Now more than ever, it is worth it to think about how businesses are changing the world around us and how they are making the world a better place. Small businesses can have a much larger impact that anyone might realize, and the small choices they make toward helping the environment can influence corporations and bigger entities. Fortunately, it’s also easy to make some changes that can affect both the environment and your company in positive ways.
Here’s how you can make a difference through helping the environment through your business.
Consider remote work
Remote work is in vogue lately, but many business owners don’t realize that it has more positive effects than just saving money or helping employees. Commuting can add a lot of pollution and extra, unneeded damage to the environment—especially if your employees are commuting by car. Remote work not only takes out commuting costs and the extra toll it can take on workers to arrive at the office, but it can also save the environment by decreasing Co2 levels. It’s often the small things that make the biggest difference over the long run.
Go paperless
Another small change you can make is switching to digital. Even small businesses use reams of paper, which is costly to make and often ends up in the trash instead of the recycling. Nowadays, there is no need to have paper products when everything can be done online. You might want to consider moving all of your contracts online, and taking time to scan files to upload to a server. It can also be easier to send these files through email and provide access to your customers when everything is available over the internet. Just make sure that when you are done with the physical files, you shred them and recycle.
Have a community day at work
Many companies encourage their employees to do something for their communities and the environment. Not only does it offer some time off work and the chance for people to bond outside of the office, but it also can help the local environment. Consider having a day once a month where employees pick up trash or educate local people on the small changes they can make to their lifestyles. This can help your office feel more involved with your customers and can also encourage your community to think about the ways they can help the planet, as well.
Encourage education at the workplace
Plenty of people would like to help the environment, but just don’t know how. The truth is that small changes must usually be taught, and that means you might have to teach employees how to be more environmentally-friendly. Make sure that you have clear ways that they can recycle or dispose of their trash properly. You might also want to consider bringing in an expert who can talk to employees about the ways they can help the environment at home. To set a good example, you might want to change to lighting that doesn’t use as much energy and enforcing a policy to turn off computers when the work day is done.
Small changes are really what can make a difference—both for your company and the world around you. All it takes is some education and making small alterations to how your business is run for the benefit of everyone.
Guest article written by: Alex Schnee