Implementing a green regime requires the skillset that a lot of entrepreneurs hold such as organization, planning and creativity. So give it a go – you will probably be great at it.
Be Realistic
Don’t try to do everything at once. It is a guaranteed way to lose interest and not follow through with anything worthwhile. Everyone who has been to any kind of business school or course will have heard about SMART objectives (to many people’s annoyance), but setting goals and making them time constrained and achievable will show much greater results.
Claiming that you want to “make your office green” is just words that don’t mean a great deal. Start with something concrete such as, “I would like to buy 40 packs of printer paper instead of 70 next month.” Think about the things that could stand in your way. Could you start printing double-sided? Could you ask people to stop printing emails? Break it down into four or five objectives and see how it goes.
Get People on Board
Why not try to make some kind of competition to encourage paper reduction? You employees would enjoy a lighthearted style instead of a dictator approach. Possibly champion someone in the office to work out how much money you are saving by implementing your green methodology, and then ask him/her to plan fun team days out to celebrate (try to make them green, too).
Organization is King
Simply put, if you don’t organize your time and resources very well, then your green plan will be destined for the recycle bin. Try to work out what you will need to achieve your goals. Do you want to reduce the amount of bottled water you buy? Buy a water cooler! But have you considered what you will do with the increase in dirty cups and glasses? Will you need to buy a dishwasher? Is that more or less environmentally friendly?
Taking time to consider, plan and organize will be a bigger job than you think. If you know you won’t have the time to do it, share it amongst your employees. If everyone is in it together, you are likely to succeed together.
Buy Eco!
One of the easiest changes you can make is buying environmentally friendly packaging and products. Does your business send a lot of products? Use this as an opportunity to buy environmentally friendly cardboard boxes that feature your logo (maybe ask Marketing to get behind it, too). Not only does this do wonders for your green credentials, it is also often cheaper as recycled paper costs less to produce.
Save, Save, Save
One of my pet peeves is seeing empty offices at night with the lights on; there is no reason for it in this day and age. Change your lights to energy saving bulbs and watch the savings stack up. Try to implement a “last one out, lights off” policy, and try to make everyone take responsibility for it. If your energy bills are high, try to narrow down the appliances that use a lot of energy and consider replacing them (it will be worth it in the long-haul).
I think the key message here is that you can make saving simple if you start treating your green credentials as just another part of your business expenses. You don’t have to go crazy and annoy everyone about it, as it is easy to make quick wins by simply reducing materials that you use a lot of. Try to be creative and think outside the box, and watch your green credentials increase and your bank balance stack up. What do you do in your office to make it a green haven?
Jonathan Dempster is an economics graduate interested in helping small and medium-sized businesses reduce their green waste to increase profits. He is currently writing on behalf of Rajapack, which offers environmentally friendly cardboard boxes and packaging to businesses across Europe.