Running an environmentally conscious business is no longer just a morally good thing; it can boost the business revenue as well. Not that long ago, consumers couldn’t care less if a company was environmentally-friendly. People just didn’t pay attention whether a company was green or not. We blame it on human ignorance and lack of education about that subject, but that is a topic for a different time.
Of course, even back then, some people were very environmentally conscious, but that is nothing compared to how many of them there are today. In fact, some recent studies have shown that more than 55% of consumers are willing to pay more for a service or product if a company is environmentally-friendly. Furthermore, according to a study from 2013, some 71% of Americans research whether a company is green before they go shopping. Therefore, just by applying a couple of eco-friendly solutions, you can boost your client base.
However, this is not the only financial benefit of going green. You see, many eco-friendly solutions will help you save money in various ways. For, example, green energy systems can completely cut your electricity bill, going digital and getting rid of unnecessary paperwork can increase the efficiency while reducing the operating costs, and so on. Now that you know why you should make your business green, let’s talk about the best ways to do this.
Green work commute
The carbon emission from vehicles is one of the biggest causes of air pollution in the world. Unfortunately, the vast majority of people are commuting to work in their own cars, around 70% to be more precise. That means that seven out of ten of your employees are driving their cars to work. If you manage to cut that number in half, you would do a great service to the environment and your community.
Of course, you cannot force your workers to ditch their cars. Instead, you should encourage them to use alternative modes of transportation. Ideally, your employees should walk or drive bicycles to work, but for them to do so, you need to incentivise that type of behaviour.
For example, you can build a bicycle rack where they can safely put away their bicycles, or you can even buy company’s bicycles for your employees to use. Additionally, if the commute is out of the walking or cycling distance, you should encourage using public transportation by covering their costs.
Natural lighting
While our first suggestion was purely about reducing your business’s carbon footprint, this one will help you cut costs as well. Sunlight is extremely underused both in residential and commercial buildings. Not only is natural lighting more eye-pleasing, but it will also save you money by reducing your energy bills.
So, how do you make use of natural light? Well, for offices that are close to windows, the answer is self-explanatory. However, for the ones that are not as close or windows are not enough, you can install skylights. These things are not just eco-friendly; they also have a couple of benefits for your mind and body. It’s no secret that sunlight increases the production of serotonin, the hormone of happiness, in your body. Yes, natural light can make you and your employees more productive and happier.
Go digital
Finally, we have a solution that will help you cut costs, improve efficiency, as well as benefit the environment in a significant way. Even though we are deep into the digital era, many companies are still clinging to the old ways of keeping everything on paper and storing it in cabinets. This is not only impractical, but bad for the environment as well because the paper is produced from wood.
Today, businesses have the option to go digital and store their documents on cloud servers. The best part – if you need a hardcopy of a document, you can pull it from your database and print it. You will free space in your office, make it easier to find specific files, and best of all, reduce your impact on nature. Imagine if all businesses went digital, the paper production would drop significantly.
And that is about it for today. We didn’t get to talk about solar and other forms of renewable energy, but our goal was to provide eco-friendly solutions for businesses of all sizes. While solar panels are excellent, they can cost quite a bit to install. Our three suggestions, on the other hand, are easy to implement, require small investments, and most importantly, offer many benefits.
