Talking About Green

“Are you green?” has become a question that is on the tip of the tongue. We apply to everything from shopping bags to shoes, to emphasise the fact that various products now cause less harm to the environment than they were previously known to cause.  However, when it comes to business, ensuring your employees carry their work home in hemp bags simply isn’t going to be enough to save the planet.

You need to address the following

1. Reducing your business’s environmental impact.
2. Save money through increased energy efficiency.
3. Identify the tax advantages of capital investments that improve energy efficiency
4. Highly regarded brand reputation as you demonstrate to customers, suppliers and employees that you are a green business.
5. Increase your bottom line with energy and cost savings.
6. Reduce carbon emissions.
7. Differentiate yourself from your competitors.
8. Stimulate innovation

Among the changes businesses are expected to make, commitment to reduction of carbon emissions is amongst the most important.  Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) is a new scheme aimed at slashing the amounts of carbon dioxide pumped into the atmosphere by large companies by offering financial rewards for doing so.  As sad as it may be that companies require financial incentive to stop destroyed the planet, this is the state we find ourselves in.  Of course, there are myriad different ways in which a company can reduce its carbon emissions, though one of the most effective ways is by ensuring they are using energy efficient buildings.  Every day, a massive amount of energy is wasted on fuelling commercial buildings; buildings with a lack of decent insulation, filled with energy inefficient machinery and devices, and lit by incandescent light bulbs with a lifespan a tenth as long florescent alternatives.

Simply investing in suitable windows, light bulbs and equipment in a commercial building will go a huge way to reducing the carbon emissions of the company as a whole.  Turning off lights and electronic devices when not in use, as well as investing in eco-friendly boiler systems and furnaces will also help make a building more energy efficient and help your company get in line with new legislation.

As a director of a company, your habits and routine will have an impact on the rest of your team. Think about how many times a day you are boiling the kettle, how much paper you are using and are you more electrical appliances than necessary? Making these cut backs and influencing others to do the same will have a big effect on your ability to stay ‘green’.

While we must ensure we take every little step towards making businesses and households as eco-friendly as possible, we must ensure we don’t overlook the big changes as well.  If recycling and hemp bags are a small step in the right direction, ensuring our buildings are as energy efficient as possible is a huge leap.

Author

Tim Smith; advising on energy efficient buildings and providing greener environments in the workplace.