Going green one pen at a time: how to be an eco-friendly business

Warming oceans, dwindling ice caps, and noticeable shifts in weather patterns… are you concerned?

Although Global warming is on everyone’s mind these days, Canadians and Americans are not pulling their weight in the global effort to save the planet. In fact, Canadians rank in last place for municipal waste contribution out of 17 developed countries with the USA not much farther ahead!

Both consumers and businesses need to adapt. They say old habits die hard, so do your part by starting with the little changes that you can make right now. Reducing your footprint on the environment is not only possible, it's urgent.

And hey, its not bad for your bottom line either! Green business practices can improve your ROI by significantly reducing the cost of office supplies and energy consumption.

Little Things Make a Difference

• Switch out those pens that end up in a landfill for refillable ones! Just think of how many pens one person goes through in a year…
• Look for companies that make products out of reused materials. Did you know you can get paper clips made from post-consumer metals?  Well, now you do.
• No. More. Rubber. Bands.
• You’ve heard it so many times, but we have to say it again: Recycle. Even if it’s just a general recycling box in the staffroom or one for paper by the printer - it makes a difference.
• Make the leap and become a paperless office. Millennials grew up on computers and probably won’t miss it and you’ll earn points with consumers by being so green!
• If you absolutely can’t say goodbye to paper, use recycled paper. Or, save paper by not printing whenever possible and practice double sided printing when do you.
• We would never say stop drinking coffee…but think about all those filters you throw out! Thank goodness for recycled paper coffee filters. We promise you can’t taste the difference.
• Investigate what products are being used to clean your office. Eco-friendly cleaning supplies not only smell fresh but will actually leave your work space just as clean and less toxic.
• Turn off lights and computers when they are not in use. It will save you money on energy bills and decrease the overall power consumption being used by hosting servers.
• On that topic, make your website hosting green!

We know change is hard, so even if you can implement one thing from this list, at least it’s a start.

This short list reflects some of the easiest eco-friendly changes you can make. If you are ready to commit to change on an even grander scale, check out how other companies have gone totally green.

If you can’t get on board the ‘save the planet’ train, think about it this way: waste is waste, and waste means you are throwing away money.

Not only is physical waste adding up in dollars, but your company’s costs incurred by paying for health insurance and employee sick days are affected too; A healthier workplace can result in up to a 20 percent decrease in sick days taken by employees.

Whatever your reasons for going green, both the world and your bottom line will thank you.Wondering how to motivate greener behaviors in the work-place?

‍Contact us to learn more about connecting employee engagement to your drive to become more environmentally-friendly.

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Recognizing a job well done is small gesture that can drive big results - book your free trial with Qarrot today!