How to go green and boost company profits

Drive around virtually any major city late at night and you’d think that half the city’s employees were still at work. Huge buildings are lit up as if they are full of people… when actually there are just a few security staff at work.

Many large empty office blocks sit with the lights left on all night long. Not good either for the environment, nor the business’s profits.

Figures released during Energy Saving Week showed that businesses produce 40 per cent of the UK’s carbon emissions, compared to 27 per cent for households.

The Carbon Trust advises businesses how to cut emissions. It said small and medium sized companies (SMEs) spend £6 billion a year on energy… and £1 billion of that is totally wasted. This billion alone produces 12 million tonnes of carbon each year.

The good news is that being green is rapidly becoming a major driving factor in business across the globe. It’s taken quite a few years to really catch on, but now presents a major opportunity to every business – especially small ones.

See, while big businesses need to put together green policies, appoint green “champions” and waste lots of paper while they do it, small businesses can just get on with being green and reaping the benefits.

And there are plenty of advantages of being a green business, many of which will have a positive effect on your bottom line. First off you can reduce your business’s bills. Some experts reckon you can cut your energy bills by a fifth just by following a few simple measures.

Switching off monitors and powering down computers at the end of the day will reduce your electricity bill. The rules at home apply at work too – putting a device on standby is virtually as bad as leaving it on. Switch it fully off to be green. And unplug all phone chargers.

Swap normal light bulbs for energy efficient ones, which are now extremely affordable and widely available. They also use a third less energy and tend to last longer, making them more cost effective.

If you have air conditioning on your office, ask yourself if you really need it on all of the time. Air con should be a seen as a perk for days of extreme temperature, rather than something that’s just switched on each morning.

It’s easier for offices to cut energy bills than workshops and factories. But there are simple steps that can be taken here too. Put timers on machinery so they switch themselves off at night. Look at whether machines can be insulated, and always make minor repairs before they turn into expensive problems that could shorten the life of the machine (think of the carbon generated in making a new machine!).

Being green isn’t just about saving cash. It can also be a powerful marketing tool. In this era of green awareness, you’ve got to shout about what you’re doing to reduce your impact on the environment.

Have a section on your website where you detail everything you are doing to reduce your energy usage, what’s recycled in your business, and anything else you do that’s green. This can help recruitment as well.

Put details in proposals and brochures. And have a formal green policy if you tender for any work. All of this will show your business as a driving force in making going green.

Finally this can and should be great fun, and can even be used to pull your staff together. You could have a staff outing once a year to plant trees in a forest, as part of an official carbon offsetting scheme.

Or consider running schemes like Wear A Jumper Wednesday to turn the heating down, or Turn It Off Tuesday to ensure everyone powers everything down at the end of the day.

Cheesy? Maybe. But if it’s fun and saves energy, everyone benefits.