It is a moral responsibility for businesses of all shapes and sizes to go green. However, it is also much more than this. If you focus on various eco-friendly practices in your business, it can be an excellent cost reduction strategy.
No matter which industry you operate in, there are various practices you can adopt to reduce your overheads and pad your bottom line. Making straightforward changes to your habits and upgrading key technology are just some ways to achieve this. If you are not yet convinced this is possible, read ahead. You will see how you stand to benefit from making some minor adjustments to the way you run your business.
Eco-Friendly strategies that will help you reduce waste
Following these strategies will help your business become cleaner as well as richer. You can incorporate the ones that fit into your business processes. Most companies benefit from adopting all of them, and you will notice how your margins improve over a period. Some things to focus on include:
1. Switching to LEDs
In most commercial settings, lighting becomes one of the significant energy wasters. Incandescent bulbs are the main culprits. The good news is that there are eco-friendly and energy-efficient options today. LED technology is not new, and it has been around for numerous years. However, most commercial property owners do not understand how they can save by switching to LED.
LED light fittings are 80% more energy-efficient than incandescent bulbs. They can also last for up to 25 times longer than all forms of lighting. By switching to LED lighting, you can save millions of kWh annually, which translates to significant savings.
2. Bid Adieu to Plastic
Many businesses have bottled water on their premises for their employees. However, this is nothing but a significant waste on something no different from standard filtered water. Check the bottles that you are purchasing for your office. If it is mentioned that they come from a community water system, it means that what you have been drinking is nothing but plain tap water.
The best way to avoid this waste is to invest in a modern, centralised RO water system instead. It’s one of the most effective ways of filtering tap water, making it safe for consumption. You will spend less money on plastic bottles which are unsustainable and will have healthy drinking water in your workplace.
3. Reduce Water Usage
While it is great to filter tap water on your property to make it potable, it is also necessary to reduce the overall amount of water used on your premises. You can add float boosters to all the toilets and keep a watch on the water metres. Installing drought-resistant grass in the landscaped areas will also mean that these features need less water.
4. Add Greenery to Your Office To Improve Employee Help
Since your staff members spend so many hours at work, it can benefit them and you if you provide a comfortable environment in these spaces. When they are happy and healthy, they will also be more productive. You can install trees outside office windows, and include some plants in indoor areas as well. This will improve the oxygen levels on your property.
5. Go Paperless
Many offices maintain physical records of business dealings, employee and client details, and more. However, this is not an environmentally responsible way to go. These records are also costly. A large number of trees are cut down to produce paper, and you end up paying much more for paper rather than digital forms of documentation. Whenever you print out documents for your business, you spend money on electricity for printers, copiers and the toner.
While these expenses may not seem glaringly high when you look at them individually, they add up to a lot pretty quickly over time. Going paperless is a great way to cut costs in your business. Cloud-based storage is the way to go. It is an eco-friendly method of meeting your objective while saving the environment from the added burden of using paper etc.
6. Reusable Products
If you run a retail business, consider using reusable products such as insulated shopping bags and bags made of recycled materials. Add your company motto or logo on the bags; It is a great way to promote your business. Millennials are quite eco-conscious and like to do business with companies that take their responsibility towards the planet seriously. If you need to charge some minimal amounts for green options that you give your customers, most would be more than happy to pay for it. When you opt for reusable items, it reduces the amount of waste that goes into the landfills too.
7. Government Tax Credits
There are certain tax credits that businesses can get whenever they make efforts to go green. These tax credits are available for solar energy, reduced emissions, energy efficiency and more.
8. Attract Investors
If you are a business that works on reducing overheads and complies with green standards, investors will be more inclined to put their money into your business. Over the long-term, investors need to get a better return on their investment. They are more likely to invest in companies that focus on eco-friendly practices. If you want to move forward with expanding your business or add new products, you need to be sure that investors are willing to invest in your business in the future as well.
9. Carpooling
Using public transportation or carpooling as a way to get to work promotes environmentally friendly practices. A company that provides its employees with incentives for using these transportation options are also ones that promote green living. These incentives reduce the overall number of vehicles that ply the roads. In turn, this improves their quality, and it creates stronger bonding amongst employees.
10. Telecommuting
While the pandemic has created a culture where work from home or remote work is almost becoming the norm, telecommunicating is an excellent way to cut costs and reduce the burden on the environment as well. If you invest in a good cloud network, many of your employees can work remotely without any inconveniences or impact on productivity and communication. Today there is a significant amount of technological advancement which allows for screen sharing, video conference calls and more.
When you allow your employees to work from home or telecommute, it means that they use their equipment and utilities. It will help to reduce your utility expenses over time even if you compensate your employees for some of the facilities that they are using from home. When your employees are working out of the office on certain days, ensure that they shut down all the equipment, devices etc. that consume electricity on the business premises.
Going Green Will Boost Your Business’ Profitability
When you are environmentally responsible, it helps you win points with modern-day customers. This philosophy will help to keep much more of the money that you earn. While you save dollars, it will also help you reinforce your branding as a responsible and revolutionising company that it cares about the impact on the environment. Even as the productivity and efficiency of your business improve overall, you will find that you are saving a sizable amount of money each month.
While all of these tips mentioned above are doable, you need to go about them in a planned manner to ensure their sustainability. That will help your business reduce the burden on the environment while adding to its bottom line.
For any more information about how you can go green in your business and how it ill help you reduce costs, contact the experts at Benchmark Cost Solutions at this number – 02 9525 0777. If you prefer, write to us at this email address, and we will revert quickly.
Thanks for reading,
Benchmark Cost Solutions Team
02 9525 0777
