Go green is more than just a slogan. Today customers are demanding to do business with socially responsible companies. The good news for small business owners is that going green also means you have a new way to attract customers and grow your business while you reduce costs. What can you do as a small business? There are many options available to go green in 2018 from inexpensive and simple process and equipment changes to larger scale solar and wind installations. Remember, that no matter what green initiatives you implement it is vital that you publicize your efforts and intentionally integrate your green credentials into your marketing strategy and company messaging.
Energy Audits
Energy audits are a quick way to identify areas where you can save energy and costs. There are many free or low cost energy audit programs available. Energy audits help you track your current energy usage patterns. Based on your pattern of consumption an energy audit will identify changes you can make to your building, employee behaviors, processes and equipment that will reduce your consumption and save you money.
Equipment
Take inventory of your equipment. If you are using desktop computers consider changing to more energy efficient laptops or tablets. If you have refrigerators, stoves and microwaves on site that are old upgrade to EnergyStar appliances for additional energy savings.
Lighting
Lighting can be expensive for a small business owner. Switching your light bulbs to LED's will increase your energy efficiency, reduce replacement cycles and cut your energy costs. Another simple change is helping employees to be more aware of turning off lights and computers. Provide energy-saving tips for your employees and reward the right energy-saving behaviors. You may be surprised at how much your energy costs drop. Adding automatic sensors to your lighting system is another great way to control costs.
Office Efficiency
Make your offices energy efficient. Save trees, reduce paper costs, reduce your need to recycle and save a little space at the same time. Switch as many of your company processes to digital as possible and consider more telecommuting. Not only are you greening your office you are helping to cut down on CO2 emissions by reducing the number of cars on the road.
Eco-Friendly Products
Other inexpensive ways to make your company greener include switching to environmentally friendly cleaning products and adding organic food choices to your cafeteria or lunchroom. According to the Green Business Bureau, using products that promote a healthier workplace results in a decrease in the number of employee sick days. Fewer sick days translates into increased productivity and decreased medical benefit costs that green your bottom line.
Tax Credits
Implementing environmentally friendly business practices may qualify your company for certain tax credits for things like interior lighting, efficient HVAC and hot water systems, solar or wind energy and fuel-efficient alternative vehicle fleets. There are also other programs like bonus depreciation advantages and subsidies. Not only can you benefit from immediate tax relief you reap the long-term benefits of low cost energy for years to come.
Educate Yourself and Others
Educate yourself on green practices. Go green in 2018 and become an expert in energy efficiency and green branding. When you become an expert in greening a business you can use that knowledge to create a new income stream as a consultant or share that knowledge for free to develop new, strong, healthy business relationships that can expand the reach of your business.
Expand Your Green Products and Services
No matter what kind of small company you run there are ways to expand your business and your customer base by introducing new green products and services. Restaurants can expand their menus to include farm to table or locally sourced foods. Beauty parlors or nail salons might consider organic body care products and eco-friendly cleaners. Office machine companies or appliance stores might introduce a recycling program offering to pick up and recycle old appliances or toner cartridges. If you are a marketing company you could add green app development as an additional service. Going green can really help attract a new demographic, increase your customer pool and increase your profits.
With over 12 years in the business, Quikstone Capital Solutions has proven to be a trustworthy and knowledgeable lender specializing in small business funding. Over 60% of our clients are renewals looking to continuously grow their business. Whether you need cash for emergencies, cash to cover unexpected costs, or if you’re looking to make long overdue improvements, Quikstone Capital can help.
