While climate change and pollution issues continue to wreak havoc in the world, businesses can make a positive difference by being more environmentally conscious. It’s never too late to do what’s right by the planet.
To help you in this noble quest, here are six ways to make your business more eco-friendly.
#1: Ditch the Physical Office
Physical offices contribute to pollution with their electrical output, paper use, and waste. The good news is, you can reduce all of those environmental factors in one easy move by dropping the physical working space and opting for virtual offices instead.
Virtual offices give you an address, answering services, and other benefits, but without the physical office causing all of the environmental problems. Even better, virtual offices are likely to be much cheaper than a physical office contract, helping you save on your outgoings while you help save the planet.
#2: Offer Remote Work
Remote work helps people avoid commuting to a physical office while boosting their work-life flexibility. You’ll be contributing to a reduction of vehicles on the road and giving your employees the gift of more personal time.
It may not seem like much environmental help to offer remote work to your staff, however, it is more impactful than most people realize. Over 75% of Americans get to work by private car, and they spend 52 minutes a day on average driving that car. That’s a big contributory factor to the 1,786 million metric tons of US gas emissions put into the atmosphere every year from transportation alone.
By offering remote work, you’re making a powerful eco-friendly business move. Outsourcing tasks like your small business IT support or web design to freelancers or agencies is another great way to switch to a remote working model.
#3: Go Paperless
Going paperless is an excellent eco-friendly move to make as a business. On average, 17% of everything printed is waste, and half of all the paperwork printed is thrown away within 24 hours. That is without even considering the environmental impact of making paper, shredding it, burning it, and even storing confidential documents that cannot be destroyed.
#4: Go Meat-Free
From the amount of water it takes to create one pound of beef to the pollution caused by intensive agriculture, scientific studies paint a pretty dark picture of meat consumption.
If you switch your cafeteria to a meat-free oasis, you can reduce your business’s environmental impact. Even just one meat-free day a week or a vegan potluck every Friday could give your company a beautiful green boost.
#5: Reduce Plastic Waste
Of the 300 million tons of plastic made annually, 8 million tons or more ends up in the ocean. Once it is there, it causes lots of damage. If you can reduce the plastic waste flowing out of your business, you will do the oceans a massive favour. Start by asking staff to switch to reusable water bottles and speaking to suppliers about eco-friendly packaging for your products. From there, keep refining with the aim of getting to zero waste.
#6: Use Natural Cleaning Products
Natural cleaning products do not contain bleach or other harmful ingredients. You can buy them from the supermarket these days, and they are often just as cheap (if not cheaper) than standard brands. Switching to eco-friendly cleaning products is a low cost, easy switch that instantly boosts your business’s green credentials.
Follow the tips above, get your staff on board with being more planet-friendly, and you’ll be doing your bit to help the world to be a better, healthier, cleaner place for generations to come.
