With more people than ever wanting to do business with people who care about the environment and who care about sustainability, you need to get in on the eco friendly action. Ensure that you take note of the buzzwords of the day like green, reusable and ethically aware, and build your business vision around them. While you might be under the impression that making your venture eco friendly will cost you money, this can be an expenditure that can pay off in the long term. Consumers are more savvy than ever and are willing to pay a premium if they can be sure that who they buy from makes it an aim to be conscious of the world. Take a look at how you can arm your business with eco credentials.

Recycle

If you are an office based establishment, you might struggle to think of too many eco friendly initiatives. Sure, you can train your staff to switch lights off when they aren’t in the room, and use less water by boiling the kettle less often, but this is pretty trivial stuff. Instead, think about an eco-policy that your staff can sign up to.

Every time you replace your hardware, don’t assume that you need to ship your laptops and printers off to the dump. Instead, consider those in your local community who could do with some sound computers. Once you have wiped hard drives and you’ve ensured that your sensitive and confidential data isn’t compromised, you can consider donating your laptops to local schools, nursing homes and adult education centers. This is great PR and improves your relationship with your local community.

Products

If you import products or you make components for industry, ensure that the powder coating and other manufacturing essentials that you use are VOC free. These harmful chemicals are not good for the environment and can damage your staff’s health. Go greener and cleaner in everything that you do, from the transport you encourage your staff to use, to the way in which you make products. If your supply chain could be greener or more ethically sound, investigate new suppliers, cleaner haulage firms and better end user retailers. By making it a point of business in your vision and long term goals, your customer base will see the efforts you are making to arm your business with eco credentials.

Car Sharing

While this initiative has been around forever, it’s more important than ever that you take the lead. City centers are havens for toxic fumes. Encourage your staff to car share, or better still, cycle to work. As a business, you can subsidize bicycle purchases when you launch a scheme in conjunction with a local bike shop. Your staff team will become fitter, and their commute to work will be more enjoyable.

If you are eager to get in on the eco-friendly act, make your business a beacon of all things green and sustainable in your local community.  By setting an example, you can see your sales and profits rise.