Environmental performance; energy efficiency; eco-friendly; green- these are real buzz words and phrases within the business world at present. Not so long ago you would rarely have associated any of these phrases to a business, however they have now become a priority as the emphasis is placed on protecting the environment for generations to come and also cutting the cost of energy as prices to continue to rise. There are numerous guides and posts offering advice on how to go green and become a more eco-friendly business, yet that is just the start of the process. Once you become more aware of the environment and improve efficiency, you need to maintain this level of performance and not let it drop, which is arguably more difficult to do than making the change in the first place.
To help you stay green, specialist providers of environmental solutions, Unisan, have a collated a number of ways to maintain a fully functional, eco-friendly business;
Create a Green Team
A green team can take some of the pressure off you as a business owner to maintain a high level of energy efficiency when you have so many other facets of your business to focus on too. Made up of employees who are committed and hard working, your green team can take the lead when it comes to monitoring the performance of your business at all times.
From keeping track on your rate of recycling to being responsible for ensuring all electrical equipment is turned off at the end of each working day, this team should drive your green credentials forward and help to develop an environmentally aware culture within your company.
Invest in the Right Equipment
You need to be doing your utmost to encourage your employees to consider the environmental impact of their actions whilst at work, and one of the easiest ways to get your team doing more is to make it easy for them to recycle.
With an abundance of paperwork commonplace in many business settings, set up numerous recycling bins around your office or workspace so rather than throwing waste paper straight into the bin, it is instead deposited into the available recycling bin and collected ahead of being used again.
Run Workplace Competitions
Everyone loves a little competition and what better way to get people into the spirit of recycling and maintaining this than by running regular workplace incentives. If your company is split into different departments, interdepartmental competitions can be a great way to raise morale and maintain a high level of eco awareness at the same time. Monthly competitions could revolve around rewarding the team who recycles the most over the course of the month, with points taken off teams for computers that are left on standby overnight or lights left on when no-one is around.
By incentivising these competitions and therefore rewarding the teams who do well, you will gain far more interest than simply requesting your employees do more, and will also have a greater chance of maintaining your eco-friendly performance level in the long term.
It certainly isn’t easy to go green and stay green, however with hard work, commitment and all of your team on board, the likelihood of your efforts being successful is most definitely increased. What other effective ‘stay green’ techniques have you utilized or believe would work well? Let us know by leaving a comment.
This post was written by Oliver Kyle in partnership with Unisan; suppliers of numerous waste recycling solutions including recycling bins for both indoor and outdoor use to encourage businesses and employees to maintain their eco-friendly performance.
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