We live in an age where people and businesses all over the world are trying their best to operate in a ‘greener’ way. Whether that’s reducing plastic usage, educating and rewarding their employees to be more sustainable or undergoing an office makeover with double glazing windows to keep heat in – there’s so many changes, big and small, that we can introduce to make a difference.
If you’re a small business and you think there’s room for improvement in your green policies, here’s five simple tips from INUI that will ensure that 2019 marks the start of a more sustainable way of working. After all, a minor 20% reduction in energy costs can add the same benefit as a 5% increase in sales for a business. It’s a no-brainer!
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Update your appliances
How old are the appliances in your office? Out of date kettles and dishwashers may be using a lot of energy with not an awful lot of output. Although it may be a fairly costly one-off investment to kit out the office, it’s well worth upgrading your appliances to more energy efficient versions. You’ll be looking at smaller bills in the long run and of course, less energy usage. Plus – you and your team will be able to enjoy new, faster and more productive products. Win, win!
Go paperless
Do you really need to use the office printer quite as much as you do? Going paperless, or mostly paperless, is probably a lot easier than you may envision. Not only will you be using less energy, but you’ll also reduce your paper usage; another precious resource. Share files via an online drive as opposed to printing them out and handing them around, write things down and perhaps use a whiteboard for meeting agendas. Why not challenge your office team to go a week without printing or photocopying.?You’ll be surprised how easy it is to form new habits!
Switch to LEDs
Lighting can take up as much as 35% of the average businesses electricity consumption, so it’s certainly one of the best places to start in reducing your energy costs. Look to switching to LED light bulbs. Not only are they incredibly energy efficient, which will ultimately leave you with smaller bills, but they last an impressive 8 to 10 times longer than standard lights, saving you on maintenance costs. They’re also pollutant-free with no mercury, lead or glass, making them 100% recyclable. LEDs, compared to other lighting solutions, are particularly beneficial for office environments as they have been proven to increase work performance, with less spelling errors and improved reading speeds. Take a look at this handy LED lighting calculator from INUI to work out how much money and energy your office could save.
Green commuting
Technology has enabled so many businesses to introduce the idea of remote working and there are now an estimated 1.5 million people working from home in the UK. This is of course doing great things for our roads, with less commuters on the go each day and thus reducing carbon emissions. Similarly, technology means that we no longer have to travel the country attending meetings and using unnecessary fuel – dialling into meetings using Skype is the perfect alternative.
Ditch the desktops for laptops
There are countless benefits to using laptops in your office. From an energy standpoint, they are much more environmentally friendly, consuming up to 80% less electricity than desktop computers. And unlike desktop computers, they can be unplugged and ran on their battery power. Just ensure that they are properly powered down and unplugged at the end of the working day. On top of their low energy benefits, laptops also give employees the freedom to work anywhere at anytime, which can only be a good thing.
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