From Guest Blogger Emma Sturgis: Enviro-Friendly Biz–Four Ways To Incorporate Green Business Initiatives

Social responsibility has become a very central part of businesses. Where most companies used to focus on giving back to the community with charity work, businesses are now realizing just how important it is to start going green. With many environmentalists pointing the finger of blame at corporations, there has never been a better time than now to take accountability and turn your company into an environmentally friendly business. Improving energy efficiency, understanding their carbon footprint, and making products and services more sustainable are just some of the initiatives businesses are implementing into their corporation. Not only do companies have a responsibility to the environment, but going green has a big impact on how the general public views a business. The days of individuals turning a blind eye to the environment are now long gone. Here are 4 easy ways to incorporate green business initiatives.
Take A Good Hard Look At Your Energy Consumption

As a growing business, it can be difficult to keep track of your energy consumption. When you take a good hard look at the carbon footprint of your business, you may find yourself quite surprised. It is important to take care of the little things that will make a big difference in your energy consumption. By simply switching to LED light bulbs, you will be able to save cut down greatly on your energy consumption. A study has shown that switching just 25 bulbs to LED cold save you over $6,000 over 50,000 hours in energy costs. Investing in energy efficient printers, computers, heating and cooling units, and other necessary business tools will both save your business money and help protect the environment.
Go Digital And Ditch The Stacks Of Paper

The average American uses about 680 pounds of paper each year. When you go digital at the office, it is much easier to eliminate the waste your employees create. Going digital with your records will also help you to maintain much more accessible records while keeping your office organized and clean. Communicating through email instead of office memos will be more effective and less damaging to the environment. When your business absolutely has to use paper, is important to use paper that was created from post-consumer waste.
Go Green With Your Roof

A green roof is one of the most eco-friendly changes that a business can make. While converting to a green roof can be a costly investment up front, it is one that will pay off big in the end with heating and cooling costs. There are many green roofing advantages, but tax rebates for green roofs have also created a financial incentive for businesses looking to offset the initial cost of converting their roof. The new technology in the green roof industry has lowered costs making the conversion a much more reasonable switch. Don’t be afraid to conduct your own research and find more info on roofing options.
Create Green Office Policies

One aspect of running their business that many corporations may not think is affecting the environment is their dress code. When professionals have to wear a suit to the office every day, the trips to the dry cleaners add up. Dry cleaners can damage the environment with their chemicals and carbon footprint. However, if a business were just to allow their employees to dress casually some of the time, they could greatly reduce the frequency their employees would have to visit the dry cleaners. This is just one example of many green office policies that could be applied to an eco-friendly business.

By applying these initiatives to your business, your business will be on the forefront of the eco-friendly movement. These small and simple changes will really add up over the years. Becoming an eco-friendly organization is much easier than many businesses may have ever imagined.