Is your business thinking about going green?
Green business practices are good for the environment, and good for your bottom line!
A greener workplace reduces your impact on the planet and creates a healthier – and often more productive – place to work.
Many eco-friendly business practices are not only affordable, but save money to boot.
Marcos Cordero, CEO of the Green Business Bureau, says, “Simply change behavior that results in excessive waste. Start small and build sustainability that will pay for itself.”
Top 10 Green Business Practices
Some of these green business tips were offered by readers of my blog post, Freelancing is the New Green. Check these easy and affordable tips for going green to see which you can apply to your store, office, or home-based business.
Share a ride
Can you carpool or take public transit?
Even better – walk, ride a bike, or telecommute!
Power down at night
Are your cubicle walls enjoying your screensaver show all night? Running the screensaver takes about the same amount of energy as other routine tasks – meaning many computers waste twice as much energy idling as working!
Save thousands of watts per year by shutting down at the workday’s end.
Eat in
Save time, save money, save gas (if you drive to lunch), and eat healthier too – bring your lunch to work!
Go digital for documents
Think twice before printing! Digital documents and presentations can be quickly searched and accessed on the network. This saves on physical storage space, and potentially saves thousands of man hours per year of filing and retrieving documents.
Recycle paper
Even if you manage to run a completely paperless office, you’ll still be getting paper from elsewhere. Set up convenient recycling bins to catch it before it hits the trash.
Turn off the lights
First – can you make use of free, healthy natural light by rearranging the workspace?
Next, consider energy-efficient task lighting, as it tends to use less energy than ceiling lights. Can you employ motion-sensor lights in some areas, like restrooms?
Finally, be sure to turn off lights when leaving at night.
Meet by messaging or teleconferencing
While some face-to-face meetings may be essential – teleconferencing is a great way to save travel time and expenses.
Clean green
Your supply cabinet may house some of the most powerful toxins on the market – and in large quantities! Swap out harsh chemicals for non- or less-toxic equivalents. It’s better for your indoor air quality, better for the great outdoors!
Ban the bottled water
How often does the office water cooler get cleaned? That bottled water may not be as healthy as you think! Consider dumping the monthly fees and going with water filters instead.
Then encourage employees to bring reusable water bottles or cups to work, instead of wasting all those paper cups. Don’t forget mugs for coffee too! Either or both would make a great employee appreciation gift, too.
Buy recycled
Close the loop! And buying recycled isn’t just about paper.
For real cost savings, check out refurbished printers, cartridges, computers, copiers, and furniture. Refurbished equipment is often sold with the same manufacturer’s warranties, and is virtually identical to new items.
You can see savings of 20-30% on refurbished, and 50% on used items. Being green with recycled or refurbished items saves you some green, keeps old items out of landfills, and conserves resources needed to manufacture new items.
What do you think of my top 10 green business ideas?
Are you already doing well with some of these, and see a couple more you might be able to implement?
If you have other green business tips, please share in the comments below. Then share this article to spread the word on green business practices!
Nova says
Thanks for sharing this article. I think that going green is very helpful for business to save money and help conserve the environment as well. This is a very helpful post. I’ll definitely return to this site.
Emma says
Some brilliant tips here, Louise! Thank you for sharing. We like to encourage businesses to be a little greener both in and out of the office – by investing in eco-friendly promotional merchandise to add to their marketing campaigns. A great reflection on the company and tons better for the environment 🙂
Louise Myers says
Sounds smart!
Tim Yaotome says
Since you mentioned about switching to energy-efficient task lighting and motion-sensor lights in order for a business to save energy, my suggestion is to ask a commercial contractor to do this office upgrade. With their help, they can safely uninstall and rewire all the lighting in order to accommodate these kinds of devices in. Also, with their help, the upgrade can be completed while lowering the company’s risk from electrical fire at the same time.
Louise Myers says
Worth considering.
Anon says
Great blog Louise! There’s so much to consider when it comes to making your business greener, so it’s always great to read some tips. Some very simple ideas here that can all make a big difference!
Louise Myers says
Glad you liked them!
NB says
Yes, I totally agree with what you said. I think that it is really important that we practice going green for our benifits and environment. I think that going digital is a great way to have a well managed business and organized. Thanks for sharing this article.
Louise Myers says
My pleasure
Dwight Smith says
Thanks for sharing this. It is very overwhelming to have a successful business and be able to help conserve and protect the environment.
Louise Myers says
If you practice sustainability in your personal life, it just comes naturally.
We says
Thanks for sharing this. I think that we should protect our environment. We can do this by going green, just like what you said. In my office we always follow that policy for no smoking and segregating our trash. By doing this we know that at least in our little gesture we can help protect mother earth.
Louise Myers says
Great, thanks for helping Mother Earth!
Jim Juris says
Louise,
Your blog/website is super fantastic! Lots of useful material and great graphics too.
Louise Myers says
Thanks so much, Jim!
Drewry says
Hi Louise,
Quick question for you. How do you feel about using Google places for business? Do you feel it improves SEO and free leads to blogs and websites? I’ve been quite hesitant for some time now adding my full contact information to Google places for business thinking that it wouldn’t work. If you have a listing on there, do you feel it’s worked out for you and Longevity? Thanks for your answer in advance. 🙂
Louise Myers says
Hi Drewry,
As far as I know, Google My Business is for local businesses, not for websites. (formerly Google Places and Google Local)
As to why your comment got sandboxed: we require a real name, no “deep linking,” and a relevant comment. But perhaps you had read the other post and left the comment on this one instead 🙂
Here’s our blog comment policy.
anonymous says
Thanks for sharing this. It is very overwhelming to have a successful business and be able to help conserve and protect the environment. I will practice your tips in my business.
Louise Myers says
Great!
You might also want to check our blog comment policy.
syam says
nice tips…i luv it…thnx for sharing
Louise Myers says
Great!
Nova says
I totally agree with what you said. Going green is needed nowadays because of global warming. Thanks for sharing tips.
Louise Myers says
My pleasure!
Kathy says
Love your tips!
Thanks for sharing!
Louise Myers says
Thanks for visiting, Kathy!