Running a Green Business
Running a green business has distinct practical and financial advantages, making going green a priority both for improving the environment and for developing your working life. Cutting costs on your heating and appliances will reduce your overheads, and reducing unnecessary wastage will make your working practices more efficient. There are also PR and marketing benefits if you are able to advertise your business as being green and associated with green products.
Travel
An obvious way to run a greener business is to work from home and save on fuel emissions. If you do travel to an office, then use the most environmentally friendly method possible: either use public transport, cycle or share lifts if you need to use a car.
Energy
You can make a significant dent in your energy consumption, and reduce your bills, by using common sense in your home office set up. Use good insulation, double glazing and a high efficiency condensing boiler if possible. Heating should be set at 19°C as a maximum, and be sure to make sure you use timers on your boiler accurately.
Appliances
Fridge freezers can be a huge source of energy wastage so make sure you don’t put hot food in the fridge, don’t set the temperature below 3° or 4°C, and try not to open or close the door too often.
Replace all lights with energy saving bulbs, and turn off lights and computer equipment when not in use. Leaving appliances on stand by for one day can generate up to 1.804 kilowatt hours (kWh) of wasted electricity, which can cost up to £65 per year.
Water
Reduce water wastage by installing variable flush handles on lavatories, or simply put a brick inside the cistern. When boiling a kettle, only boil the amount of water you need – around 300ml per cup.
Waste
Use electronic documents as far as possible, but when you need to print, use recycled paper, print two-sided documents, and print on the reverse side of used paper when printing documents for your own reference.
|