Go green text written onto a carton board grass blue sky
Small businesses are facing competition not only on a local level, but online as well. With so many different products and services to choose from, going green is one of the greatest way to make a small business stick out from the competition. Going green does not only decrease the impact on the planet, it can save your company money. Take a look at how your business can make simple switches today to greatly affect not only your future, the planet’s future as well.
- The timing has never been better to make the switch to LED lights. As prices are dropping on the low energy consuming bulbs, LED lights are more affordable than ever. Not only will you save money overtime by using LED lights, you will save on maintenance since they have an average life span of 50,000 hours, which is 5 times that of the CFL bulb.
- Go digital. In the age of technology, we have the resources to cut down on our paper use. One tree on average makes 16.67 reams of copy paper. The average cost of a tossed-out piece of paper is 6 cents. The average employee prints and tosses out an average of 1,410 per year. By going digital you could save roughly $84.60 per employee each year.
- Solar power during the day. If your business runs during the day, your power could be produced by solar panels. Since most business’s today run from 8am-5pmthe lights, copiers, computers, etc.… are used all during sunlight hours, which could run from solar energy. The investment tax credit (ITC), also known as the federal solar tax credit, allows you to deduct 30 percent of the cost of installing a solar energy system from your federal taxes. There is no better time than now to make the switch!
- If your company travels for business and sales meetings, trade shows, etc. consider alternative fuel or hybrid vehicles. By reducing your carbon footprint, you are also saving fuel costs.
- Buy local. Factor in the costs of shipping when ordering promotional materials, office products and more and think about the ways that you’re also saving on emissions. Not only are you supporting other small businesses, you are saving on your overall carbon footprint.
Those are a few ways that your company can make small changes that will make huge impacts! Not only will you save money, but customers, now more than ever, care about the general behavior of companies. Going green is a trending theme that is easily promotable and it seems that everyone is interested in it. If you are going green or have already, make sure to let your marketing team take advantage of this!