Scale Your Business with These Eco-Friendly Tips

Of course, acting more environmentally friendly at the workplace will help protect the environment and reduce pollution, but the benefits don’t stop there. Running a green business has several benefits ranging from improved productivity to possible tax benefits. However, the two most prominent ways that going green can benefit businesses are improved worker mentality and improved brand perception.

Implementing practices in the workplace that help protect the environment will improve a business’s brand perception by aligning that business with a social movement that many consumers care about. Protecting the environment is a responsibility that falls on everyone’s shoulders, and environmentally conscious consumers are keenly aware of this. Recently, consumers have begun to go out of their way to support companies that have an active role in protecting the environment. By showing that your business cares for the environment and is doing everything it can to protect it, your business will be viewed in a more positive light by the majority of the public. 

This effect will also begin to impact your workers’ mentalities and improve their overall productivity. The logic here is very similar to why consumers support green businesses. Chances are that many of your employees care deeply about the environment and will be more proud to work for a business that also cares. Aligning your business goals with those workers’ passion for protecting the environment will encourage workers to take a larger stake in the company’s well-being. You may also notice improved productivity from these workers. This is because people will work harder for a business that they are proud to be a part of. 

Going Green and Digitization

Green business practices also typically require digital solutions that will help your business simplify its operations. For example, physical copies of business records have become almost entirely irrelevant. Instead, many companies keep all of their important information digitally, where this information takes up less space and natural resources. 

In some situations, even the physical office space can be done away with. The Covid-19 pandemic forced many people to work remotely and many of them have no interest in returning to a traditional office setting. This made virtual offices, like those offered by Davinci Virtual, incredibly popular. With virtual offices, a business can have a professional space in major cities without paying premium prices or requiring workers to commute. These spaces often come with premium features such as a legitimate business address, a lobby directory listing, and a lobby greeter. 

Tips

1. Start With an Environmental Audit

An environmental audit provides a business or organization with details about that company’s environmental performance. Specifically, it measures how a business’s daily operations impact the environment and provides business owners with a means of understanding how their operations could be made greener. Environmental audits also determine whether or not a business is operating within legal limits and environmental regulations. 

2. Use Green Lighting

There are ways to reduce your business’s carbon footprint without having to invest in commercial construction. One of those methods is to invest in LED lighting in the office or workplace. LEDs are a relatively cheap method of cutting a space's carbon footprint. They cost more than traditional incandescent bulbs initially, but they run much more efficiently. Most of the energy used to run incandescent bulbs is lost as heat, which can spike an electricity bill. In fact, over the course of a few months to a year LED bulbs can oftentimes end up paying for themselves with the amount of money saved on an electricity bill. 

Your business should also consider installing occupancy sensors in areas of the office that are less frequently used. This will ensure that the lights are turned off when areas like the conference room or bathroom are not being used. 

3. Repurpose or Redesign Your Products

If your business truly wants to transition to more environmentally friendly practices then it needs to begin at its core. Analyze your product from every conceivable angle and identify elements that could be done in a greener way. Here is a quick list of ways to ensure your product is kind to the environment.

● Source raw materials responsibly

● Optimize delivery routes to reduce pollution

● Manufacture your product in a green way

● Reduce the amount of packaging surrounding your product

4. Encourage and Reward Environmentally Conscious Behavior

For your business to successfully transition to greener practices, every member of your team needs to be on the same page. You can encourage your team members to protect the environment from the workplace by rewarding environmentally conscious behavior. Offer incentives for recycling in the workplace and reducing waste. These incentives can be bonuses, free meals, or even something as simple as a gift card. Employees will try harder to act in an environmentally friendly manner if they feel they are being rewarded for it. 

5. Reduce Paper Use

Reducing paper use in the office is one of the easiest methods to begin operating more environmentally friendly. Replace physical records and paper printouts with digital alternatives that are quicker and easier to use. This will not only reduce the amount of physical waste your business produces, but it will also make your business more efficient. Reducing the amount of paper used in the office will also cut operations and material costs. 

About Nick Rojas

Nick Rojas is a business consultant and journalist who lives in Chicago and his hometown Los Angeles with his wife. His work often discusses social media, marketing, and branding in regards to small and medium enterprises (SMEs).