Operating a Green Business

Changing your ways to become a more environmentally friendly operation will not only help your business be perceived as ‘Green’ but will likely help you bring in more green as well.

Cutting down on waste and conserving resources helps save on costs, something everyone is interested in these days.  With a few painless steps you can encourage your business to operate in a eco-conscious manner.  Here are a few ways to change the way your business works:

Power down: While looking at your screensaver might be enjoyable during the day, not many will benefit after hours.  Make sure all equipment is turned off when you leave your desk.  Turning equipment off during regular business hours can save up to 25% of energy being used, while turning off equipment during the night will reduce energy consumption by up to 50%.

Save Paper: There are two steps to reducing the amount of paper your company uses.  If information can be sent using email without being reproduced on paper it will cut down drastically on the amount of waste produced by your workplace.  If documents need to be printed then making an effort to print on both sides of a page will also save on waste. 

Choose suppliers who take back packaging: This is essentially recycling but is often overlooked.  Most large companies receive packages from various vendors often multiple times a week. This creates excess cardboards, plastic wraps, packing materials, tape and a variety of material that can be sorted and either returned to the vendor or recycled within your office environment. 

Houseclean:  Make sure that the products custodians in your workplace use are economically responsible and do regular maintenance on things like faucets and washrooms. 

There are a number of things you can implement in an office environment to set an example for those around you.  Making the change to a green friendly office will encourage others to become part of the solution.