Five Ways to Save Money While Making Your Business Greener

Becoming green can save you money. By reducing your energy use and recycling your office supplies, you save on your expenses while becoming a more environmentally conscious business. This helps your business and our planet thrive and prosper.

Not only do you save money, you create an environment

The following are five easy ways you can begin going green and saving money:

1. Develop a Green Strategy

The idea is to think green and integrate it into your way of doing business. Reducing the waste and garbage from your business reduces your environmental footprint and overall disposal cost. Learn everything you can about businesses becoming green, and implement a training program for your employees and business associates. Planning for the future is an essential part of business success. Rather than struggling against the changes that inevitably occur, embrace them and make money from them.

2. Reuse and Recycle Office Supplies

Office supplies are one of the best areas to begin your greening process. The idea is to reduce your waste so that you make little or no environmental footprint. To do this, you should primarily purchase supplies that are biodegradable or recyclable, or those that can be composted. Other ideas include the following:

• Use the product until you can’t use it anymore.
• Don’t buy it unless you absolutely need it.
• Ship packages with reused boxes from the grocery store; they’re free and they get one more use before they’re recycled.
• Move toward going 100 percent paperless in your business.
• Use your own mug or glass for beverages to save paper products.
• Buy used office furniture and refurbished appliances, computers, and calculators.
• Purchase recycled copy paper, refillable pens, recycled binders, and other office supplies from the Green Office.

3. Reduce Energy Consumption

The U.S. Green Building Council has developed a rating system that promotes the design and construction of green buildings. These buildings use less energy, water, and natural resources while creating a healthier environment for you and your business. In addition to reducing energy consumption and costs by turning your business into a certified green building, use these energy-saving tips:

• Use fewer gas-powered products.
• Use more electricity generated by solar, wind, and water.
• Open the blinds and curtains and use natural lighting whenever possible.
• Turn off your computers at night.
• Keep your thermostat regulated for minimum usage of energy.
• Wear a sweater, jacket, or fleece cover-up instead of turning up the heat.
• Purchase energy-efficient heaters, air conditioners, and office equipment.
• Learn all you can about new methods of saving energy.

4. Use Biodegradable and Less Toxic Cleaning Products

Many of the cleaning products used by businesses contain toxic chemicals. These chemicals are harmful to those who use them and create problems with the environment when they are disposed. By using cleaning products that are biodegradable and less toxic, you create a healthier work environment, which in the long term saves on downtime and medical bills. The following are some natural cleaning products that you can use instead of ones with harmful chemicals:

• Sea salt makes a course but gentle cleanser for scouring when mixed with baking soda.
• Baking soda not only cleanses but also gets rid of odors.
• Vinegar removes grease and dirt, and white vinegar gets rid of carpet odors.
• Essential lavender oil makes for a nice room deodorizer with a calming effect.
• Citrus juice and peels are great room fresheners.
• Borax cleans, removes stains, and disinfects, and you can use it as a bleach alternative.

5. Make Your Business Environment Greener

By adding living plants and/or a water feature to your business, you make it a healthier workspace. Living plants such as spider plants, peace lilies, and philodendrons filter out the pollutants in the air. You can save money by taking cuttings from one plant to make new plants. A water feature in your business humidifies and ionizes the air, cutting down on the level of static electricity. The sound of the water both relaxes and energizes you while you work.