Earth Day is the perfect time for everyone to stop and think about how they can help “go green,” even if for just a day. Maybe you don’t print as much paper, or you carry around a reusable water bottle instead of wasting plastic. There are so many ways to make a difference, but why stop at just one day of the year? There are some easy steps you can take to help your business go green, without going to extremes.
- Recycle: It’s so easy to recycle nowadays, even though many people still don’t. Start an extra container filled with recycling, and you can even get some money back by bringing your old drink containers, such as glass and plastic bottles and cans to local supermarkets. You’ll be amazed at how much trash you can reduce by recycling. The same goes for your business. Add a recycling container to your break room and by your front door for customers.
- Use those Reusable Bags: Think about how many plastic bags you waste after shopping. You may reuse one or two for more trash, but the rest will get thrown out until your next shopping trip. Reusable bags not only help save the environment, but they’re sturdier than plastic bags and are much less likely to break while walking to your car. Encourage customers to bring their own reusable bags by charging a small fee for plastic bags, or change over to paper bags and encourage customers to recycle those.
- Use Less Paper: Double-check with yourself the next time you go to print something. Do you really need all those pages? Is there another way of accessing the information without having to print out that email? Using less paper helps to cut down on costs while also helping the environment. Ask each customer if they want a printed receipt, instead of automatically printing one. Many stores offer email receipts as an alternative.
- Encourage Employees to Carpool: If you have a lot of employees, especially those who live in the same area, it’s much smarter to carpool. There’s a lot of pollution that comes with employees driving to and from work each day, and if they don’t want to carpool, biking to work is also another option if they live close by. You can also offer incentives to employees who make carpooling or biking to work a habit.
- Buy Sustainable Goods from Local Companies: Not only does buying locally help your surrounding economy, but it also helps reduce the amount of fossil fuel used to transport products. You can create a partnership with other green companies, and help each other look for local suppliers of materials and goods. Especially look for goods made from recyclable and renewable materials that don’t use excessive packaging.
Helping your company go green will have a bigger impact than you may think. We want to be able to live on this planet as long as possible, and helping to take care of it is the first step. Millennials, especially, want to buy products that not only help the environment but also are organic and homemade. Letting it be known to consumers that your products are “green” can help boost sales and popularity. Get a head start in helping the environment.