Making Your Business Eco-Friendly
Introduction
The push for businesses to become more eco-friendly and sustainable has grown substantially over the past few years. What does that mean for businesses? Although larger businesses tend to make a bigger fuss about it, smaller businesses have a much more difficult time keeping up with increasing regulations. Going eco-friendly is not always cheap, after all! However, there are practices that all businesses can adopt that are both environmentally friendly and cost effective. Here are a few.
Eco-Friendly Materials
The most obvious change you can make to become more eco-friendly is cutting back on your use of paper - paperless workplaces are becoming increasingly common with the rise of e-filing and digital documentation. Where you still use paper, try switching to recycled! If you have an office, bring in a few big water jug fill stations, or install drinking fountains with bottle fills, if you can afford it! In the same vein, if you’re thinking of gifting your employees with some company swag, reusable water bottles are a great gift, and also encourage employees to stop buying single-use plastic ones! Try switching to eco-friendly cleaning products (which are often less hazardous, anyway!) and ditch disposable plastic and styrofoam where you can - these are all small things that will help to make your business more eco-friendly.
Eco-Friendly Practices
Many workplaces have adopted recycling, one of the most popular (and one of the easiest!) eco-friendly practices. Your business can set up bins to recycle paper, certain plastics, and even metal. This also extends to recycling old electronics like computers when your business upgrades - proper computer disposal is very important! Find ways to incentivise carpooling or biking - or better yet, offer remote or partially remote work options. Your business could even receive tax breaks for being environmentally friendly - they’re called “energy credits”, or “energy investment tax credits”, and can be applied towards investment in solar panels, fuel cell storage systems, geothermal heat pumps, and other sustainable energy methods! You can apply for this credit using IRS form 3468.
Eco-Friendly Mindset
Making the commitment to running an ecologically friendly business takes more than a few lifestyle shifts, however - it also takes determination and long-term dedication. The fight to become eco-friendly is ongoing! If you’ve got the gumption for it, consider other small things you can do to get your whole workplace involved and excited about it. Throw an Earth Day party! Put together a presentation! Host a volunteer event to plant trees! Start a green committee in your workplace! Running an eco-friendly business is much easier, plus much more sustainable and rewarding, when everyone is working together to make the workplace more green.
Conclusion
While running an eco-friendly business is not always easy, it can be very rewarding. Not only can you receive government assistance to make your office run more sustainably, but you can save money in the long run by investing in reusable materials and putting sustainable practices into effect. It’s true, not every small business owner has the means to make their business more sustainable at first, but for those who do, the rewards could be immense!
Sources:
Innovations, ADEC. “Environmentally Friendly Practices for the Workplace.” ADEC ESG, 13 Mar. 2007, https://www.adecesg.com/resources/blog/environmentally-friendly-practices-for-the-workplace/. Accessed 10 Oct. 2023.
Admin. “5 Eco-Friendly Tax Breaks for 2023.” Northwest Registered Agent, 21 Apr. 2023, https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/maintain-a-business/tax-credits-green-business-2023. Accessed 10 Oct. 2023.
