It takes a lot of resources to power a business. Consequently, waste and inefficient use can add up quickly. Increasingly, business owners are aware of both the wasted resources and the environmental cost of inaction and are making great strides to reduce their carbon footprint. Here are a few tips to get you started on your own path to ecological efficiency.
1. Conduct a water audit.
A commercial water audit can help you understand just how much water you and your employees use each day. Contact your water utility company and see what types of audits they provide. They often give audits for free and can make recommendations on more efficient water usage. Account for all water expenses, including wasteful single-use water bottles, increasingly banned for their centuries-long degradation timeline.
2. Install low-flow toilets.
One of the biggest culprits of water waste in businesses is the restroom. Ensure restrooms are more sustainable by installing low-flow toilets. If your toilets are old, they are using as much as 5 gallons during one flush! Low-flow toilets, however, use just 1.6 gallons of water per flush. Low-flow faucet fixtures can also be installed.
3. Make sure employees are actively involved.
Everyone who works for you should be involved in your conservation initiatives. While staff may not waste resources intentionally, they should be made aware of how their daily habits may be causing waste. Send a company memo about your water reduction goals, host an all-hands-on seminar about sustainability, start a workplace sustainability challenge, share updates on the impact your initiatives are showing, and create awareness by posting signs throughout the office.
4. Install a commercial water filtration system.
Plastic bottle waste is a huge issue in offices and their high cost makes every meeting tantamount to going out to lunch! Ban the bottle movements are sweeping the country and nearly every businessperson knows by now that filtered sparkling water, flat water, and carbonated water dispensing systems eliminate this landfill nightmare. Let’s face it, there’s no such thing as eco-friendly bottled water. The single use bottles are just convenient expenses that need to be replaced with cost-saving commercial water dispensers—ideal for conference room water dispensing or office water dispensing—delivering cool still / sparking water to guests. An office drinking water dispenser is an ideal drinking water option for any business that wants to protect the environment. Not only can an eco-friendly water filtration system help your business reduce air and water pollution, it can also provide a cleaner, healthier drinking water solution for your office. The high-tech water filtration and disinfection process works to remove unwanted particles, chemicals, heavy metals, bacteria, viruses, and other contaminants to help you offer your staff and clients healthier, better-tasting water.
5. Appoint a conservation champion.
This person can help create and implement the initiative so you can focus on other aspects of your business. Have them publicly comment on your new sustainability goals so your community can also hold you accountable. The more people who know about your water conservation efforts, the more likely you and your staff will work to get the job done. This person can truly account for bad choices. Imagine knowing how much bottled water was served in conference meetings each month. Most businesses, in this case, find a water dispensing system to be an almost immediate cost reduction that’s also great for the environment.
6. Conserve Power
Offices tend to use a lot of energy – from lighting, to computers, and other digital devices. One of the easiest ways to lessen your carbon footprint is to have office staff cut back on their power output. Simply setting computers to “energy-saving” settings and having employees shut down computers and other electronics at the end of the day can save some serious electricity.
7. Encourage Recycling
Recycling starts with waste elimination. Reducing single-use food and drink bottles and buying office supplies in bulk to eliminate packaging and carton waste are just two fast ways companies can both save money while reducing the NEED to recycle. Then, of course, get to recycling! Recycling is a simple, effective, and inexpensive way for everyone in the office to go green. Place larger recycling bins in the breakroom or office kitchen and encourage your staff to recycle aluminum, glass, plastic, paper, and other recyclable items that your city will take. You may even want to think about setting up another recycling bin in the office supply room or closet to properly dispose of ink cartridges, batteries, and more.
8. Cut Back on Paper Waste
The more documents your office can digitize, the less paper products will be used and wasted. Instead of having your employees print documents for meetings or for clients, provide them with flash drives so they can save files and easily email clients what they need, or access their notes for meetings from any computer. There are so many ways that your office can digitize its work, so conduct a brainstorming session with employees to see how else you can cut back on paper waste, then follow through accordingly.
9. Use Green Products Whenever Possible
If it’s time to reorder office supplies and cleaning products, consider purchasing pens and pencils that are made of recycled materials—or even trade disposable pens for refillable ones. Encourage (or even give away) reusable water bottles. You may even wish to opt for biodegradable soap and swap paper towels for cloth. While purchasing some paper products will likely be needed, always buy recycled paper and envelopes. And if buying in bulk is an option, do it! Bulk purchases will cut down on packaging waste, carbon emissions, and shipping costs.
10. Donate or Repurpose
When it’s time to upgrade office furniture or other large pieces, consider donating them or finding a creative way to reuse. If you must buy new, look into repurposed or recycled. It’s kinder to the environment and often costs less, too.