Small business owner? 4 ways to reduce your environmental footprint

1.  Reduce your emissions from travel

An obvious way to reduce carbon emissions is to make fuel efficiency a priority or choose electric vehicles.  If you need an incentive subsidies are available to help offset the cost of new low-emissions vehicles. There is even additional help which you can access if you install a charging point at your home or place of business.

Organizations such as the Energy Saving Trust can provide a wealth of information on grants and the latest developments in carbon-neutral transportation options.

If you’re using diesel vehicles (once touted as the greenest solution), you could still cut emissions by switching to HVO fuel. HVO is a synthetic diesel fuel that can be used as a drop-in replacement for regular diesel. As it’s made from renewables, it can reduce your vehicle’s greenhouse gas emissions by up to 90%.

2.  Increase the efficiency of your office lighting

Whether you’re working from an office or home, taking a fresh look at your lighting can make a substantial difference, not only to your carbon footprint but also to your energy bills.

Organize your space so that you’re making maximum use of natural light whenever possible: it’s been shown to improve sleep and also reduce stress. . When it’s not possible, use LED as an alternative.

Also consider use technological solutions to optimize the light in your space. Motion sensors can switch off or dim lights in unused rooms and will pay back their investment costs within a few months

3.  Reduce, reuse, recycle

The paperless office has been a dream for over twenty years, but it’s been far harder to translate into reality for many organizations.  However, in recent years, with the rise of productivity apps that allow work to be shared online, it is perhaps becoming an achievable aim.

Every stakeholder involved in your business should be aware of the priority you place on your environmental commitment. When it’s part of your values, it can also become an integral part of your branding. Every employee should become fully engaged with efforts to reduce waste, reuse whatever is possible, and make the efforts required to recycle wherever they can.  Engage them in coming up with ways to reduce the consumption of items such as water, paper, food, and packaging. Incentivize and reward creative thinking and commitment to reducing the carbon footprint of your business.

4.     Eliminate single-use plastic 

Plastic waste is increasingly recognized as a modern-day plague, responsible for polluting the oceans and sitting in landfill sites, only degrading over decades.  Therefore it makes sense to work towards removing all single-use plastic from your business. This could involve finding alternatives for packaging your products, ensuring those within your supply chain are also moving in the same direction.  Within the office, this could perhaps start with the banning of plastic cutlery, disposable plates, etc. There are easily available alternatives that can be used, so you can maintain a consistent approach to your green commitment.

To summarize, reducing your environmental footprint is a matter of choosing the areas you want to target, and addressing these with simple solutions. Small actions will soon add up.