Green Your Office Environment with Simple Quick wins
Lighting & Electrical Appliances

Start on the right note: understand your energy bills and consult your supplier to understand any penalty charges and how they can be reduced or avoided e.g. spotting how much electricity is used at night may reveal areas for saving. Regular Cleaning and Maintenance of electrical units, heating appliances and lighting fixtures start you off on the right note and improve the efficiency of your plant and machinery. Ensure switches are labelled so staff are aware of switches that are relevant for use and won’t be switching on too many appliances or too much lighting.

 

Online Energy Saving Resources For The Workplace

Robin Waters  lists The Top Ten Apps To Make You More Green in Techcrunch  Green Cam: Energy-saving app turns off PC monitor when users walk away


Saving on Water charges via Water Conservation & Capture
If you are facing high water charges or are being metered for water consumption then look into these environmentally friendly ideas and devices to help your bottom line.

 Cistern Displacement Devices – fill them with water and lay inside the toilet cistern to reduce the flush volume. You can also source dyes that check if your cistern’s are leaking Rainwater Harvesting – with the right fittings, rainwater tanks and devices you can recycle grey rainwater for toilets, mechanical wash-down, landscaping or process water. (Example is the Eden Project in Bodmin, UK) Install Motion sensor taps in washrooms and canteens to prevent running water when not in use.

 

Recycle and Save on Waste Disposal Costs
Good recycling habits should be transferred from the household to the office or business environment, especially if it costs you less or nothing to recycle waste in the face of municipal bin and landfill charges for all that waste your business generates.

More awareness of recycling and of the environment exists amongst workers and customers. It’s worth being seen encouraging your clients or customers to do the same, driving a positive association between your brand and responsible business. A polluter pays principle exists on most municipal services with the introduction of bin charges. Higher landfill levies exist in some jurisdictions to support alternatives to landfill. Environmental Legislation may exist in your locale requiring recycling quotes with penalties in place Improved recycling and recovery options are being introduced by most authorities.

 

 Resources– Sustainability, Ethical and Eco
Global

Small Business Trends  has a green Business Segment with helpful Sustainable business blogs The Sustainable Business Blog – By ‘The Guardian’ Publication is useful for sustainable technology and industry updates alongside the Guardian Environmental Supplement.

 

Squeaky ‘Green’ Marketing and Event Ideas
Here’s a taster but there’s way more ways to do this.

Networking – use online resources to network from home. Use Email advertising instead of Direct mail or Email invites instead of  Flyers and other promotional material when it comes to your regular client base and regular customers. These are people who you know will pay attention to your email-shot. Caveat: not so  good with new business as you need to get their attention in more ways than one. Use CD’s or Branded Data Keys instead of large paper catalogues where possible or PDFs when sending out product information to your clients. Safer when you are dealing loyal customers or returning clients who are already familiar with your business.

 

Key Takeaway

Companies like M & S  or Tesco maximize the full profit boosting and cost saving benefits of being Green and Sustainable. They have strategic coherent programmes of ethical and sustainable business practices, work hard at providing a holistic approach and re-educate both customers and their workforce. They also leverage their behavior as social marketing content via PR, Advertising and Branding campaigns.