One local business may not be able to end climate change single-handedly, but making a conscious effort to employ sustainable practices will benefit your community and your profit margin.
Whether you’re a local café, a real estate firm or a boutique store, implementing eco-friendly practices will reduce waste, cut costs, and benefit your bottom line. Consumers want to support green businesses, and if you can show that your enterprise is sustainable, they will rally to your side.
Here are a few first steps to making your business more sustainable.
Seeking out greener energy deals
Not all energy deals are created equally, and not all will be well suited to your business needs.
Finding the right energy supplier can be a tedious and difficult task, involving copious amount of research, with no guarantee that you’ll make the right choice. Thankfully, companies like Consultiv Utilities will do all that work for you, assessing every aspect of your business’s energy usage and requirements, and finding the best supplier and deals to suit your needs.
Find out more at http://www.consultivutilities.co.uk/.
Lower your energy costs
Even if you find the best energy deal possible, there will always be ways you can further save on energy costs.
By making a handful of small changes, you will see a drastic fall in your monthly bills. These include replacing incandescent bulbs with LEDs, regularly cleaning air filters and fans to make them more efficient, and unplugging electronics at night.
You can also make a couple of larger short-term investments for long-term gains, such as energy efficient appliances, and better insulation.
Source sustainable materials
Finding environmentally conscious suppliers may take a bit of research, but it’s certainly worthwhile.
If a product is sustainable, that usually means it is made from recycled or non-finite materials, doesn’t contain any toxic chemicals, doesn’t come in excessive packaging, and more often than not, is locally sourced.
While sustainable products can be more expensive, this is often negated through a saving in shipping and delivery costs from local suppliers, not to mention that most customers are happy to spend a little extra on products they know to be sustainable.
Reduce single-use items
In the 21st century, there is no reason for any business to still rely on single-use plastics, as there are plenty of alternatives.
If you’re a local restaurant, coffee shop or café, it may be that you use plastic plates, cups, and cutlery in takeaway orders. Instead, replace them with compostable or recyclable alternatives, so the local community won’t get fed up with finding your products strewn across their parks, beaches, and streets.
Offices too can cut down on single use, non-biodegradable items, such as coffee pods and plastic folders. In fact, by encouraging employees to do their work digitally, you will reduce your reliance on single-use office supplies.
Recycle
This may be an obvious tip, but it’s worth repeating: recycle!
Recycling should be something your employees and customers are encouraged to do. Place recycling and composting bins throughout your business, for things like paper, cardboard, and food waste. Make it as easy as possible for everyone to recycle.
Some things are a little trickier to recycle, like ink cartridges and old electronics. Some of these can be recycled at local skips, but others will need to be shipped back to the manufacturer for proper disposal.
Donate what you don’t need
As time goes by, much of the furniture, electronics, and appliances your business uses will be replaced.
If the old ones are still in good condition, consider donating them to charitable organisations rather than taking them to a landfill. Many plastics and electronics release toxic chemicals as they rot in landfills. If local organisations and charities can find better uses for them, you’ll be helping the planet and forging good relationships within the community.