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5 green changes to revolutionise your business and save money

  • By Dakota Murphey

    Many of us want to do more to reduce our carbon footprint – this goes for companies and business leaders as well. Thankfully there are many changes your company can make that will make a huge change to the way you work while reducing your outgoings.

    1. Take a fresh approach to recycling

    Proper recycling schemes can reduce carbon footprint and make your business look good – improving company morale and even impressing your customers and clients.

    It is possible to go a lot further than simply ensuring that everyone puts their food packaging in the right bin. There are actually numbers of things that you should be recycling that get used by your business. This includes everything from any office paper and print cartridges to electrical equipment and batteries.

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    You can go a step further and ensure that you are using second hand items. It can be a great idea to kit out your office with used furniture. This can help you to save a significant amount of money on the items that you buy, as well as a providing your business with a unique aesthetic.

    1. Invest in low or zero carbon infrastructure

    It might seem counterintuitive to suggest that you should invest in changes in your infrastructure in order to save money – but this is genuinely possible. There are all sorts of infrastructure issues that can be getting in the way of your business’ green credentials – ranging from air conditioning and heating to lighting and much more.

    It is now possible to work with building services experts that specialise in low or zero carbon solutions. They can work directly with you to come up with changes to your business premises that will make a genuine difference to your carbon footprint (find out more here). Best of all, this will actually help to significantly reduce your energy bills, saving your organisation a serious amount of money throughout the year.

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    1. Actively promote remote working

    There are many reasons that your business should look into the possibility of remote working – not least because members of staff love it. In fact, people who work from home at least once per month were 24% more likely to feel happier and more productive in their job. Of course, this affects issues such as staff retention and unexpected absences – but there are actually many other benefits to organisations.

    Allowing staff to work remotely on a regular basis reduces the carbon emissions of staff travelling to work. It can additionally mean that your business does not need as much office space and the organisation can therefore be run more efficiently. Less electricity and fewer office supplies are used too and this can all add up to savings for your company.

    1. Go completely digital with documents and data

    It may well be the case that your business still holds a large number of paper documents and even runs its own servers. While this might be the way that you have worked for a long time, making changes here can be hugely beneficial.

    The first change you can make is going paper-free. You can do this by digitising all of your documentation and ensuring that all of your communications with clients and suppliers (as well as between colleagues) remains digital. This not only saves on paper costs, but also reduces waste significantly and can even free up office space that you are currently using for document storage.

    The second change is investing in cloud computing technologies in favour of in-house servers. Once again, this means that additional space is freed up by no longer needing space for servers and this will reduce your electricity bill.

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    1. Reduce your waste that goes to landfill

    It is also vital that you are doing everything you can to reduce the amount of waste that your business puts into landfill; for example, if your business currently uses anything that is regularly thrown away such as plastic cutlery or single-use water bottles. You can make the change to a sustainable and re-usable alternative.

    Dakota Murphey has a wealth of experience in business management and has previously worked as a business growth consultant for over 10 years. She now enjoys sharing her knowledge through her writing and connecting with other like-minded professionals. Find out what else she's been up to on Twitter: @Dakota_Murphey

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