How to Run An Eco-Friendly Business

There are numerous benefits of starting a business in this present day and age. It can give you more flexibility than you’d get in formal employment and it’s a chance to bring a dream to reality. Running a business is also a way to give back to society. You do this by providing jobs and adding value to the lives of the people on the receiving end of your products or services. However, businesses are often accused of contributing to environmental degradation and pollution, so being environmentally friendly is becoming increasingly important. Find out how you can run an eco-friendly business in the below article.

Encourage Remote Working

Times have changed and gone are the days that working from home is unheard of. An increasing number of companies are realizing that not only can allowing employees to work from home save them money in terms of overhead costs, but it can also be an eco-friendlier approach to running a business.

This is because it eliminates the need to commute reducing traffic and cutting out greenhouse gas emissions. It may seem insignificant, but every effort towards improving the environment helps.

Enforce Recycling

One of the characteristics of an eco-friendly business is one that recycles. In light of this, make it mandatory to recycle any waste in your office whether food waste or office supplies. If you happen to be in the manufacturing industry, you have a great opportunity to recycle as well.

For instance, if you have a large number of cardboard boxes, you could use baling wire to compress and recycle them. There are companies and services out there to make recycling easy, so your company can make this part of your philosophy and recycle whenever possible.

Reduce Waste

Aside from recycling, another approach you could take in your business is to encourage the reduction of waste altogether. Here are a few ideas for reducing waste.

Bring Your Own Cups: If you have a coffee machine in your office, encourage the use of glass or plastic cups that are reusable to eliminate the high volume of paper cups staff ends up using in a day. The same applies to using water bottles instead of paper or plastic cups that will get tossed before the day is over.

Recycle Office Supplies: It’s easy to develop the habit of using office supplies once and then throwing them away. Try and use supplies like binders, folders, and envelopes more than once as that could save you money too.

Manage Paper: If your business hasn’t yet gone paperless, then develop the habit of using both sides of the paper when printing. This could save you a significant amount, reduce the amount you buy on a regular basis and help the environment. Other ways of avoiding paper waste are changing your bills to paperless and saving online receipts via your computer.

Green Procurement

Another idea for running an eco-friendly business is green procurement. This is an excellent way to support those producing eco-friendly goods and encourage the movement. When purchasing goods, check that they’re manufactured in a sustainable way and that they don’t contain toxic materials. You also want to know that they’re made from recyclable materials and don’t have excessive packaging.

Running an eco-friendly business is something every entrepreneur should aspire to do. Not only does it make your business more ethical, but it also shows that you care about communities that are helping your business grow and the future of the environment.