Increasing the planet’s sustainability is currently a top priority around the world. Since consumers are increasingly demanding that businesses contribute to this cause, it’s vital that you make an effort to help. One way to do this is by inspecting your carbon footprint (the greenhouse gas emissions you cause). From using a commercial compactor to recycling, there are many things you can do. If you’re wondering where to start, here are three ways to reduce your business’s carbon footprint.
1. Decrease Your Plastic Waste
An easy way to start reducing your business’s carbon footprint is to look for single use plastics. This term refers to plastics that are used once and then discarded, such as certain bottles, straws, garbage bags, and cutlery. As this list shows, the companies that should be paying particular attention to this step are restaurants. However, any business can get better in this area. If you have an abundance of single use plastics, try to replace some with reusable options. If you can’t, look for ways to reduce your usage. For instance, you can lessen the amount of plastic garbage bags you use by getting a commercial compactor.
2. Use Sustainable Lighting
If you’re looking for a way to help the environment without making any severe changes, you might want to try using more sustainable lighting. Start off by putting energy-efficient lightbulbs into your fixtures. These bulbs generally last longer and use less energy. Most people tend to use LEDs, or light-emitting diodes, due to the particularly high efficiency the kind provides. You can also decrease the amount of artificial light your company uses. One way to do this is by making use of natural light. Place work areas by windows and encourage everyone to turn off some lights when the sun is out. You could also install smart lighting systems. This technology can create automatic light settings that aren’t vulnerable to human error.
3. Lessen Your Road Travel
Many companies require workers to utilize road travel for various reasons. However, driving uses fossil fuels and releases dangerous emissions into the air. While it may seem near impossible, your company can greatly help the environment by lessening your amount of road travel. An efficient way to do this is by using modern GPS devices. This form of technology lets drivers find the best routes to any location, thus decreasing the amount of time spent on the road. It may only save a few minutes, but that amount of travel adds up over time.
Environmental sustainability is a hard goal to reach, but it isn’t something to give up on. If you play your part, both your business and the earth can reap the rewards.
