8 Ways Your Business Can Reduce Its Carbon Footprint and Save Money

Climate change and the risks of global warming may be top of mind with your employees and customers after the COP26 meetings. It has become evident that each and every person and business need to start making drastic changes to save the earth.

To stabilize climate change and global warming, experts have suggested that the first thing should be minimizing the world’s carbon footprint. You may not know how to do that, but it’s important that you start making changes now.

Flagship can help your business reduce its carbon footprint - check out how Flagship helped one client reduce 98.5% of their landfill waste and also create a new revenue stream.

Your carbon footprint is the amount of greenhouse gas emitted into the atmosphere and is caused by day-to-day activities whether you are involved directly or indirectly. For instance, it can be through things you purchase, consume or use.

Everyone is involved in producing a carbon footprint. Businesses, schools, government bodies, organizations and individuals produce carbon in some manner. But did you know that even small changes can help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions?

Here are some ideas that you can implement that will help your business minimize its carbon footprint and even save money.

Devote resources to renewable energy

Each person uses energy in one way or another; it can be through cooking, driving, or lighting. All these activities emit carbon gases, but you can reduce the amount of carbon gas used if you are using renewable energy.

The use of wind and solar energy is becoming popular globally, with major companies switching to renewable energy alternatives, which are much less harmful to the environment. The initial costs to set up solar grids or wind turbines may be high, but the savings may eventually pay off by reducing your energy bills and helping to create a cleaner working environment.

Reuse, Reduce, Recycle

A company should check on its purchasing behaviors and make sure the reuse, reduce, recycle mechanism is adapted. You should only purchase what is required in most operations. There is no need to purchase several printers in a single office while you could have integrated the systems and used only one printer to serve many or all staff members. The business should also consider buying products that are recycled and reusable to prevent overwhelming landfills.

Provide flexible arrangements for employees

Vehicles and traffic have polluted the environment for years. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, many cities that previously were covered in smog and pollutants were able to breath some cleaner air. If your business is able to allow some employees to work from home at times, allowing remote working days and flexible scheduling can reduce gas emissions caused by staff transportation either privately or through public transport.

Educate your employees

Reducing your carbon footprint requires teamwork and a team works better when they are all knowledgeable of the goals and objectives. Educate your staff and show them what they need to do and what they should avoid. You can hire an expert or a company to create or conduct training courses if you need additional help.

Consume less meat

It may surprise you that meat production has a large impact on your carbon footprint. The ineffectual conversion of plant energy to animal energy produces a lot of carbon. If you consume less meat, you help reduce the number of animals raised solely for consumption. You can also help reduce the amount of energy needed for planting, harvesting, and transporting animal feed and supplies.

Conserve water

Before you drink a glass of water, remember the water had to be pumped, purified, and sometimes warmed. All these processes use a considerable amount of energy; thus, when you waste water, you are also forcing more water to be pumped, increasing the energy costs for your business. Conserving water will help you cut energy costs and minimize gas emissions.

Partner with eco-friendly businesses

For your company to be eco-friendly, you should also associate with businesses that have the same goals. When you purchase from companies making eco-friendly products, you are helping to save natural resources. You can purchase office supplies made using recycled material, partner with companies like Natur-Bag® who have created an entire line of bioplastics that help organizations get closer to zero-waste, or work directly with your janitorial or facilities management team to start recycling and/or composting programs.

Adopt new technology

If possible, you should rely less on paperwork and start making good use of technology. Paper emits a lot of carbon gases through its production and also leads to excess waste in the environment. Instead, your company can use various software applications that can rid your offices of paperwork. If a situation requires you to use paper, please make good use of both sides to save on paper cost and reduce waste.

If you don’t know how to start to cut down the carbon footprint of your company, you can consult Flagship Facility Services. We can give you the hard facts and customize a plan that goes far beyond garbage and recycling collection. We can develop various services to help your company protect and reduce the impact you have on the environment.