Sustainability is a term that’s getting thrown around a lot these days. But what does it really mean to be sustainable? It means that companies are streamlining responsible business practices and taking care of the environment. You may personally think about investing in an eco-friendly home. Still, professionally new business owners don’t generally think of this at first, but how they run their company can have a profound impact on the environment. In this article, we’ll be going over how you can take better care of the environment as a business.
How to Take Care of the Environment as a Business
Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle
We’ll start off with the bare basics when it comes to preserving the environment. Every business should always practice the three R’s; reduce, reuse, and recycle. Businesses use more resources than a common household, which means more waste and pollution. This is further perpetuated when a business doesn’t manage its waste effectively.
Paper, plastic, aluminium, used pens, and even led from a pencil can be very harmful to the environment. While companies do require these materials, throwing them away haphazardly can cause issues. You’d be surprised how quickly this can get out to the public. Companies that generate waste can negatively impact your reputation.
Make Your Fleet More Sustainable
If there’s one business asset that contributes to harming the environment, it’s most certainly your fleet. Your fleet may be necessary to have, but they emit a lot of greenhouse gases. Did you know these greenhouse gases affect the very atmosphere? They contribute to the greenhouse effect, which is when heat is trapped near the surface of the Earth. However, the atmosphere is repeatedly being damaged by the emission of these gases. Why is this important? The atmosphere is what protects us from the harsh UV rays coming from the sun.
Now that you know what kind of damage can be done, let’s get into how you can go about correcting it. To start, you can train your fleet drivers to focus on sustainability. Teach them to take shorter and more efficient routes. If you want to go the extra mile, you can invest in more environmentally friendly vehicles. Electric cars are the best option as they don’t require fossil fuels to operate. Instead, they use batteries that can be recharged at any station. Having more sustainable transportation is how you can reduce the emission of greenhouse gases to fight off climate change. What’s more, is that doing so can even save you money in the long run.
Use LED Lightbulbs
Cars aren’t the only thing that produces gas emissions. You might not be aware of this, but your lightbulbs can release gas if they’re shattered. Older models of lightbulbs utilised gas to produce light. However, these have fallen out of style quickly as they’re known for causing a slew of health problems. Replacing these bulbs with ones that are LED is one of the easiest ways to protect the environment as well as your employees. They’re very cost-effective, so you shouldn’t have any issues investing.
Filter Your Water
You know how you and your employees get up and go to the water dispenser every so often? The jugs contain a few gallons of pure water, but once they’re dried up, they usually end up in a landfill. Did you know that plastic can take literally centuries to fully decompose when left alone? This can become a massive source of pollution as plastic can pile up rather quickly.
Not to mention, buying all those water jugs can leave a dent in your budget. However, you can keep the environment safe and save money by installing a high-quality water filter on the sink. These filters let your employees experience the same freshness as they would from your dispenser.
