Change doesn’t have to be a huge thing to enable a significant effect. Sometimes it’s the little things we do which can have the biggest impact. Business owners may not have the time to execute big changes in the workplace, but a little thought can go a long way!
Here are some suggestions which are easy to implement and will have an immediate effect on business cash flow and our environment:
Switch off all appliances at the end of the day.
Electrical items on stand-by overnight will churn through power and contribute to your bill. Simply switching off all computers, lights, air conditioners & kitchen appliances, properly (read: at the wall) at the end of each day will reduce the unnecessary consumption of earth’s limited resources and reduce that power bill.
Halt the use of any single-use items in the kitchen.
Ditching single-use items such as cups, crockery and cutlery from the office kitchen will make a big difference to the planet, and stop your funds from literally being thrown away. Own a coffee pod machine? Waste created from single-use coffee pods are now circling the earth 30 times – by 2012 Nespresso had sold more than 27 billion coffee pods worldwide. Switching to reusable coffee pods will have a huge & noticeable impact on your business’s waste and save you money.
Commit to lowering your paper trail
Does it need to be printed? Doing a quick audit of what is usually printed in the office can usually highlight where you can save paper & dollars. Ideas like re-using printouts for jotting pads and setting the machine double-sided printing will noticeable help cut paper consumption.
Colour Printing vs Grayscale
Colour printing generally uses more ink than black & white. Switching to grayscale cartridges will reduce the amount of ink being used during printing. While we’re on the topic, using recycled / refilled cartridges will be cheaper and are more eco-friendly.
Re-use boxes & packaging materials
When getting products in, rather than recycling -save the boxes & packaging so you can use them again for parcels going out. Reuse is better than Recycle, and cheaper too! Putting a callout to your local area welcoming donations of packaging materials means you are participating in the reduction of waste, and instantly saving your business money on purchasing these items new.
Buy secondhand furniture & equipment.
Does it need to be brand new? Big cash & environmental savings can be made by sourcing used items for decking out your office space, rather than procuring new.
Embrace renewable energy
This doesn’t have to mean installing a full-scale solar system and going off-grid! By simply switching to an energy provider who can supply a green energy plan powered by wind & solar, your business will be making some big ecological savings.
