If you want to stay ahead of the game and maintain clients and customers who feel proud to do business with you, it’s time to change any wasteful habits. It requires minimal effort and the results are considerable – saving both money and the planet!
1. Turn off the lights
Many businesses leave light boxes on at night, illuminating their products, and leave computers running. Try to limit this as much as possible by turning off everything unless absolutely necessary. Just how important is it that your retail products are lit up at 3am in the morning anyway?
If you are unable to fully turn off the lights, using energy efficient light bulbs, and turning off the computer monitors is at least a compromise you would find it hard to argue against. And you’ll feel satisfied with your new habit when you receive the next power bill and discover you’ve made significant savings.
2. Re-useable promotional bags
If you give out retail bags to customers, why not consider re-useable bags?
Not only are they a great way to promote your business – your customers become free advertising, walking billboards – but you could also run a promotion to encourage customers to bring them back each time they shop with you.
This means not only do you help reduce the rubbish in landfills, but you also have an incentive for customers to return specifically to you rather than the competition!
3. Recycle
It’s so simple, and there’s really no excuse not to recycle anymore.
Your local council can provide you with all the information you need on how to set up recycling for your business. The amount of cardboard boxes, paper, shopping bags and packaging that you go through can all be sorted correctly and reused in some way.
Furthermore, you’ll be instilling these habits into your staff as well – hopefully meaning they then practise their new recycling habits in the privacy of their own home as well!
4. Reuse
Where possible, reuse what you can. This means turning your scrap A4 paper into a makeshift notepad, reusing storage containers and boxes, and choosing lasting cutlery and cups over plastic takeaway products.
5. Spread the word
Encourage your staff to be on board 100% with your efforts to turn your business green.
It will be very difficult if not everyone understands why the energy conscious measures are in place. So often, new eco friendly practices that are put in place start out strong, only to fizzle out after a month and put back in the “too hard” box.
Therefore, it’s essential to make sure everyone is aligned from the outset: this will help create a sort of peer pressure and maintain the momentum for greener practises in your business.
These ideas are really just the beginning- the most simple, basic steps. There’s so much more you can do!
Once you have laid the proper foundation, you can then start shifting towards even better practices. For example, encouraging staff to walk or take public transport, banning the printing of emails unless absolutely necessary, and becoming more aware of the environmental habits of those companies you do business with. Good luck with the change!
Image: tungphoto