Becoming an environmentally-friendly business can have a major impact on your brand. For example, 87% of consumers perceive a brand in a positive light if it supports social or environmental issues. Meanwhile, 88% of consumers demonstrate brand loyalty to companies that prioritize these issues.
By learning how to be more environmentally-friendly, you can improve your brand’s reputation. You’ll also establish brand trust and loyalty, which will make it easier for you to retain customers.
Ready to go green? Here are the nine tips you need to succeed! With these tips, you can make a positive change.
Read on to learn more!
1. Start Carpooling
Does your company plan on relocating in the next few years? If so, look for a location that makes it easy for guests to arrive via public transit or bikes. Then, encourage your employees to walk, bike, or even carpool to work.
Providing your employees and consumers with easy access to your business is important.
If they can only reach your business by car, every person who visits your business will add carbon emissions into the area. By making it easier for everyone to arrive by an alternative means, you’re providing ways to go greener!
Better yet, consumers might choose to spend some of that extra money in their pockets on your products or services.
Try to create a carpool schedule for your team. Encourage everyone to sign up. Otherwise, try to search for a location that’s ideal for the majority of your team members.
Cutting their commute is another way to reduce harmful emissions.
2. Remove Single-Use Products
Americans produce millions in municipal solid waste each year. Try to become an environmentally-friendly business by reducing habits that rely on single-use products. Cutting back on these products will reduce waste production and your environmental footprint.
For example, do your employees use a single-cup coffee maker at work? Non-recyclable, single-serving coffee pods are not environmentally conscious. Instead, consider buying a large tin of coffee grounds to cut costs and help the environment.
Employees at environmentally-friendly companies are 16% more productive than others. If you want to improve your team’s productivity, consider a few different sustainability ideas. For example, stop buying paper cups and plastic water bottles.
Instead, encourage everyone to bring their own cups and refillable water bottles.
Do your employees use an office kitchen? If so, consider composting your kitchen waste. Then, use bulk containers for condiments instead of single-use throwaway options.
You can also use hand dryers in the kitchen and bathrooms instead of paper towels.
Switching to a paperless office can make a big difference in your sustainability efforts.
3. Practice Green Procurement
Many companies going green are looking into green procurement. This process involves choosing products and services that are produced and supplied sustainably. For example, you can find local suppliers instead of using ones that require lengthy transport.
In order to practice green procurement, consider purchasing goods that:
- Use a sustainable manufacturing process
- Don’t contain any toxic ingredients or materials
- Are easy for you to recycle
- Are produced from previously recycled or renewable materials
- Don’t use excessive, wasteful packaging
- Are easy for people to reuse
Practicing green procurement can help you turn a wasteful business into an environmentally conscious one. You can also utilize these sustainable solutions for more ways to improve your business.
4. Lend a Helping Hand
If you’re looking for ways to go greener outside of the office, consider helping the environment and the less fortunate.
For example, let’s say you’re renovating your office. Send your reusable materials to a charitable, tax-deductible organization. If you have material left over, you can send unused wood to an organization such as Habitat for Humanity.
Sending your unused materials to an organization in need will keep you from acting wasteful. Habitat for Humanity takes everything from lumber to appliances. They sell the materials for reuse, which reduces the amount of material that ends up in a landfill each year.
Many of the proceeds are used to fund construction for low-income housing throughout the community. As a result, you’re helping the environment and your neighbors!
5. Reduce Water Use
Many municipalities throughout the country are limiting water use. Whether or not you’re in a drought-stricken area, reducing how much water you use is a great way to conserve resources. It can also help your business save money.
First, make sure to fix any leaks or dripping taps. Install low-flow toilets and faucet aerators, too.
6. Reduce Energy Use
Every day, you’re using energy to keep your business running. One way to become an environmentally-friendly, sustainable business is to reduce building emissions. First, consider utilizing high-efficiency architecture for your business.
There are passive construction methods that can reduce your energy usage.
You can also research rebate and incentive programs available for companies going green.
7. Recycle Tech
Don’t send your outdated electronic equipment to a landfill. Instead, reduce your electronic waste. The next time you replace computers, monitors, or other pieces of electronic equipment, send them to a school or charity.
You can also send electronic equipment to Dell or HP. These computer manufacturers have technology recycling programs. They’ll provide credit for trade-ins.
BestBuy, Staples, and other electronic retailers have recycling programs available, too.
8. Switch to Cloud Computing
Cloud computing will allow your team to share and access information from anywhere in the world. As a result, you can cut back on travel costs, printing, and carbon emissions.
You won’t need to purchase and maintain power-intensive servers, either!
9. Establish Sustainable Partnerships
If you’re still learning how to be more environmentally-friendly, consider organizing sustainable partnerships for your business. Partner with like-minded organizations in the community.
Come together and gain insights from one another to become more environmentally conscious as a team!
Work It Out: 9 Tips for Creating an Environmentally-Friendly, Sustainable Work Environment
Make a positive change! Use these nine tips and create a more environmentally-friendly environment for your team and community. As a result, you’re making a positive impact on both the plant and your customers.
Check out the Business Advice section of the blog for more helpful tips!
| 
Fetching the Best Small