From Guest Blogger James Timpton: Green Business–Adopting the Correct CSR Strategy

With legislation constantly changing and the ability to greatly reduce utility bills each month, every business can benefit from reducing their carbon footprint. Ultimately all businesses have a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to take responsibility of their company’s effects on the environment and impact on social welfare.

In the following paragraphs we’ll breakdown everything you need to know about adopting the correct CSR strategy, from the laws in place to driving delivery vehicles in a more environmentally friendly manner.

Why you need to reduce your business’ carbon footprint

The environment is always close to the top of the agenda whenever there is any form of political debate and the UK government has proposed plans to reduce carbon emissions by up to 80% before 2015.

The hope is that by reducing our carbon footprint we will be less reliant on the import of fossil fuels, which will leave us less exposed to rising fuel prices as well as changing our environment for the better.

Strict legislation is now in place and businesses must abide by them. The Environment Agency will be able to give you a more comprehensive list of the different laws in place, but here are a few to get you started.

· You may have to apply for a permit if you produce a significant amount of air pollution.

· You must use a waste carrier to dispose of waste.

· You must obtain permission from the water company to discharge a liquid waste into your local sewage system.

How you can do your bit for the environment

Here are a few of our top tips to help your business do its bit for the environment. For a more complete list read this comprehensive guide of environmental advice for businesses.

Making your trucks more fuel efficient

If you transport goods up and down the country in trucks and other HGVs, you can greatly reduce your impact on the environment by making a few changes to the way you drive and distribute your load.

Less trips to the pumps each year will have both a positive effect on the environment and your wallet.

Place your load correctly –The key is to keep your load as low as possible and place it close to the cab. This will have a positive impact on aerodynamics and your vehicle will be more fuel efficient for that particular journey as a result.

Reduce gear changes – Each time you change gear you are consuming fuel, so avoid unnecessary gear changes.

Avoid excessive breaking – Gradually applying the brakes rather than slamming them with great force consumes far less fuel.

To find out more about how you can make the most out of your vehicle take a closer look at this truck fuel efficiency guide.

Be mindful of paper consumption

Embrace technology! In today’s digital world there really is little need to print anything. We take iPads into meetings and email our monthly reports directly to the boss, so print only when it is absolutely necessary to reduce your load on the environment. If you do have to print, try to print double-sided and recycle the paper where possible.

Ditch the disposable cups

The countless numbers of disposable cups that your office gets through each year are sent straight to the landfill. Rather than contributing to greenhouse gasses, think about giving each member of staff a reusable cup that they can wash at the end of every day.

Turn off electronics

Most offices will leave their electronics on overnight but there really is no need. It will take you 2 minutes to boot up your computer each morning and you could reduce your energy consumption by up to 25% each year just by simply switching your computer each night rather than leaving it in sleep mode.