With the 50th anniversary of Earth Day already behind us, it’s no secret that we all have a responsibly to care for the environment at home. But there’s also a growing pressure to make your businesses more eco-friendly, and, without a doubt, running a ‘green’ business is essential in affecting positive change within your community. Plus, participating in at least the 3 R’s (reduce, reuse, and recycle!) will save your business money in the long-run, and who can’t get behind that?
Not sure where to start? Here are our best tips for businesses and brands looking to go green and lessen their environmental footprint.
Office Supplies
Instead of purchasing disposable pens and throwing them away after they’ve run their (very short) course, stock your office with reusable pens. When it comes to paper, recycle! Have a bin that clearly highlights what kinds of recyclable materials can go in the bin and encourage your employees to recycle accordingly. You could even put a specific team member in charge of overseeing the “green” aspects of your business. In due time, your team will feel responsible and will want to take ownership of their own office-related carbon footprint.
Your Supply Chain + Packaging
Another way to green-ify your business is to consider how you get your resources and from whom. Buy from suppliers who ethically source and package their goods, and do your best to ensure that their services are also ethical. For your own product packaging, avoid materials that are harmful to the environment, and use recyclable and renewable materials. A lot of the coolest packaging designs that we’ve seen as a PR firm are ones that got creative and treated the planet with great care.
Postage
Most, if not all, businesses have to consider the environmental impact their postage services have on the environment. While we have definitely entered into a highly-digital era, it’s also likely you’re still using paper products to ship and mail to clients, other businesses, or collaborators. An easy fix for this is switching to eco-friendly, reusable envelopes that you just need to reverse in order to make it “reply mail”. By implementing this small change, you’ll save yourself money and reduce waste. You might also want to make sure your mailing lists are up to date as to avoid wasting Another useful tip when it comes to mail send-outs? Make sure your mailing lists are up to date to avoid wasting paper and postage on customers who aren’t interested or who’ve moved.
Energy
Tons of businesses nowadays are reducing their energy waste by turning to renewable energy. The solution? Switch to alternative energy (eg. wind or solar).
Tech
Instead of throwing out old company computers, recycle or ask your vendor if they will buy back your old one. It’s possible you could even get a tax deduction out of donating old computers that are still in fine working condition to organizations or businesses whose job it is to refurbish computers.
These changes may seem small or minimal, but they will make all the difference for a sustainable future. Doing your part to protect the planet and reduce your environmental footprint will not only feel great and boost morale within your company, it will also look great to existing and potential customers.