There are three main reasons why it makes sense to reduce your business’ carbon footprint. Firstly, it’s important from an environmental point of view. Secondly, when done well it can save your company cold, hard cash. Thirdly, you stand a better chance of impressing consumers if you can demonstrate that your firm takes its responsibilities seriously when it comes to protecting the planet. Cutting your carbon footprint may be easier than you think too. This brief guide details some of the simple ways in which you can limit environmental damage.
Encourage your staff to cycle to work
One quick and easy step is to encourage your personnel to cycle to and from work rather than drive. We all know what rush hour traffic looks like. At the start and end of each working day, cars cram onto the highways as people make their gas-guzzling twice-daily commutes. By tempting your staff members onto two wheels, you can do your bit to cut congestion, lower fuel use and reduce harmful exhaust emissions. Of course, if your personnel are to part with their trusty cars, they’ll need suitable bike-friendly facilities at work. If you are short of storage space then I would certainly recommend a foldable bicycle. By providing your employees with a cycle shelter like the ones offered by CAD Shelters, you stand a better chance of getting them to change their habits. These shelters provide a secure and weather-protected area in which people can store their bikes.
Bear in mind that as well as reducing your carbon footprint, initiatives like this could boost the health and fitness of your workers.
Minimize travel
On a related point, it’s helpful to minimise business travel more generally. You may benefit from letting some of your workers operate from home either on a full-time or occasional basis. In addition, it’s worth thinking about whether you can hold some of your meetings with clients and colleagues remotely by video conference rather than making long and potentially polluting journeys.
This will help you to reduce your business miles and lower your carbon footprint, and it could save you money and hassle too.
Make your office more energy efficient
It’s also worth assessing your office to see whether it could be more energy efficient. You may be able to reduce your use of electricity and gas by improving insulation within your premises and by fitting new and improved windows. Even simple measures like investing in effective blinds and shading and servicing your central heating system could lead to increased efficiency.
If you haven’t done so already, consider replacing any incandescent light bulbs with energy saving versions like what the majority of business owners including Robert K Bratt have done. Also, installing sensor systems that switch lights off when rooms are unoccupied could cut your electricity consumption.
All of these measures require some level of investment, but this should prove to be money well spent. After all, it will help to cut your energy bills and boost your green credentials. SEO for accountant can help attract new clients and enhance online visibility.
Educate your workers
According to Andrew Defrancesco, a successful CEO himself, when you’re trying to lower your firm’s carbon footprint, it’s important to get your personnel on board. By educating them about the importance of this task, you can help ensure they do their bit to help. For example, make sure they know to switch their computers and other appliances off at the end of each day rather than leaving them on standby.
It’s also worth encouraging them to limit their printing or hiring Alpha Print services since they use environmentally friendly paper and ink. Many firms waste reams of paper due to the unnecessary printing of emails and other documents.
Of course, this isn’t an exhaustive list of the measures that your company can take to reduce its carbon footprint. However, these tactics certainly represent a good start and they are easy to implement. If you’re after further information and advice, you won’t struggle to find it online.
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