5 Simple Steps Towards a Greener Business

Taking steps to ensure that your business is environmentally friendly is a socially responsible and cost effective measure which many organisations choose to take.

As a business owner, you may be wondering how you can best improve the environmental consciousness of your business. We’ve outlined several top tips to get you started…

Recycle Your Waste

Recycle materials where possible, this includes paper, plastic, glass and aluminium. Whether your business operates within the manufacturing field or not, the chances are that there will be plenty of recycling opportunities available to you.

Typical workplace items to recycle include:

• Wastepaper
• Packaging (including plastic/cardboard)
• Glass (glass bottles etc.)
• Printer cartridges

Insulate Your Commercial Property

Effective insulation of your commercial property will help to conserve heat and lead to lower fuel costs in colder months and improved cooling in warmer months. This will help to reduce your organisation’s carbon footprint and promote a more eco-friendly attitude to business.

Take Advantage Of A Green Roof

A green roof is an increasingly popular flat roofing solution for many businesses and is comprised of either grass or vegetation.

Green roofs offer an array of environmental and ecological benefits versus regular roofing systems, including aiding the removal of C02, improving building insulation, absorbing rain water and improving water quality and providing wildlife with a suitable habitat.

Converting your businesses roofs into green roofs where possible will prove to be an environmentally friendly solution.

Turn Things Off

It may seem obvious, but turning things off when they are not required is a simple wastage and cost cutting exercise. Leaving an empty room? Turn off the lights. Leave office PC’s on overnight? Switch them off.

Small changes will help to cut electricity usage and lead to lower costs overall. Depending on the size of your business, and the number of premises, this could considerably reduce your overheads.

Use Energy Efficient Light Bulbs

When it comes to lighting, be sure to use those of the energy efficient variety. Energy saving lightbulbs last up to ten times longer than normal bulbs and use only one third of the power. This can help to save on electricity and replacement costs, helping the planet in the meantime!

Refill Your Ink Cartridges

Within a typical business environment, a lot of printing will go on. This is why refilling ink cartridges is a wise idea, which can help to save your business money and behave in accordance with your green values.

We’ve outlined just a few great ideas to help you to get your business well on the way to becoming more environmentally friendly. We hope these have served to advise you on simple measures which you can take in order to decrease costs and promote a greener attitude to business!

This article has been brought to you by RubberBond, UK suppliers of EPDM roofing systems, including green roofs. Photo by Wonderlane