Many startups are finding that the competition for attention on the web is fierce. And these companies are discovering that by going green, they are demonstrating their corporate responsibility, but they are also discovering that there are economic benefits to going green. So how does a startup go green in a responsible way? Start by doing a little research on the web and list the ways a business can go green. If a company claims to be green, it must have consistency in all aspects of the business model. If your business claims to be green, you must practice what you preach.
Top Ten Ways for New Businesses to Go Green:
- Comply with all environmental regulations that are relevant to your industry. Compliance not only reduces your company’s environmental footprint, it also protects the company from any legal action or government fines.
- Develop an environmental plan for the entire company. Developing a sound environmental plan will help define your corporate culture and drive your company’s energy efficiency to minimize your footprint. The plan should clearly spell out the company’s green strategy and encourage business divisions to follow greener business practices that help shape the company’s overall green goals.
- Build green. If your business is opening a new office or expanding locations, now is a good time to include as many energy efficient features as possible. You may be looking to install energy efficient heating and air conditioning systems, as well as appliances, equipment, and lighting.
- Buy green products and services. When purchasing the necessary supplies or producing service providers for the business, it is important to think green. Business owners should consider filling supply closets with products that are made from recycled or recyclable materials, bio-based, and non-toxic. Look for office equipment that has an energy efficiency rating, such as Energy Star.
- Choose green web hosting. Many business owners have decided to go green with their website to be more consistent with their green action plan. Choose a web server that is carbon neutral and offers eco-friendly web hosting with wind or solar power. Moving a website to another web host is not a difficult task, and many web servers even offer a free site migration service.
- Adopt energy efficient practices. Using more energy efficient office equipment and implementing energy reduction practices in the office will help save the environment and your bottom line. Employers should emphasize to employees that they should be prudent and conservative with their energy use and provide tips for saving energy.
- Reduce, reuse, recycle the waste generated. Streamlining business operations can reduce waste and lead to substantial savings and increased productivity. To save money and reduce waste, small businesses should use post-consumer recycled products and reduce excessive product packaging.
- Conserve water. An efficient water use program not only reduces your business pressure on our nation’s water supply, it also reduces your business water purchase, heating, treatment and disposal costs. Small businesses can reduce water waste by implementing water saving equipment and should always try to minimize discharges to sewers.
- Adopt a company-wide pollution reduction plan. Every business is wasteful, but it’s the way you run it that separates you from the herd. Take steps to minimize waste, whether it’s paper, dirty water, or hazardous or toxic waste that requires special handling or disposal.
- Create a green marketing strategy. Get the word out about your eco-friendly business by incorporating “green” claims into your marketing strategy to boost your brand image. See tip no. 5. Many green web servers offer an emblem or certification program for webmasters who want to use their website to show the “green” green status of the business.
One last tip. Join industry association and management programs to help you stay on top of the latest developments in green equipment and processes, but also help build relationships with other green business owners in the industry.
As demonstrated, there are numerous shades of green, so going green can amount to a lot of different things. If choosing a green business-wide plan is important to you or your organization, take a closer look at your business plan to find out what green practices are in the plan and what changes need to be made. Take into account, for example, the daily practices you plan to implement and the company’s policy on green practices such as “reduce, reuse, and recycle.”