With businesses expanding and evolving like never before, sustainability is an essential aspect of success. Customers have become more eco-conscious in recent years, and regulations have tightened to protect the environment. This means that businesses should adapt to meet the demands of a greener future.
A green future is required to ensure future generations will have a healthy earth to live on. With this in mind, your business should aim to become more sustainable this year, and this post outlines three of the best methods to do just that.
Go Paperless
One of the best ways to improve sustainability as a business is to go paperless. In Canada, for example, roughly 937 thousand metric tons of paper were used in 2021; although not all of this was used by businesses, some of it will be. This is why your business should try to go fully paperless this year.
Not only will going paperless significantly reduce the amount of paper used, but it can also lower the business’ carbon footprint. The carbon footprint of using paper mainly occurs through the energy consumption in paper production and waste disposal. Using less paper means that businesses can contribute to the preservation of forests, too.
Your business can go paperless by focusing on digitizing workflows and adopting digital tools. The best way to do this is to use a document scanning service. Some Calgary document scanning services will even help you to identify where paper enters the business and create a strategy for simplifying your document workflows. This can be helped along by using cloud-based storage solutions and establishing digital filing systems.
Save Energy and Water
Similar to going paperless, conserving energy and water lessens greenhouse gas emissions, which will contribute to a healthier planet. This will reduce the business’ carbon footprint once more. If your business uses water and energy more efficiently, this can help to preserve these natural resources for future generations and mitigate climate change.
There are a variety of ways to save energy and water as a business. One of the primary methods to do this is to maintain and upgrade equipment. Older appliances, lighting, and machinery can be inefficient with energy, so it is important to revolutionize the technology being used regularly. New appliances are more likely to be eco-friendly and use fewer resources, reducing monthly expenses.
Another way to save energy is to use natural heat and light. This can be achieved by adjusting window coverings to allow more light into the workspace and strategically placing workstations. It is also possible this will enable employees to feel warmer while working, but you might need to draught-proof doors and windows to prevent heat loss.
Embrace Remote Working
If your business has the ability to do so, then employees should be given the opportunity to work remotely. According to greenunion.co.uk, “the carbon footprint of remote workers could be 54% lower than that of their on-site counterparts.” This could be due to the reduced need for commuting and large office spaces, which lowers energy consumption and carbon emissions.
Before moving employees to remote working, you must discuss this change with all applicable workers. Unfortunately, not all employees will be able to move their duties home, so only those who have the equipment and space to work away from the office should do so.
To conclude, many businesses should make more efforts to become more sustainable. If you would like your business to make changes towards sustainability this year, then the three tips listed in this post should help.