Let’s face it, for some businesses it may not seem practical to go green. Some may even think that it’ll cost them more money to be environmentally conscious in their activities. We’re here to tell you different. Not only will it not break the bank – it’ll actually add to it! We know this because we’ve worked with these companies. We’ve seen and heard all about it. Some benefits include reduction in taxes, higher investor potential and a better public reputation.

Ways to save money by making your business greener

• Go for sustainable outdoor furniture – hint hint
• Go paperless – no more paper or printer costs
• Be energy efficient – lower bills
• Go for used or recycled furniture indoors – cheaper
• Recycle everything you can – less waste

These ways will benefit both your businesses bank account, and your contributions to the welfare of the environment. You may even be doing some of these already. One of them in particular is underrated by many businesses.

Sustainable outdoor furniture

Many businesses need some sort of outdoor furniture on their premises. From local authorities including councils, park departments, landscape departments to developers and general new build schemes. Often, these are wood installations. They’re left out to rot, literally! Wooden furniture:

• Rots
• Is easily damaged
• Is vulnerable to graffiti
• Needs frequent maintaining
• Needs regular treating

For these reasons, it’ll not only take a lot of work to maintain – it’ll need frequent replacing. This means higher costs and unnecessary waste. There is an alternative however that many businesses are turning to because of the benefits. We offer plastic wood furniture for example. It’s a no maintenance, recycled, graffiti-proof, rot-proof durable alternative which lasts far longer than typical wood or other alternatives.

Eco furniture

Businesses who do consider their furniture in their budget or green policies reap dramatic benefits. Whether it’s an outhouse door, table, gate or bench – you name it and we can make it. It’s all entirely bespoke and more importantly – it’s even able to be recycled after its use to begin the cycle again. This makes it fully sustainable in a loop within itself. So at the end of its extremely long lifespan, it can be turned back into a brand new product. This is an area where businesses often don’t consider going green, despite the many benefits of plastic wood sustainable furniture.

No more paper – use the cloud

Paper can be expensive, and a storage hog. Depending on your industry it can be more or less important. Where possible it’d be ideal to use the cloud instead. Using the cloud, you can sync documents from your PC to an online storage system. It can be accessed on any device, from anywhere. This way all of your documents can be accessed easily and remotely. Even if your meeting room doesn’t have a big screen available, try using a tablet or mobile device instead. It’ll also stop the office being clogged up. We recommend using at least two different cloud storage services just in case. You’ll also be glad you backed all your documents up just in case the worst does happen to the physical location of your workplace. Other benefits of going paperless include:

• Everything is backed up
• Higher data security
• Environmentally friendly>
• Lower energy consumption
• No more printers, ink cartridges or other office supplies

Paperless is the future

Just like with most other initiatives – it may not be practical for your business to go completely paperless. By using some of what we’ve referred to here, you can still get some of the benefit. Reduction in costs, accessibility and efficiency are benefits not to be underestimated. This is especially true for small businesses, who can use it to improve their bottom line at a time when they need it the most.

Energy efficiency to reduce costs

Using energy is unavoidable, but how and when you use it can be improved if you know how. This can make your workplace more cost effective and greener at the same time. Common energy hogs for businesses include devices or systems that aren’t always considered. Being efficient can be introduced into work culture gradually, and can lead to big savings and less resource waste in the company. Common ways for businesses to go green and save energy include:

• Turn off lights when they’re not needed.
• Replace incandescent lamps or lights with efficient LEDs.
• Maintain cooling or heating units.
• Be restrained in adjusting temperatures.
• Turn off all printers, copiers, monitors and other equipment during non-business hours.
• Make sure the whole workforce is on-board and aware so they can aid the process.

Energy and your business

Reducing energy use is one of the easier ways to save money and reduce damage to the environment. This is especially true if you haven’t considered your workplaces use of energy yet. The differences over time can be massive.

Recycled furniture for your workplace

Almost every business needs chairs, tables, desks and other furniture items. Many businesses go for brand new pieces, not really considering the other options available. Not only can they save you money and aid the environment, you can also go for unique pieces to give your workplace a stylish feel. The available furniture often looks new despite being used – as other businesses often hastily throw out old pieces when moving office or restyling their workplace. Benefits of using recycled furniture in businesses include:
:

• Save money – often 30%-50% savings per piece
• Less use required of natural resources
• Unique visuals

Indoor furniture can be green too

All businesses have some sort of indoor and outdoor furniture. If it is outdoor, we recommend our plastic wood for longevity and value for money. Indoor office type locations, we strongly recommend recycled or refurbished furniture for the many reasons above.

Recycling waste

No matter your industry, you’re likely to have some sort of waste product. This can often be transformed at least partially into another product or item. It’s worth encouraging recycling initiatives across your business. If the workforce are also on board – it can be dramatically beneficial for both you and the environment.

• Lower waste management service costs
• A greener and happier business
• Improved company image

Recycle for your businesses and the environments future

The vast amount of paper, cardboard and other usual office waste can be recycled to make huge differences over time. Once these processes are introduced, it’ll become part of your day and not require any extra time investment. This way you can reap the financial and environmental benefits.

There’s a lot you can do!

In summary, engaging in just some of these processes can be extremely beneficial for your workplace. What other environmental initiatives exist in your workplace? Let us know and we’d love to add them. We’d also love to hear about how it goes with implementing some of these, and what positive effects you have seen.