Three ways being eco-friendly can actually help your business

Everyone would like to do more for the environment. But from a business perspective, eco-friendly activities need to make financial sense – they can’t be done at the expense of the company. But the truth is, many of the ways that organisations can change to be greener than can also benefit them. Here are three ways that your business can be more eco-friendly as well as the ways that these changes can actually be a huge benefit to the company.

 

Going paper-free

There’s no doubt that it would be a huge benefit to the environment if all businesses ended their dependence on paper. And the good news is it’s actually easier to go paper-free than ever before. If you don’t think that your business is capable of making the jump you might be surprised at some of the technologies and services that are available. For example, if you have generally used paper documents and have a lot of important information on paper that you could afford to lose, it has been easy to have documents scanned in bulk.

There is a broad variety of options available to suit any company, such as the on-site scanning solution from Images Online, where document scanning services actually come to your business to get all of your documentation scanned, rather than having to send confidential documents away. This means that almost any kind of business can easily go paper free.

The benefits of a paper-free business

Firstly, it should be noted that holding paper documents can be a security issue. Having crucial, confidential data on paper without any kind of security is a real hazard as this information can be extremely valuable to criminals. Having a secure digital system means that you will have backups of key data and no risk of data theft.

A second benefit to a paper-free office is the amount of space that it saves. Storage countless paper files can take up a serious amount of room, and you might be surprised at the amount of waste space you currently have.

Encourage energy saving

Clearly one of the major aspects of a business’ carbon footprint is the amount of energy that it uses on a daily basis. Of course much of this energy usage is unavoidable, but this isn’t the case for all of it, and it is the case for many businesses that small changes can make a big difference.

 

For example, if you have an office with computers do your staff leave their computers on overnight? If they do, this means that the computers – which are only in use for an 8 hour work day – are still running for the other 16 hours in the day for no reason. This means that two-thirds of the computer’s energy consumption is completed wasted.

The benefits of energy saving

Clearly if your business can cut down on the amount of energy it uses, you can look forward to much lower energy bills. Some companies overlook the amount that they are spending on energy, but over a number of months it can really add up.

Encourage a clean commute

While the business is not directly responsible for the way that its staff get it to work, it nevertheless is an aspect of the carbon footprint of the company. If every member of staff drives in this can be having a large negative effect on the environment. That’s why it is worth instigating a new policy that encourages clean commuting.

There are many different strategies that can be employed. For example, staff can be encouraged to walk, cycle or use public transport. Alternatively, if you work somewhere in the countryside and driving a car is a necessity, it is possible to set up a carpooling scheme.

The benefits of a clean commute

It can actually be very morale-boosting for staff to know that they work for a business that takes their commitment to the environment seriously. Employees like to know that they work for a company that cares. Additionally, it can be used as a marketing technique – customers like to know that they are working with a conscientious business.

 

Photo Credits: Unsplash

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