Tips for Running a Greener Business
As versatile business advisors, many of our clients ask us for guidance in regard to running a greener business. Aside from helping you to reduce your carbon footprint and do things in a more environmentally friendly way, going green can also result in lower monthly costs, bringing a strong return on investment.
Launch a recycling scheme
A great way to run a greener business is to encourage staff to recycle as much as possible. Start off by identifying the main types of waste material that are generated in your workplace, such as printer paper and junk mail, cardboard from deliveries, tins and plastic packaging during lunch hours, and printer and toner cartridges.
Next, it’s time to set up recycling bins in key locations throughout your commercial premises, including the staff room and reception area. Make sure that they are clearly labelled and use colour-coordination where possible, as this maximises the number of recyclable materials that will be saved from going to landfill.
Some items, such as printer cartridges, can be collected by your supplier when they visit you for maintenance and refills.
Go paperless
TreyBridge Accountants helps businesses of all shapes and sizes to significantly reduce the volume of paper they use through cloud accounting software such as Xero. Going paperless can be applied to many other areas of day-to-day operations too, such as using email, instant messenger and project management apps in place of printed lists and memos.
When it comes to meetings, send everyone the documents they need beforehand and ask them to bring a laptop, iPad or smartphone, which removes the need for mountains of unnecessary print-outs.
Remote working
Chances are your business applied at least a small level of remote working during the COVID-19 pandemic. Don’t be tempted to discard this system entirely now that things are back to normal, as it’s an excellent way to reduce the carbon emissions related to your business.
Working from home means fewer vehicles on the roads, which leads to a decrease in fumes and congestion. The average car produces around 4.6 tonnes of carbon dioxide every year, so allowing your staff to work remotely now and then will have a very positive impact on the environment and your city’s air quality.
Hybrid working also means that your business is using less energy and other resources, which is great for your cash flow and profit margins as well as the planet.
Hull Business Energy Efficiency Scheme
If your business is based in Hull, you may be able to apply for the Hull Business Energy Efficiency Scheme. Offering up to £10,000 towards the installation of new systems within your business (such as environmentally friendly lighting, heating, solar panels and wind turbines), it’s a great opportunity to go green in a big way.
Allocate green champions
Employee engagement is integral to going green as a business, which is why getting your staff actively involved is the best way to make it a team effort.
If you have multiple departments, ask for one person from each to nominate themselves as a green champion. Alongside their usual duties, these green champions will monitor, encourage and improve environmentally friendly practices within their teams and attend short monthly meetings where they share ideas for a greener future.
Ask us for advice
We’re here to help you run a lean and green business. To find out more about our business advisory service, call our Yorkshire office on 01482 235575, our London office on 0207 885 0605, or fill in the contact form below.
Tagged as: Small Business Help
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