Investments That Are Worthwhile To Make Your Business More Eco-Friendly
If you want your business to save money, then some of the standard things that you will look to do are reduce your spending and increase prices, in order to increase profit. However, as any small business owner will know, doing just that can be easier said than done. There certainly is a fine line between being able to create something that can keep customers happy and loyal, and cutting costs. Plus, in a competitive market, raising prices is something that can be a big risk.
However, there is another way to reduce your overheads and help to boost your bottom line, and that is investing in some tools and technologies that can help with the efficiency of your business. Not only that but choosing things that are environmentally friendly can help the business expenses in the long term. For example, have you thought about going solar as a business? Although there will be upfront costs to this when you get the panels, they can really pay off and more than pay for themselves as time goes on. Not only will that save money, but it shows customers that you are a business that is trying to play its part in doing good for the environment.
Along the same lines, if you are taking steps to ‘go green; ahead of your competitors, then it can help to stand you out from the crowd and give you more of a competitive advantage. There is even research that backs this up! Over 80% of customers were found to feel happier with a business that is taking steps to improve the environment. Over 60% of people were found to want to spend more with sustainable brands. So there are a number of reasons why choosing to invest in something more sustainable and environmentally-friendly can be a good thing for your business.
So here are some of the things that you can do.
Go paperless
So many businesses have been taking this step for a while now, so if you haven’t, you really are behind with the times. Not only can you save physical space, as you won’t need to store reams and reams of paper, but you can make what you do more efficient. With documents stored online and scanned in, it can be easier to file share, find something that you need, and reduce how much paper you use. The key to this is to encourage employees to store data and information securely online, rather than printing things out. You’ll be surprised at the expenses that are related to printing things out, from paper to ink, as well as the cost to the environment when you waste paper and don’t recycle it.
Encourage remote working
As a result of the pandemic, there are a number of things that have changed the way we work, and for many businesses, remote working is one of them. But as things step back to normality, are you encouraged to get back into the office like you once did? If this is the case, then from an eco point of view, it could be time to think again. If you are looking to encourage employees to be more green, then reducing how much they travel can be a good idea. This saves your employees time and money, but also saves the business money too. You could downsize to a smaller office space if you don’t need to have all employees in the office all of the time.
Reduce how much electricity that your business uses
The amount of electricity that you use will vary from business to business, and some industries will use a lot more than others. However, regardless of the industry that you are in, there are still things that you can do to reduce your electricity usage. This can help to reduce your overheads significantly as so much of what you do from day to day will use and depend on electricity.
There is one example of what you can do, which is to make the switch to LED lights in your office, warehouse, or wherever you work. By making the transition to using these bulbs, it can be a small investment upfront, but it can reduce your electricity bill quite dramatically. These kinds of light bulbs last much longer compared to traditional light bulbs, so you can get your money’s worth.
You don’t have to make drastic changes to your business in order to make a difference to its stamp and impact on the environment. Small things can and do make a difference.