How can you reduce your carbon footprint as a business?

Looking for ways to become a more sustainable business?

As a business, you may be looking for ways to become more sustainable heading into the future. One of the ways you can achieve sustainability is by analysing and looking to reduce your carbon footprint. The government has targets for net zero carbon emissions by 2050, so it makes sense to start planning now.

Here are a few practical suggestions to consider…

Switch to a green energy supplier

Look into making the switch to a registered supplier of green energy. This is easy to do by using an energy comparison website.

Invest in green energy or reduce general energy consumption

Could you look to invest in ways of generating your own energy as a business? Could the roof of your premises be suitable for solar panels or even a wind turbine? In the winter, save energy during the working day by turn down heating within your workplace by 1.5 degrees Celsius. Make sure everyone is comfortable though! In the summer you could look to redesign your office layout to create a more natural airflow to reduce the use of air conditioning units.

Energy efficient lighting for the workplace

Switching to energy-saving lightbulbs around the workplace is another way you can benefit from cost-savings as well as saving energy. Energy saving lightbulbs last up to 25 times longer than traditional bulbs. You could save 20% on your lighting costs by making the switch.

Reduce, re-use and recycle

Easy to implement, if your business is not already recycling then this is an easy way to reduce your business carbon footprint. Send all your waste cardboard and paper (confidential and none) to a secure shredding facility where it can be recycled. Ensure your IT equipment, or any item with a plug is either reused or recycled. E-waste is a serious and growing problem worldwide which can be tackled by responsible recycling. Don’t forget to recycle your business mobile phones. Think switching to recyclable packaging too. Choose to send your parcels wrapped in recyclable materials and avoid single use plastics. Reduce single use plastic usage throughout the workplace. Provide filtered drinking water, reusable glasses, mugs or recyclable disposable alternatives and recyclable coffee pods for employees to use.

Purchase eco products

One easy swap is to switch to greener products. A new energy efficient printer could help you save a considerable amount of energy as well as using greener ink cartridges that can be recycled or refilled. Greener recycled stationery products such as pens, paper, files and packaging are easy swaps to make that will help to make your business more eco conscious.

Reduce travel emissions

Many businesses will have seen their air miles drop significantly during the pandemic. Businesses have had to adapt quickly to remote meeting software, and many will continue to use this in the future. There is a significant carbon emission saving from reducing air and car travel, not to mention the cost savings on mileage as a business. You also could look to replace any company vehicles with electric alternatives. Do this gradually as you need to replace older vehicles.

Consider the carbon footprint of IT

Every time you type an email, read a news story online or check social media, you are using a few grams of carbon dioxide from the generating the energy used to power your device of PC. To combat the effects of the carbon, many companies offset their carbon usage. This can be done by planting trees, investing in green or renewable energy or signing up to a carbon offset scheme. If you need help with choosing greener alternatives, give our friendly team a call for assistance.