Nowadays, environment protection is a challenge that preoccupies not only the regular population but businesses and organizations as well.
Indeed, the increase in citizens’ environmental awareness has created a strong demand for more ecological business practices. Therefore, companies have no choice: They have to adapt, not only for the health of our planet, but also to please their customers.
If you are one of these companies, and you want to make your business more eco-responsible, you are at the right place. Here, you will discover 7 tips to become a green company.
Here you will discover 5 tips to become a green company.
Tip #1 to become a green company: Eco-responsible waste management
You may not realize how much waste your company produces on a daily basis. Garbage and trash accumulates very quickly: Coffee capsules, paper, water bottles, paper towels, packaging, food, etc.
The ultimate goal is to reduce your waste production to a minimum. This can be done by implementing small changes: Using digital alternatives to paper, buying reusable coffee cups for your employees and other simple swaps.
Obviously, it’s almost impossible to reduce your waste production to zero. This is why it is important to compost and recycle.
If you can, get a compost bin and several recycling bins for your company. Also, make sure that your employees are familiar with the recycling rules.
Tip #2 to become a green company: Allow remote work
Remote work has grown a lot in popularity over the last few years. This model allows employees to work from home, offers them more flexibility and work/life balance. But remote work also reduces their commuting time!
Reducing the use of transport lowers the ecological footprint generated by your activities. Also, fewer people in your office means less heating and electricity costs! Everyone wins.
Tip #3 to become a green company: Go digital
Many businesses still use exclusively traditional marketing to generate sales. This method is often less efficient than digital methods, but it also has an significant impact on the environment. Indeed, printing and sending hundreds of thousands of promotional flyers is not very ecological.
By switching to digital marketing, you can replace those tons of wasted paper with online newsletters or even use your website to sell your products or services instead of travelling to meet clients.
These options aren’t perfect, but are still a noticeable improvement.
Tip #4 to become a green company: Encourage ecological transportation methods
In order to reduce the environmental impact of your xompany, you can encourage your employees to use greener means of transport when they have to come to the office.
There are many ways to get to work other than taking the car: Walking, running, biking, carpooling and taking public transit.
Whichever the method you want to encourage, make sure to offer realistic solutions to your employees. For example, you can reimburse the use of public transport or set up a carpooling program within the organization.
Be creative!
Tip #5 to become a green company: Implement energy efficiency measures
Obviously, your business needs different energy sources to operate on a small and large scale. Depending on your industry, you might consider using renewable energy sources, such as solar panels, for example.
But using energy more efficiently can be even simpler! For example, you can replace traditional light bulbs with more energy efficient LED bulbs. LED bulbs use up to 80% less energy and last much longer than incandescent bulbs. You can also opt for Energy Star computer equipment. This equipment is designed to reduce energy consumption while maintaining high performance. There are various renewable or more ecological energy sources that do not necessarily require a large investment, but still lower your carbon footprint.
Tip #6 to become a green company: Raise ecological awareness among your employees
Raising employee awareness is key to becoming a green company. Indeed, employees are important players in the success of your ecological initiatives. Their commitment and active participation are necessary to create a sustainable corporate culture and to generate a positive impact on the environment.
Raising employee awareness can involve educating them on current environmental issues, informing them about the company’s green initiatives, and encouraging them to adopt environmentally friendly behaviours at work and in their daily lives. This awareness can take different forms, such as training, regular communications, participatory initiatives, incentives, and recognition.
Make it fun, and you will definitely be able to make a difference!
Tip #6 to become a green company: Become carbon neutral
We can’t give you tips on how to become a green business without mentioning the possibility of becoming carbon neutral! Our online tool offers you the possibility to easily calculate the ecological footprint of your company. Then, you can consider measures to reduce it, or ultimately become carbon neutral!
By becoming carbon neutral, your company will contribute to the fight against climate change and will send a strong message about its commitment to environmental sustainability. It is an approach that can greatly improve your brand image, strengthen the confidence of your customers and partners, while making a real contribution to the preservation of our planet.
To conclude, we hope these eco-friendly tips inspire you to become greener! By implementing these changes, your business can play an important role in preserving the health of our planet and meeting growing consumer expectations for sustainable practices.
Together, we can build a more environmentally friendly future for future generations.
Bonus: Examples of green changes by local companies
To inspire you, here are some Canadian companies that have implemented changes within their organization to reduce their ecological footprint and become greener companies.
- Cook It, a meal box subscription company, is currently working on an eco-friendly project to deliver their meals and food in reusable bags and containers.
- Matt & Nat, a vegan handbags and accessories company, implemented in 2007 a more eco-friendly manufacturing process. All their accessories are made of 100% recycled plastic bottles.
- The company Hoaka Swimwear, created in 2020 an eco-friendly line of swimsuits made from recycled plastic bottles.
- Chocolats Favoris, a Quebec company, has started a transformation of its supply chain by choosing sustainably sourced cocoa. The latter makes it possible, among other things, to reduce deforestation and promote ecological practices.
There are also more and more companies and organizations that have decided to become carbon neutral, such as Danse K par K, TEC-Canada, Distribution Livrapide and many others.
Did you know that you can calculate your ecological footprint precisely and for free? Do the math now! Calculate my carbon footprint.