5 Ways to Encourage Your Company to Go Green … and Save Money Too

The drive for sustainability in business is gaining momentum, and that means it’s much easier to justify taking Eco-conscious decisions if you are in the position to implement changes within your organization.

Of course even if you aren’t at the top of the hierarchy, there are still options available to you if your aim is to convince business leaders that going green is the right thing to do. And of course this works best if the environmentally friendly option is also more affordable.

With that in mind, here are some proven strategies for going green which also have the potential to cut costs in modern businesses as well.

1. Sell used equipment instead of scrapping it

When machinery comes to the end of its life cycle in your business, it can become a burden, taking up space, costing a lot to replace, and also coming with a price if you want to have it removed and scrapped.

The good news is there is an alternative; selling second hand equipment instead of consigning it to the scrap heap.

Whether you are selling used recycling equipment or parting ways with manufacturing tools you no longer need due to an upgrade, you’ll be saving money in two directions. First, you’ll be recouping some of your initial investment as part of the sale price, and second you’ll be avoiding any expenses that might otherwise have come with straightforward scrappage.

You’d be surprised by just how much demand there is for second hand equipment of all kinds, even if it is long in the tooth and in need of maintenance. So don’t let this opportunity to be sustainable and save a buck pass you by.

2. Switch to efficient lighting & heating solutions

Another major expense for businesses is that associated with must-have utilities. Paying to illuminate your premises and to keep it heated to an amenable temperature for employees is inevitable, but that doesn’t mean you can afford to be inefficient as well.

In terms of lighting, there are a few tactics to try which can have a cumulatively significant impact on sustainability and utility bills alike. 

First, changing out old-school bulbs for ecologically sound modern units is wise. 

Second, training employees to make sure that lights are turned off in rooms that are no longer in use will minimize waste. 

Third, implementing automated systems to turn lights off and on as needed, rather than relying on humans to remember to do this, is a good contingency.

From a heating perspective, having a modern system in place to regulate temperatures throughout the premises is a must. Then there’s the aspect of the ambient setting you select, as even the difference of one or two degrees can result in major savings, and a much smaller carbon footprint.

Obviously the temperature has to be acceptable to team members, but you also don’t want to cater to the most extreme ends of the comfort spectrum. There’s a balance to strike, as well as temperature regulations to adhere to in this regard. But the point is to be aware of settings used, and to make tweaks where inefficiencies are obvious.

3. Adjust your marketing efforts

You might not think that changes to marketing strategies will make much of a difference to the sustainability of a business, but you’d be surprised.

This mainly applies to organizations that are still somewhat stuck in the past in terms of how they promote their products and services, because there’s a big difference between the environmental impact of printing out physical marketing materials and simply sending emails to existing and prospective customers.

A well-managed digital marketing team can not only be more Eco-friendly than one which focuses on old-school approaches, but can also deliver better, more measurable results. 

This is why making the leap to modern marketing has been so widely recommended and publicized in recent years, and of course you’ll be saving major amounts of money in the process if you ditch printed materials.

4. Outsource your hosting needs

In the past, businesses inevitably had to rely on on-site hosting setups to store mission-critical data. However, in the era of cloud computing, it’s more affordable and practical to outsource this to third party data centers instead.

Data centers where information belonging to thousands of businesses is housed collectively are innately more sustainable than on-site hardware, since the economies of scale and the possibility for renewable power to be used allow for this.

5. Embrace remote working

Lastly, no discussion of green business practices would be complete without a mention of the remote working movement.

A lot of a company’s carbon footprint can be associated with the lengthy commute that employees have to make to get to and from the base of operations each day. If you can enable employees to work from home, this means fewer vehicles on the roads, less of a burden on public transport, and lower levels of emissions associated with your organization.

So in short, a combination of strategies are out there for saving money and making a business sustainable, and you can make strong arguments for them from a purely financial perspective to change the minds of those in charge.