Going Green for the Life of Your Business

Happy Earth Day!

Can a small business succeed while going green?  Good question. In particular I want to know: How do you keep your business “going green” for life?  Like diets and other good intentions, it is easy to start making your business environmentally friendly, but it is much more difficult to continue.

You have read all the lists of things to do to “go green,” like:

• Using long-lasting products like compact florescent light bulbs that don’t have to be replaced as often
• Recycling rather than disposing of printer cartridges and other office consumables.
• Using products made from recycled and/or recyclable materials, such as recycled paper.
• Choosing reusable products over disposable ones whenever possible.
• Using less paper by storing on the computer
• Consuming less power by turning off lights and equipment when not in use.
• Insulating your business facilities to reduce heat loss
• When possible, using fans and open windows rather than air-conditioning to cool the office.
• Use a hybrid vehicle as your company car or truck.
• Encourage employees to telecommute, car-pool, or take public transit to work to reduce fuel consumption.

These are all great ideas.  But if you want your company and your employees to keep these green initiatives going, you have to (1) make it easy and (2) provide incentives.  For example:

• Provide incentives for car poolers by giving them the prime parking spaces.
• Make it easy to recycle by buying special bins and having the maintenance people empty them.  Or give employees a free cup of coffee when they drop off their recycling.  (This only works if they don’t otherwise get free coffee, of course).
• Give employees a rebate on printer cartridges they send back (a gift certificate to everyone’s favorite ice cream place, for example).
• Catch people turning off lights and let them go home 15 minutes early.

Using a carrot instead of a stick approach is always better.  Giving people positive reinforcement works to help keep them thinking green.  If you’re worried about the cost of these little incentives, consider all the money you’re saving when you recycle and when employees turn off lights and use less electricity.  I’m sure you can think of lots of other ideas that don’t cost much but that get people into the habit of thinking green.

The idea here is to build “thinking green” into your business culture, so everyone forms environmentally friendly habits.

Image source: flaivoloka@sxc.hu