How Your Small Business Can Go Green in 2021

If you want your business to grow faster in 2021, you have to implement forward-thinking strategies. While there are many things you could do in that regard, nothing beats going green. The world is becoming more environmentally conscious. Many businesses that are implementing eco-friendly practices are not only attracting customers but boosting employee morale and productivity. Granted, you don’t have to struggle to build your image and reputation this year; simply go green. Here’s what you need to do.

Procure green and sustainable products from green sources

If you want to make your business eco-friendly, start by practicing green procurement. This means getting your goods from clean, environmentally friendly, and sustainable sources. More precisely, you should tweak your procurement policies to ensure all your purchased goods:

• Are eco-friendly. They should not contain toxic materials
• Are manufactured sustainably
• Are recyclable
• Are designed with less packaging
• And much more

 

A good place to begin is sourcing your office groceries from local suppliers instead of those based far away.

Become more energy efficient

According to the Environmental and Energy Study Institute, U.S. buildings use about 40% of the total energy for heating, lighting, operating appliances, and cooling. More and more businesses are looking for more energy-efficient ways to run their daily operations to reduce this figure, and there’s no reason why you should not be involved. When you use less energy, you reduce the demand for electricity, thereby reducing carbon emissions at the electricity production plants.

You can get started by insulating your building to prevent energy loss, replacing your heating and cooling systems with more energy-efficient ones, and using solar energy to power your appliances. By doing so, you’ll be helping your business reduce its carbon footprint.

Try going paperless

While your business may not be able to do without hard copy documents, you can try to reduce your usage of paper as much as you can. Some businesses have managed to go completely paperless and their effort has been acknowledged by their customers and employees through increased loyalty and productivity.

 

You can reduce the amount of paper you use by only printing documents when it is extremely necessary. Secondly, you can start sending more information to your clients electronically instead of using traditional mail. Third, you can switch to cloud computing. This will enable your employees to share information electronically and help you reduce your printing costs while reducing your carbon footprint.

Adopt eco-friendly software applications

Today, we have many mobile and desktop applications that are helping businesses reduce their carbon footprint, improve their environmental habits, and generally become more eco-friendly. You can take advantage of them this year to train your employees to go green while becoming more efficient and accountable. For instance, you can create an app for messaging within certain channels or to individuals directly. Such applications are primarily focused on communication and productivity, although having them would make it easy for you to manage remote tasks. In other words, that means that you would not be required to commute to your office every day.

As you’d agree with me, anything that helps workers to operate remotely without reducing their productivity is great; an awesome win-win for the business and the environment. The best part is that you can use an excellent app maker to customize an app that is most convenient for your business and unique to your business goals.

Use natural decorations

Nothing showcases a company’s eco-friendliness than natural decorations like green plants. Including plants and flowers in and around your business premises not only beautifies the environment but helps clean the air and brighten the mood. That creates a healthier and happier business environment. You can also adorn your walls and floors with recycled material like hardwood flooring, bamboo art, and bigger windows to let in natural light. Creating an eco-friendly space will make your customers and employees feel more peaceful and happier in 2021.

Final Thoughts

There are many ways to become eco-friendly in 2021. However, simply practicing green procurement, becoming more energy-efficient, creating eco-friendly business applications for your business, going paperless, and using natural decorations would be enough. Remember that your employees and customers are always watching. Win their trust and loyalty by implementing the strategies above in 2021.