7 Ways to Make Your Business More Sustainable
At The City Bin Co., we all use our own reusable cups, which saves the equivalent of 64,000 takeaway coffee cups a year.
“Sustainability” is the buzzword of the year, but what does it actually mean to be sustainable?
Sustainability can be defined as meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. There are three pillars of sustainability: economic, environmental, and social.
In terms of business, a sustainable or green enterprise refers to one that has a minimal negative impact or possibly even a positive impact on the environment, community, society, or economy.
There are many ways your business can become more sustainable, but focusing on environmental impact, here are our top tips to boost your business’ efforts:
1 Go Paperless
A significant amount of paper printed in the workplace ends up in the bin before the day is out. Almost all formerly paper-based documents can now be handled digitally, for example, invoices, timesheets etc., making switching to digital simpler. Moreover, storing documents on cloud-based servers rather than print hard copies saves paper but also means you will never lose anything important.
2 Recycle More
About 75% of waste materials that end up in the grey bin could be recycled. The reason that a lot of people don’t recycle more is that it requires a little planning. However, at The City Bin Co., we will do this for you by;
- Carrying out a waste audit of what your business throws away and what’s recyclable.
- Putting a recycling plan in place & providing staff recycling training
- Stationing recycling bins throughout your office
- Providing a Bindex detailing your business’s recycling rates, allowing you to easily track improvements made and cost savings.
3 Switch to LED lighting
Bright LED lightbulbs use 4 to 10 times less energy than halogen and incandescent bulbs. One of the easiest ways to conserve energy is to switch out your current lightbulbs and replace them with LEDs. Although LEDs can be more expensive up front, they will pay for themselves over time through reduced energy usage and fewer lightbulb replacements.
4 Give your employees reusable water bottles and keep cups
An easy sustainability win is to ban plastic bottles at work and give your employees reusable bottles and keep cups. This change will need to be facilitated by installing water fountains or water coolers so that employees use these sources for drinking water. At The City Bin Co., we all use our own reusable cups, which saves the equivalent of 64,000 takeaway coffee cups a year.
5 Use Sustainable Products
Whether you are a restaurant or office block, your business can use sustainable products, such as printer paper, cleaning products or to-go containers.
6 Start Composting
If you own a restaurant or café that produces used coffee grinds and leftover food scraps, composting is not only a great way to divert waste from landfill but will also reduce your waste bill and it makes a brilliant resource to have your plants thriving. If you don’t have a garden to use your compost in, you can give away free compost to customers or donate it to local gardens.
7 Create a Sustainability Culture
For your organisation to be truly sustainable, you need to get buy-in from your employees. There are many ways in which you can instil green habits within your employees, here are some examples:
- Hang clear signage and posters that act as reminders to recycle and turn off lights etc.
- Encourage employees to take part in “greener” activities by rewarding sustainable practices such as riding a bike to work instead of driving.
- Make sure bins are clearly signposted and in the most useful location for your employees to dispose of waste correctly.
If you are interested in discovering how we can help you meet your sustainable business goals, click here.
If you have any great sustainable business tips, we would love to hear them – contact us on any of our social media accounts below!
