Being environmentally conscious is a thing many companies brag about these days. But are things truly like this? If you’re a company owner, you might want to start taking some responsibility with your business and become environmentally friendly as well. Today we are going to look at various methods to help your company be more environmentally conscious if you want to lead positive change.
How to Be More Environmentally Conscious 101
1. Leave Your Car at Home
The first thing you can do when deciding to go green. Cars and trucks represent almost 20% of the U.S. emissions. Despite this, people don’t seem too eager to quit their automobile. A study made by Brian McKenzie from the U.S. Census showed that more than 75% of the workers drive alone to work. Start walking or cycling to work if you want to help the environment. It will also be a good change for yourself too since you’ll be exercising more each day. Alternatively, you can take transit and cut down on the costs of your transportation.
2. Work from Home
If the nature of your business allows it, try as much as possible to run your business from home. Nowadays, with the whole variety of mobile phones and devices, it isn’t that hard to keep in touch with your team, wherever they are. In this way, you reduce the traffic and cut on the greenhouse gas emissions without affecting your work. You can even meet clients in the comfort of your own home as well.
3. Quit on Convenience Shopping
Nowadays, a large part of the managers, business owners, and workers are addicted to single-use and throwaway products. A couple of examples are the single-cup pod coffee makers, the coffee to go people drink every morning, etc. A good way to become more environmentally conscious is to ask your employees to bring cups and refillable water bottles. Thus, they can cut down on using paper cups or buying countless plastic bottles. Moreover, you can cut down on the paper use by installing warm-air hand dryers in kitchens or washrooms.
4. Use PCW Content
PCW stands for post-consumer waste and it’s a good idea to cut down on the paper use in your office. Whenever you can, quit using paper altogether. For example, use more emails and virtual post-its. If that’s not possible, buy an eco-friendly type of paper. Keep in mind that only the PCW paper is made completely from the paper we put in the recycling bins.
5. Turn Off Equipment
Another important point you need to follow if you want to be more environmentally conscious is to turn off the equipment when you’re not using it. Even though many people don’t do it, it can help cut down on the energy costs even by 25%. If you completely turn off the computers at the end of the workday, you can pay 50% less.

6. Change the Office Supplies
Every day, more than 4 million disposable pens are thrown away in the U.S. Just imagine how many supplies are wasted in offices all throughout the world. Stock the office with reusable pens which you can refill. This makes it easier to keep track of them instead of losing and replacing them often. Moreover, you can save some money as well in the long run.
7. Use Green Procurement
The easiest way to turn your business into a more environmentally-friendly one is to start practicing green procurement. This means you should choose goods and services that don’t use excessive packaging or that have been produced in a sustainable manner. The supplies you buy shouldn’t contain harmful or toxic substances and should be reused or recycled. Ideally, you should always rely on renewable materials. Inquire with your suppliers about these aspects and make decisions accordingly.
8. Choose Green Web Hosting
The amount of energy used by all the servers in the U.S. when they are running equals the one used by 5 nuclear power plants, which translates to a huge environmental damage. Luckily, in the recent years, we witnessed a boom of green web hosting services. The hosting company manages to cut down on the costs and on the environmental damage by making their own energy. The savings are passed to the customers, which means that green web hosting is an affordable option for any business owner.
9. Save on the Furniture
Every year, 17 billion pounds of office equipment and furniture are thrown away only in the U.S. Usually, this happens because companies close branches, move from one place to another, refurbish the offices, etc. However, these materials shouldn’t even reach the landfill. Whenever you have extra furniture items, such as chairs, desks, etc., think how you can repurpose them. With a little creativity, you can turn a piece of wood into an interesting decorative piece. If you’re not feeling up to it, turn it into a team challenge at work.
10. Cut Down on the Water Usage
Many people don’t know this, but your business may be using a lot of water it doesn’t really need. It’s a good idea to restrict water usage at the office, and there are several ways in which you can do that. For example, you can fix any dripping taps of plumbing leaks. Choose low-flow toilets and faucets aerators. If you need landscaping at the office, switch to drought-tolerant plants and install a drip system instead of a sprinkling one. Lastly, instead of using a hose connected to a tap, switch to high-efficiency pressure washers. They are much more effective and use much less water.
To draw a conclusion, turning your business into a more environmentally conscious one may seem like an extra effort. However, it’s worth it if you think about the fact that you can save money while also protecting the environment. Remember that we are all responsible for the state of the planet and the consequences of our erratic actions are already visible in the global warming phenomena.
Image source: depositphotos.com
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