From Guest Blogger Panosavv: How and Why You Should Make Business Greener

Making your company greener not only has effects on the environment, it can also help to reduce running costs. Read on to find out some simple steps your company can make to go green.

Ways to Change

One of the key ways a company can change is to become more digital. Modern technology makes this easier than ever so there is really no excuse. If you haven’t done so already, switch your main form of communication to email as not only is this quicker to reach the recipient, it’s better for the environment. The reduction in paper production means less trees have to be cut done. You also have to consider that the pollution produced from the transportation vehicles needed in this process, which can have long-term, negative effects on the planet, is also being lowered.

Another way you could go greener is to switch from physical records to digital and start backing everything up online. Going paperless is easy. Not only will this leave with reduced costs by the end of the year, it’ll have practical, everyday benefits, such as freeing you up on space in the office. An eighteen inch, three drawer filing cabinet holds around 125,000 sheets of paper. That could be converted to around 2.5GB of data. When you consider that most online storage plans for businesses start at a minimum 1TB – that’s 1,000GB – the savings are huge.

You won’t have to keep buying printer ink and paper to make copies of every document, and your energy bills will also be reduced by not needing to power extra equipment. Electronic documents are more convenient for you and your employees anyway. You can access your files from the office on a PC or on the go with a smartphone or tablet.

Why Should You Change

Not only are some of the ways you can go greener simple and easy to implement, they can have a beneficial effect on company’s image and standing. Shoppers are more knowledgeable about the negative effects industries have on the planet, and 71% of customers think green when purchasing. Recycling, carpooling, and buying organic foods are all on the rise so by becoming a greener company and aligning your interests with the public you’ll be gaining more customers. In the United States, the average office worker goes through 10,000 sheets of paper every year (costing the business $80 per employee). That amounts to over five million tonnes wasted every year.

Millions of individuals are making changes with their personal lives so and we should be doing the same with our professional lives. How green is your business? Let us know in the comments below.