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You might be a small business, but going green can make a big difference. There are millions of small businesses out there, and if they all made small improvements, the change would be enormous. Doing so will not just help the planet, but it will also help improve the image of your business exponentially and take you to new heights, as long as it is marketed well!
If you’re looking to make your small business greener, there are steps you can take, and many of them are easy to implement. Small changes can go a long way, and there are substantial benefits to going green aside from helping the environment.
Here are six tips to make your small business greener. Some are big, some are small, but they all make a difference.
Bike to Work/ Carpool Schemes
If your business has 25 employees who are each driving to and from work every day of the year, then this very quickly starts to add up. With 25 employees, this means roughly 12,500 journeys a year. If those employees live on average ten miles away from the office, then that’s 125,000 miles a year.
If you can limit the number of journeys your employees are taking and instead encourage them to bike to work or start carpool schemes, then you can help make your business greener. Share this on your social media pages, and update your customers on how well it is going. It might even encourage them to give it a go. If lots of small businesses started to reduce the number of journeys to and from your place of work, then it would make a massive difference.
Another great way to reduce the environmental impact of your employees coming to work is to encourage remote working. Technology has made this a great option for many businesses, and it’s a quick way to drastically cut down on the number of commutes.
Work with Suppliers Who Have Similar Goals
You can make all the green changes you want, but if your supplier is a massive pollutant, then the process of selling your product isn’t going to be green.
There are lots of businesses out there who are adopting eco-friendly measures throughout their supply chains, but you could take it up a whole new level and partner with someone who is setting sustainability trends, such as Asia Pulp and Paper. It is these kinds of suppliers that you want to be working with, as it can make a much bigger and longer-lasting environmental impact.
Dedicate Days to Volunteering
No matter how big or small your business is, you have the opportunity to get together and do some volunteering. There are so many different projects you can find out there, and there are lots that allow you to help the environment.
Something as simple as planting trees can help your business offset some of its carbon footprint and do something positive for the environment. Take some pictures of your team and post them on your website as well your social media sites, and you will be marketing yourself as a company that cares. Not only are these good, green things to do, but they’re also great ways of building team spirit between your employees and developing your business culture.
Conserve Water
A lot of small businesses are often quite wasteful with their water consumption. This adds to your business’s bills, and it also has a negative impact on the environment. We often forget water in the “green equation,” but it’s a finite resource that we have to protect.
It’s easy for water consumption to go unnoticed in a busy business, but there are things you can do to cut down on your consumption:
- Get a water audit
- Install low flow faucets
- Work closely with employees
- Reduce landscape water use
These might be little changes, but they can add up to make a big difference to the amount of water you are using. If you notice any changes by doing so, tell your customers about it, they will love to know things like this.
Green Cleaning Products
Not all of the changes you make need to be big ones. Small changes can have a big impact too, and one such change is switching to green cleaning products. Of course, you want your place of work to be clean, but some of the more aggressive cleaners can be damaging to the environment.
There are great cleaning products out there that have a less damaging effect on the environment and will do the job just as well, so be on the lookout for green cleaning products. You could also ask your customers for their opinions about what they use to get them involved.
Alternative Energy Sources
There are lots of different ways of powering your business, and alternative energy sources might be a good option for you. Many governments are encouraging businesses to use renewable energies such as solar and wind, and you might be eligible for financial help for making the switch.
While there is a start-up cost associated with switching to these alternative energy sources, businesses often find they save money in the long run, making the switch even more beneficial.
Even small manufacturing businesses consume large amounts of energy, so making a change to alternative energy sources can make a massive difference to how green your business is.