Pick up your feet! What can you do to help your carbon footprint in your business?
Global warming is a big issue these days and everyone needs to be doing their bit to help the planet.
We know we caused it, and we know that every year it gets hotter and hotter. I’m thinking of investing in a pool!
What can we do as small businesses?
Stationery
We all need to print something at some point, that’s inevitable. What I like to do is purchase recycled paper. Agreed, it’s not as white as normal but it’s certainly clear enough and you feel good about yourself for making a start in doing your part for the planet. Not only are we helping the planet by using recycled paper but it’s saving us pennies too! Recycled paper works out cheaper by the ream than normal paper. You can normally get this from any online retailer for stationery.
Documents
Let’s move on to those pesky documents we need to keep. As I’m sure you know, documents need to be kept for between 6 months to a year depending on what documents they are and what type of business you are. What I like to do is keep all my documents in secure servers, organised and backed up by the cloud. You may not need it printed out. If you do, for example, if you get audited, it’s easy and accessible for you to get to.
Banking
Is anyone still using chequebooks? Stop it. Not only is it a waste of paper but the bank charges the company posting the cheque! Everything now can be easily and securely done by bank transfer or direct debit.
Recycling
I think it’s safe to say that most people do recycle now but it can be so easy in an office to chuck everything into that same bin under your desk. Recycling is important and can be easily accomplished in an office. The local council will offer waste collection services for both normal rubbish and recycling. There are also private companies that can provide this service, sometimes cheaper than the council so it’s worth having a shop around.
Carbon Emissions
Meetings… I love driving but driving long haul is not only tiring but that’s a lot of carbon emissions on the streets. Offer people virtual meetings first. It saves time, it saves money, it saves the planet.
Who switches their computer off at night? Do it. It makes a huge difference and keeps the computer updated. This can go for all appliances. At home and in work. Whilst you are trying to remember to shut those machines down, also try to invest in some energy-efficient appliances. There are so many available now. Take a first step. I have just replaced all my lightbulbs to be energy efficient.
Larger Companies
If you are a slighter larger business reading this blog, then I have a couple more ways you can help your carbon footprint.
For a start try looking into electric vehicles. You can get ports directly into your own home or your place of business to charge up the vehicle. These electric vehicles are becoming more popular, so more charging ports are widely available.
If an electric vehicle is not right for you, how about getting a fuel card? You can monitor how much fuel you are doing, look for different routes for the lowest mileage and no pesky receipts that could get lost. The invoices would be emailed directly to you. Once again saving paper.
I hope you have enjoyed reading this and it helps you in your business. If you have any ideas that I have not put down, please drop me an email. I could always use some extra help on being carbon efficient.