Run a Green Small Business in a Few Easy Steps

| August 11, 2015

Run a Green Small Business in a Few Easy Steps

Going green is becoming the right fashion these days and while that might sound frivolous, it really does pay for your business to start green and stay green.

Going green is really a long-term investment. Making sure that your eco footprint is low might cost you some in the beginning, but with energy costs on the rise, it can prove to be very fruitful in the future.  Not to mention doing your bit for the environment gives your brand a good vibe.

You can turn your business into a green business, or even start green very easily. All you have to do is make some smart decisions from the get-go.

Try Cloud

Before you start looking for servers, consider Cloud computing and storage options that are available. Not only are they more affordable in comparison to physical servers, they save on your energy bills has well. Moving you entire IT infrastructure to Cloud or just starting with Cloud would save you a lot of expense and hassle.

Digitize

Instead of printing everything out, save paper and store everything on your computers. You can also offer your clients and customers digital invoices and receipts instead of a printed copy. That would actually save a lot of paper. Just cutting down on paper invoices and bills can reduce your expenditure on paper and printers. You’ll find that eventually, if your clients would learn to appreciate it too. Not everyone likes clearing-out their bags and wallets of accumulated bills after all.

Use Environmentally-friendly paper

If you have to use paper, you might as well use environmentally friendly paper like post-consumer waste paper for your printing and packaging needs. That way, you’re contributing to the environment and reducing your footprint. Still, if you work on reducing your paper consumption from the beginning, you might end up saving a lot of money.

Ensure all your appliances have good energy ratings

When you’re starting out, ensure all your appliances have a good energy rating on the whole. Yes, these appliances are more expensive when you start out. However, they help you save on energy bills in the long term. You also should consider replacing your old appliances with energy star rates appliances.

CFL and LED lighting

CFL and LED light isn’t just environmentally friendly, it consumes less electricity and therefore helps you save on energy bills. Yes, the initial investment is larger but if you’re continuously using lights in your business premises and using many lights, your wallet will ultimately thank you.

Let the sunlight in and keep the heat it out

The best option for avoid using lights during daytime is to have large windows on your premises, ensuring that light floods the floor. However, large windows also mean more energy consumed trying to keep your business premises cool enough. You can invest in blinds, solar films and awnings to keep the temperature out.

This will save you quite a lot of money on energy bills. Moreover, if you seal the windows and doors properly so that conditioned air doesn’t escape, you’ll have better cooling. These might seem small and sometimes, expensive changes, but they can work in your favour in the long term.