This little list is deigned to be a quick way to start to make a difference straight away.
Find out what your carbon footprint is now! There's no way to improve without a starting point. The Carbon Footprint company has an easy to use and free calculator. The Carbon Trust also has a great tool. You can also get the 'My Footprint' app from WWF to calculate your footprint if your business is very much on your kitchen table.
Make a pledge to be more green. It might be that to this point you've been green where possible but it hasn't played a part in your decisions but perhaps you can go one step further. Create policies about how much paper you use, how you process waste and how you source things for your business. With a plan in mind you can keep taking steps to an ever greener future and stay on track. Here are some ideas:
Go paperless
No need to do anything by paper anymore!
Choose who you buy from carefully
Packaging, ink and even your web hosting packages can all be green.
Create less waste
By choosing what you buy, it possible to make a huge impact on waste.
Recycle if you can't avoid the waste
Choose recyclable materials or recycled products first.
Bank ethically
Check out Triodus Bank to see how banking can be.
Reduce chemicals
From cleaning to design processes, find products that are chemical free.
Use less energy
Go for LED bulbs, have devices on timers and don't leave things on standby.
Get educated
There are always new ways to go green and new thinking on good green or ethical practice. Be innovative in what and how you buy & don't assume things stay the same.
Get accredited
A great way to get support to be a green company. The Environmental Quality Mark currently operates in Staffordshire & Derbyshire and the Green Tourism Award is great for tourism businesses. You can also try Green Mark - another UK based company offering accreditation. Of course the big one is to go for BCorps status - but this may take a very long time!
Show off your sustainability practice
There's lots of evidence out there to say that customers, visitors and clients actively choose greener businesses but do you tell people? You don't need to be perfect to show off what you do already - create a simple PDF or space on your website to describe in simple bullet points what you do. Include things like:
How you save energy
Where you source from
How you check your supply chain for sustainability and ethical practices
How you reduce waste
How you give back to charity
How you reduce chemical usage
Why you are paperless
What you packaging is made of
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