Saving water in the workplace might seem a bit of a challenge.

There are small steps you can make.

 

Remind people to turn taps off.

Fix leaks and replace washers.  

Install water-efficient taps or dishwashers.

Replace single flush toilets with the double flush types.

 

10. Use Green Cleaning Products

 

Introduce green cleaning to your business, investing in eco-friendly materials is a fantastic way to help the environment and your pocket too.

You will be surprised at the simple changes you can make once you look into it.

Replace old appliances with energy-efficient ones

Appliances are getting more and more energy-efficient so just make sure you check the differences when you are buying new equipment.

So you probably didn’t even realise that you can start today with some of the 9 ways your business can be environmentally friendly.

It doesn’t have to be all at once, just starting with something helps.