Going green and becoming more ethical is rapidly becoming the way to do business. It?s been estimated that 38% of customers buy ethical goods, and top of the list are products with recycled content, fair trade products, and organic foods.
Smart businesses are picking up on buying signals from their customers and changing the way they operate, and the goods and services they sell. So how do you get started?
Energy saving IT solutions
Good energy management makes good business sense, especially when you consider that the average business wastes 30% of the energy it buys.
It?s estimated that it?s possible for most businesses to save between 10% and 20% on their energy bills at little or no cost. Simple changes in your IT habits could reduce your energy bill dramatically. Here are some top tips:
? Set equipment to automatically go into standby mode after a timed interval of non-use.
? Switch equipment off when it is not going to be used for an extended period of time.
? Change to equipment that has low-power consumption, such as flatscreen monitors and low-consumption processors, and look for equipment with a recognised energy label on them.
? Stop using old, inefficient printers and buy a recycled one instead.
? Position equipment in a naturally ventilated space to reduce cooling costs.
? Maintain your IT equipment so that it lasts longer: cleaning filters and fans could prevent possible failure.
It?s important to measure and monitor the energy you?re using before and after making any changes. Unless you know what you?re paying, you won?t know what impact your changes have made. A simple plug-in power monitor is one of the best ways to keep track of your energy consumption.
You should also look at the IT software programmes that might be relevant to your business ? they could save you time and can dramatically reduce your paperwork. For example, online billing, data base management, accountancy and PR software are all available on the market now.
Reducing Paper and other waste
Have a look in your waste bin: you?ll find cardboard, paper, plastic bags and wrapping and possibly hard plastic strapping. It?s true that plastics can be difficult to recycle, but make sure you separate out the cardboard and paper and ask your waste collector to offer you a rate for recycling.
When you look at the products that come into your business take time to consider how they arrive. Is there a huge amount of unnecessary protective packaging that you have to dispose of? Remember this is a huge waste of resources and in many cases it also costs you money.
Talk to your suppliers and make sure they are aware you want to cut packaging to the minimum. Where they can?t reduce the packaging make sure that what they send through to you is recyclable and feed back your thoughts: things like customer pressure for change will influence your suppliers to change their bad habits, too.
When you have printed material produced ask your printers to use recycled paper and vegetable-based inks. At one time this would have been an unusual request, but today many printers are able to offer these products.
Communicate with your customers electronically as much as you can. As well as reducing paper waste, you can promote your green practices to them. Try not to print emails, and if you do need to keep paper copies print on both sides if your printer can do this.
Reuse your paper and packaging waste as much as you can. If you have non-confidential paper waste use it for notes and think about ways to reuse boxes ? often customers will be happy to use them to take away products, which could reduce the amount of bags you use.
Have a ?switch off? before you leave initiative. Many of us have got used to leaving lights and other equipment on unnecessarily, so it will take some extra effort to change your habits. Reminder signs will probably be necessary, but that will send out a positive message to customers.
And if you do nothing else, put a water hippo into the toilet cisterns and make sure you have no dripping taps: it can make quite a difference.
Most importantly encourage your staff to get involved in your efforts: they will probably see things that you won?t and come up with some great ideas of their own.
And finally make sure you look at the new ?Environment and Efficiency? Theme, available online at www.businesslink.gov.uk. It offers specific information on how businesses can gain bottom-line benefits by tackling environmental issues relevant to their business and covers a wide range of ?green? issues with practical advice and tools to help all businesses understand and implement each. You can also sign up for email alerts to ensure you remain a step ahead and are fully informed on environmental requirements.
By Business Link Experts, Erica Russell (Market Development, Sustainable Business) and Paul Barker (Energy and Environment Specialist)