Business Benefits of Going Green (by Jennifer Adams)
Protecting the environment is becoming more prevalent in all areas of life, including the workplace. Businesses in Britain must comply with environmental legislation but there is much to be gained by exceeding the minimum and doing everything possible to make your workplace a greener one.
Cutting costs is one of the main organisational advantages of saving energy. Money can be saved simply by reducing the level of energy used in the workplace as well as the use of raw materials and amount of waste disposed of. It might even be possible to reduce your insurance premiums by improving environmental actions.
Tackling environmental issues also improves how you business is perceived in the eyes of employees, customers, suppliers and the local community. Being viewed favourably affects long-term business and development, so going the extra mile really can reap significant rewards.
Many government organisations and large businesses only work in conjunction with environmentally responsible organisations so get your business on the list, simply by going green. If you need to attract investment for your business then you may find banks are more willing to co-operate with companies that meet their environmental responsibilities.
Adopting environmental and sustainable practices in the workplace might be easier to accomplish than you first think. Staff involvement is one of the best ways to implement new, greener practices so make sure all employees are informed of the actions you are taking and how they will help the environment amongst many other factors.
Encouraging staff to get involved will help you to reduce energy usage for office essentials, such as electricity and heating. On average, 25% of an organisation’s totals electricity bill can be attributed to lighting.
Using energy efficient light bulbs can help to reduce electricity bills by up to one third. Occupancy and daylight sensors can be installed so lights are switched off when they are not needed and simply reminding employees to switch off lights as they leave in the evening can help to cut usage.
Heating and hot water roughly account for around 60% of an organisations total energy costs. Cutting energy consumption in these areas can lead to significant savings. Using timers for the heating system and making sure heating is only used when required are very simple ways of conserving energy.
Maintenance is important and ensuring equipment, such as boilers, are frequently serviced will ensure everything functions as efficiently as possible.
As well as thinking about business electricity and other energy usage, also consider any waste your business produces. Ensure paper is recycled where possible and remember you can usually have other materials recycled, such as plastic and cardboard. Recycling equipment and materials also helps you to save on disposal costs and you can even sell old equipment to subsidise the cost of buying new pieces.
Jennifer is a part of the digital blogging team at cashzilla.co.uk who work with a growing number of finance brands. For more information about me, or to keep up to date with the latest in finance news, check out my posts at cashzilla.co.uk or visit my Twitter account, @cashzilla.
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I have to say that I tend to cringe when I see the word “Green” as to some extent the “Green” agenda has been hijacked by politicians and bureaucrats to justify levying penal tax rates on motorists and other users of fuel, eg taxes on air fares and high fuel utility charges. Notwithstanding that however, it is clearly in the interests of every business to not waste fuel through being inefficient and also in their interests to sign-up for initiatives like recycling to help such policies have broader support so I’m pleased to see this article.