green business ideasBusiness Advice 

10 Green Business Practices to Help Your Company Save on Energy Costs

Did you know at least 72% of consumers are more likely to buy from a company they perceive to be eco-friendly?

Implementing green business ideas isn’t only for the honorable goal of saving the environment but it’s can boost sales and reduce costs!

It’s no surprise that many companies want to jump in and utilize environmentally friendly strategies. But how can you get started?

We’ve got you covered. If you want to improve your public image or deal with high energy bills, here are 10 great ways companies can go green:

1. Conducting Energy Audits

If you’re not sure how much money you’re wasting by not going green, hire an expert to run an energy audit.

This is a simple and quick survey to check on all the products, appliances, and activities you run in the company. The provider will then give you a rundown of all your expenses and how much you can save if you use eco-friendly alternatives.

2. Recycled Paper

Most businesses consume tons of paper per month. More paper consumption leads to more trees getting cut down. As a matter of fact, no less than 3.5 billion trees go down every year and a large percentage goes to paper manufacturing.

Your business can reduce this by using recycled paper. Not every paper product with a recycling label uses reused raw materials, however. Look for post-consumer waste (PCW) paper, which is 100% recycled.

Not only does using recycled paper boost the image of your business but it’s also considerably cheaper.

3. Eliminate Plastic

Take a moment to study how many consumable products in your office rely on plastic. How many plastic water bottles are in the lounge refrigerator or how often do you use plastic bags for customers?

Plastic is one of the biggest contributors ruining the environment. It’s non-biodegradable, meaning plastic waste in the soil or in the ocean will stay there for years, even centuries.

Fight this by using eco-friendly tote bags, brown bags that use recycled materials, and bring your own water mug.

4. Using Renewable Energy

Upon first glance, the cost of going green with solar panels or other renewable energy sources looks like too much. However, renewable energy sources pay for themselves over only a few years.

Sources like solar power significantly cut down the amount of energy you need from the grid. This helps reduce your business’ carbon emission rating and improves your company’s public image. Some companies go even further, to the point they can function free from the electric grid.

5. Green Cleaning Products

Ever wondered if the products your company buys to clean the windows, dust off desks, and sanitize the restrooms harm the environment? Take matters into your own hands and make sure all the cleaning products used by your company are eco-friendly.

If you don’t know what to look for, start by checking if the products have a USDA Organic seal or a Green Seal to certify they don’t carry harmful chemicals. You can also look at the product information and check if it uses only organic materials and no synthetic chemicals.

6. Power Down

One of the simplest green business ideas to save thousands of dollars is to power down each night. Turn off all the lights, power down the computers, and shut off the machinery before everyone goes home.

It might sound like a simple strategy but it can save you a lot of money in the long run. One machine could cost you a few bucks if left on throughout the night. Imagine how the costs stack up when you add everything else.

You can implement this in a simple but efficient manner too: make a checklist for the people working the final shift. Ensure that they can’t log out and go home until they finish turning everything off. Give a similar checklist to the employees in the first shift in the morning, assigning them to check what they left on.

7. CFL and LED Lights

Still using traditional light bulbs? Those raise your energy bill, they’re not environment-friendly, and they can break rather easily. Switch these out with compact fluorescent lights (CFL) or LED lights.

Like solar power, these lights are more expensive upfront than traditional ones. However, they consume only one-third or one-fifth of the energy incandescent bulbs use. This means over time, you’ll save money in energy consumption.

It’s best to start installing these in offices you frequently use. This ensures the rooms get the same amount of light but at much less the cost.

8. Energy Star Appliances

If your business keeps a refrigerator, coffee maker, or other appliances then you should replace them with ones that carry an Energy Star rating. You’ll know if your appliance is Energy Star compliant because they’ll bear a big sticker for you to see. It’s impossible to miss.

These appliances are energy efficient, again lowering your energy consumption. They also don’t emit any harmful chemicals into the air. Now you’re saving money and keeping the environment clean at the same time.

9. Electric Vehicles

Stop using gas-powered vehicles in the workplace. If you need a vehicle to help deliver items or get employees from one point to the other, use an electric utility cart instead.

Electric-powered vehicles are the future of transportation. They don’t emit carbon dioxide into the air, they don’t run on fossil fuel, and they often have more safety measures built into them than traditional utility vehicles.

They do cost more upfront but over time you’ll save money since they don’t require gas to run. Simply plug them in for a while to charge and they’re ready to go.

10. Eco-Friendly Web Hosting

Does your business rely heavily on online transactions? If so then you likely have a website. Another great way to save cash and promote a green public image is to turn to eco-friendly web hosting service.

Look for web hosting companies that are also environment-conscious. They might use energy-efficient power sources or renewable energy sources to keep their servers running. They might have a charity system to donate profits to tree-planting groups.

Discover More Green Business Ideas Today!

These 10 green business ideas will help you reduce expenses and promote an environment-friendly image. This not only helps you save more money but it also means you can attract more customers.

But why stop here? You can take these steps and implement them outside of work too.

If you want to discover more, visit us today! We can show you other ways of implementing green ideas, like this post that shows 15 tips to have an eco-friendly home.

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