"Greening" Your Business

I am delighted at the turn of public opinion on "green" matters. In the last year or so, the American public has turned en masse to doing what they can to minimize their impact on the planet. Some green things require a significant investment, like the purchase of a new Prius or solar on your rooftop. But little everyday things can add up and make a difference, too, especially if lots of people do them.

Amy Sims wrote about Ways to Green a Small Business in GreenBiz News. She is in the U.K., so her organization, Global Action Plan, won't be helpful to you if you're in the U.S.  Some resources that you can use, though, are at the bottom of this post.

Amy also talks about ways to make your workplace more energy efficient:

"Whether owned or rented a business space can have its [carbon] footprint lightened through a series of small steps, such as properly insulating the roof and walls; putting low energy light bulbs in every light fixture; wrapping a thick jacket around the boiler and pipes; and turning off appliances over night.

There is a long list of these simple steps which a business can take to drastically slash their energy use and bills even if they have ten employees and work in a rented property. Above all else make sure staff are educated and encouraged on energy efficient behaviour such as switching off computer monitors when away from desks and only boiling as much water as needed when going to the kitchen for a cuppa."

These are simply common sense, and you've probably heard other suggestions to reduce your carbon footprint. A few I like are:

• Bottle your own water, and stop buying bottled water that was transported many miles to reach your store
• Convert to fluorescent lighting, including compact fluorescent bulbs in desk lamps
• Reuse when you can, rather than buying new
• Recycle what you can't use anymore. There are recyclers for most everything these days.

Resources for green businesses:

• Energy Star
• Carbon Footprint Calculator
• The Green Office (an online retailer of environmentally friendly office supplies)