How to Become Enviromentally Conscious Company

Going green can seem like an arduous task for a business – the daily job is hard enough without having to take care of the environment, too. The reality is that implementing environmentally-friendly measures is much easier than one might initially think. Furthermore, going green is quite the business move in itself, as cutting down on waste means saving money, in addition to helping the planet!
Big and small businesses alike can make an effortless transition into becoming environmentally-conscious companies. Many of the suggestions usually given for domestic environments apply to the office too such as reducing water, electricity, and paper consumption. Turning off water taps and machines when not in use goes a long way. Maximising email communication is another great way to lessen printer-use, and when printing is unavoidable, why not make double-sided copies and print in draft mode to decrease ink or toner usage?

Where to start

Managers, of course, should be responsible for showing their employees that the transition is a serious one. Creating and presenting an energy consumption audit of the business is a fantastic start, as it will clarify exactly the areas in which improvements need to be made. Furthermore, efforts can be taken to ease the process: placing recycling bins in easily-accessible areas will make the initiative seem less like a chore and more like an attractive and inclusive project.

Encourage Employees

Why not introduce a ‘Green department of the Year’ award and give away small promotional items made from recycled material as an award to the winners? You could also make going green fun. One simple idea to achieve this is by introducing appealing recycling bins.

Your business can help employees be green on the way to work, too! Organise a carpool system to minimise car-use, and encourage eco-friendly transportation methods such as walking and cycling.

Top tip: Do your employees know that when carpooling, cars with at least three passengers (including the driver) are allowed to make use of the priority lanes (bus lanes) across the island?

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

If you really want to maximise the greenness of your company, make connections with green resource suppliers! Make sure to choose suppliers who take back packaging for reuse, and when buying photocopy paper which will be used internally, opt for the recycled kind. Aside from this, don’t replace resources unless absolutely necessary – there’s no need to chuck out your office furniture when you could have it refurbished and redecorated to look fresh and clean!

Simple Measures that can make a difference

There are also several more subtle measures that can be introduced at the office that will make a big environmental difference in the long run. Making sure that offices are cleaned using biodegradable products is one such example. Also encouraging all employees to put their computers in sleep mode when not in use could save the company up to €45 per computer every year in energy costs. It’s quite a lot of money when put in context – let that be an incentive! Similarly, compact-fluorescent (CFL) or LED lights may be more expensive, but in addition to consuming less energy, they also last much longer than regular light bulbs.

Whether your business is already doing its part for the environment, or is still making the transition into going green, we at Laferla Insurance won’t judge. However, we will offer you great deals on business insurance, which can be found here.

Have a look at our recycling infographic: