Turning your business green

One of my friends runs a small business.

It’s not a green business (it’s something to do with financial consultancy that I don’t understand!) and she’s never pretended it will be.

But I had an exiting conversation with her this week because guess what?

She’s been inspired by my crazy antics of saving the world and has decided to look at her business and create a corporate social responsibility policy!

To say I did a happy dance would be an understatement.

But I knew what was coming, right?

“I don’t suppose you could help me create it could you?” came the big brown eyes, one morning, over (fairtrade) coffee!

At a basic level I think that making your office and business greener is a bit like scaling up the things you can do at home such as:

• Recycling
• Turning electronics off when not in use
• Turning down the heating thermostat
• Emailing rather than sending a letter

None of it is rocket science, but you do need to apply more thought and detail to a business; especially if you have staff to motivate.

Thankfully there is a lot of great information out there and I’ve been looking at the fantastic free “Green Guide for Small Business” from XLN Telecom.

They promise to help your business be more sustainable and show how going green is great for the environment AND your bottom line.

Their full green guide, which I’m currently reading, is split into three sections:

• The first section focuses on free ways to go green right now
• The second talks about initiatives that require a financial outlay but will save money in the future
• The final section covers some of the best services and wider initiatives designed to help businesses confirm their status as an environmentally friendly organisation.

What I love about the guide is it’s so down to earth. They state “It is estimated that 30% of all the energy in the UK is wasted, so before you spend excessive amounts on solar panels and wind turbines to produce more energy, manage the amount you are wasting first.”

Isn’t that great? They really are promoting those little things that are free and can make a difference – just the sort of no-nonsense advice I love.

Take a look at the infographic below which gives you a sneak peak of some of the fantastic information they’ve packed into their “Green Guide for Small Business”; then click on it to download your very own guide!

What about you? What advice would you have for my friend? What are those aspects we often overlook or take for granted when going green?