Succeeding as a Eco-Conscious Entrepreneur | Glaze & Save
It’s never been more important for entrepreneurs to consider the environmental impact of their business operations. As well as adding value to your product by imbuing it with green sensibilities, becoming a more eco conscious entrepreneur can also lead to increased staff productivity, lower energy and resource costs, a better public image and, ultimately, increased sales.
Encourage you employees
Getting you employees on board with your eco policies is fundamental to ensuring success across you business. After all, all of the policies and procedures you can muster will not have an impact if your employees are not also truly invested in your green vision. You can read more about making your employees greener in our blog 8 Tips to Make Your Employees for Energy Aware.
In a nut shell: make your policies public and easy to access, incentivise your employees for participating in and exceeding targets, and ultimately make your employees feel invested in you green policies and see the benefit for themselves.
Take a look at transport
A company’s transportation fleet can be one of the biggest environmental impacts that an organisation can have. Ensure that you are utilising government fundingto upgrade to the lowest emission vehicles possible for your business, as well as encouraging good driving practices by using limiters. If your business supports it, you could even consider using electrical vehicles. There is even funding available to have electric charging points installed at your place of work.
Even if transport isn’t part of your day to day operations, considering how your employees get to work will boost your eco credentials. Implement car pooling schemes, participate in the Cycle to Work Schemeor consider letting your employees work part of the week from home.
Reduce Energy Consumption
Stopping the wasteful consumption of energyin your business is arguable the most important factor in making your company more environmentally friendly. We have written extensively on this subject, but fundamentally what reducing energy consumption comes down to is being mindful of how you use your appliances and technology and look for obvious behavior changes that you can implement in yourself and your staff to cut down energy use.
Once you have implemented a company-wide system of behavioural change, you can begin to look at installing technologies with a low pay back time to start actively reducing your energy bills. Draught proofing and secondary glazing are prime examples of technologies that can have great pay back times. For example, Glaze & Save InvisiThermreduces energy bills by a minimum of 22.5%, giving a payback time of around 3-5 years. Its also a great option for leased premises as it can be easily removed.
Encourage recycling
Recycling is a great way of getting your employees to actively participate in your environmental strategy, and makes for a great tangible example of your green credentials which you can then use in your marketing communications.
The key to success is to ensure that your recycling options are easily accessible. Make sure there are plenty of recycling bins, all clearly labelled and easy to access for all of your employees. WRAP UKand Zero Waste Scotlandare both great resources for information on reducing waste and increasing recycling in your business.
Use environmentally friendly suppliers
Creating a sustainable and environmentally friendly chain of suppliers throughout your business process shows a real commitment to your green credentials. Find out what your suppliers are doing to reduce their carbon footprints, reduce emissions and save energy. If they don’t meet your standards, work with them to create a more environmentally friendly outlook, or vote with your cheque book and find a new supplier.
