Entrepreneurial and Green Initiatives to Save the Planet
Businesses typically have a hard time focusing on multiple things at once because diverting resources can be both costly and time-consuming. It’s usually best for a company to focus on one task at a time especially if they’re already limited by their resources such as capital and their workforce.
However, one pair of productive actions that you can perform at the same time is building your business while saving the planet. There are a surprising number of things that you can do to grow your profits while also saving the planet, reducing your carbon footprint and making you a more attractive business to deal with. There are many consumers now who take into consideration the values of the company they are dealing with, hence why becoming a green company and saving the planet can be both a virtuous and profitable venture.
But in this article, we’re going to talk about a couple of ways to build your business while also maintaining a green reputation that strives to look after the planet.
1. Cut your bills to reduce operating costs and save the planet
One of the simplest ways to save the planet and save yourself some money is to cut your energy expenditure. This can be done in some different ways, but we like to split the possibilities into two categories; optimization and cutting waste. Cutting waste would refer to saving energy that would otherwise be wasted. This means turning off the lights when no one is in the office or telling your employees to switch off their computers when they leave the office. You could even consider installing a master switch to turn off all the outlets so that you can quickly shut off all the power to the office if you’re the last one out.
On the other hand, optimization requires an understanding of how much power you’re consuming and how you can reduce your energy bill while also improving productivity. A good example of this could be changing the types of lightbulbs that you use. Some lightbulbs are going to be more costly to use in the long run and this can be a problem if your workers are in the office late into the evening. By replacing these lights with more energy-efficient options, you can leave the lights running for longer without feeling guilty about wasting power. Another option is to replace computer components and use more efficient systems. This might not seem like a huge deal at first, but when your company relies on dozens or even hundreds of computers to run each day, the cost savings of upgrading the components can add up.
2. Recycle or sell your dated electronics
A lot of companies, especially tech startups, will have plenty of tech lying around doing nothing. This could include old computers, accessories or even extra hardware that they don’t need. This hardware can always be donated to other businesses so that it doesn’t build up in your office, but you can also attempt to recycle or sell it so that you gain a little bit of money back from your initial purchase and can also clear up the clutter in your workplace and recycle to be more friendly to the environment.
There are still many companies that dump their e-waste without a second thought and this can be surprisingly expensive. By making sure that you’re always recycling your e-waste, you do less harm to the environment while also saving yourself a bit of money by getting rid of unwanted electronic waste that is likely lying around and doing nothing anyway. Converting your electronics to cash is a fantastic way to help the environment while also growing your business by cutting down on waste and becoming more aware of the amount of waste that you produce.
3. Change your packaging to green options
One of the most underrated ways to reduce your business operating expenses while also saving the planet is to utilize green packaging options. This includes things like non-plastic packages, paper-based boxes for shipping and sustainable options made from recycled materials. The packaging will speak for itself when your items are seen or purchased by your customers and green packaging is often hassle-free compared to other options, improving the customer experience and making them more aware that you’re a company that supports green alternatives to lower their carbon footprint.
Green packaging options are also a lot lighter and take up less space in transport. The amount of energy required to transport green packing goods is much lower which decreases overhead and monthly business expenses while also being friendly towards the environment. Green packaging options will also get your audience talking. Even if you don’t announce the swap, your loyal customers will notice that you’ve changed your packaging and will likely talk about it on social channels or influencers may notice it and create content about it and growing your brand.
4. Cut down on paper waste whenever possible
Most businesses haven’t gone fully paperless yet but that doesn’t mean that you can’t start trying to. Fully paperless businesses are still a distant dream because there are still far too many processes involved that require paper, but you can still cut down on a lot of waste paper by examining what you and your staff do with the paper in your office. If you find that you’re going through an entire pack of paper every week, then you’ll want to consider what you’re using the paper for, who’s wasting it and how your processes can be optimized so that you avoid using too much of it.
For example, perhaps your team is using a lot of paper to draft ideas for future product designs. If this is the case, then perhaps investing in other solutions such as a digital drawing tablet could prove to be useful especially if they draw a couple of things on each sheet of paper before throwing it away. You could also start to convert paper-based systems like invoicing to a digital alternative that makes use of cloud accounting. Although many businesses and processes are now more accommodating towards paperless businesses, it’s still not entirely possible to completely ignore paper to the point that you never have to purchase any from a store. However, you can do your part with the help of things like recycling and being more self-aware of how much paper you use to still make a difference to the planet.
5. Allow people to work remotely from home
Allowing people to work from home means that your employees have a smaller carbon footprint and that your company can be more flexible. Employees like to be given choice and there are times when working from home can make your staff more productive, but there are also times when your work-at-home staff could be easily distracted. Working remotely also comes with the possibility of hiring freelancers instead of just working together with local employees.
This can be especially helpful for hiring help around the country regardless of their proximity to your office.
Remote work can come with some issues such as distracting your staff, but it does drastically lower the carbon footprint of your business and opens up options for freelancing in the event you should want to. A business that relies heavily on outside help can still grow exponentially while also maintaining a much lower carbon footprint. It does require a bit of setup to ensure everything works, but once it does, it works surprisingly well.
