Just as individuals must reduce their carbon footprint, groups must work together to achieve the same goal. As a group, your company has excellent potential to reduce its environmental impact. You may wonder what steps your company can take to reduce its carbon footprint and the size and cost of those steps. You’ll be pleased to know that the collective steps your company can take on the way to going green are simple ones that can be implemented right away.
- Reduce Corporate Travel: According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, business travel contributes 20% of the global total of carbon emissions to our planet each year. Online meeting and collaboration solutions can bring people together with a significant reduction in carbon overhead.
- Reduce Excess Packaging: By using washable cups at business meetings, choosing reused or recycled packaging, and buying items in bulk; you can greatly reduce the waste your company produces.
- Conserve Energy: Turning off excess lights, appliances and computers when not in use is recommended. Make sure that electrical items are energy efficient.
- Purchase Less: Avoid buying things that your company doesn’t need, and consider using the items you purchase as long as possible. Renting or leasing equipment provides savings and maximizes usage. Another suggestion is to purchase items second hand.
- Go Digital: Do you really need to print every little document that you receive? If you don’t need something in print, save it on your computer or flash drive to review on your monitor. Email is an excellent tool for sending office messages instead of printing numerous memos that could wind up in a landfill.
Efforts that your company makes in reducing its carbon footprint also conserve money because waste is eliminated. While following these tips can greatly reduce your company’s ecological impact, don’t be limited by their number. Discussing green strategies with company staff is an excellent way to produce company specific ideas. You will be amazed at the additional suggestions that can be generated by the combined intelligence of many.
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1 Response to 5 Steps to Reduce Your Company’s Carbon Footprint
Amanda Reynolds
February 3rd, 2010 at 3:29 pm
A really helpful article and these are 5 really easy steps to reduce carbon. All businesses should be able to implement these steps quickly and easily. Technology is helping businesses to be much greener these days but we need to start changing the way we think about things. Instead of travelling for a business meeting we need to start thinking about if that meeting can take place through video communication instead . It’s little changes in our every day working lives that will help us all to reduce carbon and maybe help us work towards becoming a carbon neutral society.