8. Preventing the air conditioning from turning on unless the temperature reaches a certain degree without first sharing in the importance of conserving energy has a greater chance of lowering workplace morale. For example, if the office reduces waste or reduces energy usage by 25%, the company will host a company picnic or take a group trip to a baseball game or other fun event (of course, you should let employees pick the prize! CFL and other energy-efficient bulbs use up to 75% less energy. 29 Cost-Saving Sustainability Ideas for Businesses Energy Cost-Saving Sustainability Ideas. Working outside can boost productivity and encourage individuals to connect with nature. It requires a substantial amount of initial investment but cuts energy costs in the long run. Consolidate all the local farmer’s markets and share their information with your employees as a motivation way to get them to purchase locally sourced products. This, too, signals more companies ramping up commitments to operate sustainably and understanding that sustainability risks are business risks. He has been covering the pallet and packaging industries for 25 years. These campaigns raise awareness among employees and workers about the role they can play in reducing energy consumption. 3. Unfortunately, the amount of resources needed to grow meat is incredibly harmful to the environment. The ranking, compiled by sustainability-focused media and investment research firm Corporate Knights, started with over 7,500 publicly-listed companies with a gross revenue of at least $1B. The goal is for each department to compete in having the lowest amount of waste and excess energy used at the end of a week or month. Encourage employees to relax without electronics by providing various board games in the break room. Print only what is necessary: Many documents have little or no future purpose and should not be printed. While low-maintenance solar panels won't be the best fit for every business, they are well worth investigating. Use pictures. 12. Make eco-friendly soaps that can be used in the office and at home. 6. 18. For pharma manufacturers, sustainability will always be a challenging area to address, but a multifaceted approach can provide the most effective results. Provide instructions to employees about switching off lights and energy-consuming appliances before leaving the workplace or when rooms are otherwise not in use. 26. Hey there! Keep windows and doors closed when running any HVAC: This is common sense. When rooms are not in use, turn off the lights. And in production and distribution, reusable transport packaging systems can offer whopping cost savings and sustainability benefits to supply chain stakeholders. Ways you can reduce water usage on your business premises include: Fixing dripping taps, plumbing leaks, and installing low-flow toilets and faucet aerators in your washrooms. While encouraging employees to reduce their printing habits, switch to recycled paper and share your reasons behind it. Be aware of over-lighting: Make sure your employees know the perfect level of lighting in a room. A minimal waste initiative is a way to reduce company waste and save resources. Use both sides of paper: Use both sides of papers when printing, photocopying and faxing. 25. Individuals are more electricity conscious when they are in their own home because they are the ones paying the bill. Weigh each departments garbage at the end of the day or week. A lot of waste is derived from workplace eating habits. Since the transportation industry involves the shipment of goods from one location to another, the basic responsibility of reducing carbon emissions takes priority. Count the time employees order delivery food instead of bringing their lunch. Sustainability campaign on food Without this, the eco-friendly activities may as well be meaningless. 7. Visit local recycling centers that help you reduce business waste disposal costs or social enterprises that re-purpose electronic goods for the developing world such as cameras, also allowing you to donate computers. Tie their success into performance goals if it makes sense. The idea of a green university explicitly focuses on improving the impact that buildings and the campus have on the environment. Reduce the number of bins in the office by placing a few centrally located bins and removing personal bins under each employee’s desk. Offices love to keep the lights on, by sharing the importance of sustainability with your employees, everyone can work together to share in the effort. Avoid cooling or heating unused areas: Sometimes heating or cooling appliances are installed in a way that they heat or cool unused areas such as corridors and storerooms. Herb gardens are often easy to grow and create an added reward for the employees who contribute. After conducting one of these audits, most auditors will share ideas on how you can improve your companies energy use. love this list! You can teach employees about this waste and share ideas with them on how they can combat it. Install only energy-efficient light bulbs: Instead of installing low-cost, energy-devouring bulbs, consider investing in CFL, LED light bulbs, and halogens for significant long-term energy savings. Top 20 Sustainable Business Ideas for 2020 1. A sustainability campaign includes a set of activities, with the goal of achieving a positive change. Today’s transportation industry experts understand how each mil… How Long Will It Take That Bag of Trash to Decompose in a Landfill? Try to understand the invoice completely and consult your energy supplier for ways to reduce costs. Unplug appliances after turning them off: Many appliances continue to consume energy even after they are switched off. While a completely paperless office might not be practical for many businesses, you can probably digitize a lot of your document sharing. 27. Decrease printing by making use of different online document sharing applications such as Dropbox or Google Docs. If you’re not sure of the best place to plant trees in your community, reach out to a local arborist for suggestions. Operating amid a strict regulatory environment that governs patient safety and product effectiveness, these companies must often look beyond the more traditional paths to achieving strides in environmental responsibility. These 10 innovative companies got high marks for conserving resources, reducing harmful emissions, and making "green" products. Solicit additional ideas from employees for resource conservation. Proactiveness, co-creation and transparency, will embark all your employees, inclusively and equally, into the journey towards sustainability culture. Partner with Employees. Here are 29 ways to go green while also saving money. Not only is this a greener way of kitting out the office, but it will also be significantly cheaper. Source pre-owned office furniture by sourcing them at architectural salvage companies, liquidation sales and auctioneers. Educate your employees about those features and encourage them to use them. However, many of the case studies out there tend to address large-scale projects in organizations with huge budgets, and they reveal impressive results. So, consider unplugging the appliances before leaving the office. It enables you to save big without impeding the overall operations of your business. Just as insufficient light in a room can hamper the productivity of your employees, over-lighting can cause the employees headaches, eye strain, and glare. 13. An inclusive method to do this is through healthy, department competition. Combat this by working together with employees to learn about and create rainwater harvesting bins that can be used to supplement the office’s water supply. Commitment is the first step in converting your business into a green and sustainable one. Whether you operate a small business or work for a large corporation, finding measures that reduce costs and increase sustainability should be a big part of your business plan. Know the biggest energy costs: The U.S. Department of Energy has identified... Green Waste Management Ideas. Shut vents to unused areas, and condition only the areas that need it. Good places to start include problem-solving inefficient energy practices and ideas for reducing waste. Be creative! One day you may be able to achieve zero waste in your business. Another encouraging sign is the number of companies engaging with stakeholders on environmental, social and governance issues. The Definitive List – 55 Campus Sustainability Ideas 1. Who knows? Consider making a call to your provider to request one. I share my experience in my book Cleanlots as well as provide free support. Benchmark against other companies. Invite children to present at employee gatherings on why the environment is important. Make bird feeders for the home and office. Once that is done, do it again. After sharing the amount of waste collected from a weeks worth of eating, you can start an initiative for employees to bring their own food to work, thus, minimizing food container waste. We want to help the environment, but we don’t want to go crazy doing it. Companies all over the world are focusing on improving their sustainability practices. This can become a great long-term team building activity. But it is recommended that opportunities are given to employees that allow them to take advantage of nature and appreciate why your company is fighting so hard to push for a more sustainable future. Below, we’ll look at corporate sustainability examples from the top 8 companies … 10. You can cut your paper usage, costs, and waste nearly in half this way. Commit to a recycling program, develop a plan, assemble a team, and launch the program. A good mission statement with a sustainability focus keeps the company on track during adverse times and helps in fighting the eternal battle between commercialization and values. Change Your Team Habits Big changes start with small steps. Replace desktops with laptops: Laptops consume considerably less energy than desktops. If your company has the property that can support tree growth, this can be done right outside the office. Allow any employee who helps with the garden to share in its harvest. Go low-flow: Make sure the showers, taps, and faucets are outfitted with low-flow technology wherever possible. If a lot of desktop computers are used in your office, consider replacing them with laptops in your next computer upgrade. For office moves, take advantage of reusable moving crates. Examples include: Giving employees the opportunity to explore nature can often lead to a stronger desire towards wanting to preserve it. While this can be a great team building activity, it could also lead to good press and marketing opportunities. As an experienced consultant in helping small and medium size businesses, Therese suggests ten low-cost yet effective ideas to improve sustainability in your Australian workplace. 15. Invest the time in training employees on the importance of sustaining the environment and share what the organization is doing to help conserve resources. share share share share share. Choose videoconferencing: Arranging meetings in your office incurs costs. Herb gardens can be created virtually anywhere. Buy used furniture: When decorating your office, consider buying quality used furniture. It is easy to print posters and put them all over the office in an effort to engage employees in sustainability. Charge appliances overnight: If your utility provider offers a time-of-use plan, the costs of energy at night are cheaper than during the day. Unfortunately, most of them are spending their time on phones and tablets. But sometimes people can get careless and keep doors or windows open, causing the heating or cooling equipment to consume more energy than necessary. Using a high-efficiency pressure washer for cleaning jobs. However, Ford Motor Company is changing this narrative through their ten-part environmental policy that … Allow employees to work remotely: Allowing employees to work from home and away from the office can save costs in many ways. 9. Installing light dimmers is a good way to compensate for varying levels of natural light in a room. Install motion-sensor taps: Employees and workers can unintentionally leave taps running. 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