What is the single best tip to help boost environmental impact for a small business?

To help small businesses boost their environmental impact, we asked environmental experts and business leaders this question for their best tips. From focusing on energy efficiency to not neglecting small and local environmental changes, there are several tips that may help small businesses take the best steps to improve green practices at the office.

Here are 12 tips to improve green practices at the office:

● Reduce Commuting To Reduce Greenhouse Gasses

● Don’t Neglect Small and Local Environmental Changes

● Focus On Energy Efficiency

● Work With Eco-Friendly Products and Partners

● Rethink Your Paper Use

● Offset You and Your Staff's Carbon Dioxide Emissions

● Make the Move to LED Lighting

● Calculate and Manage Your Carbon Footprint

● Use Sustainable Storage as Much as Possible

● Invest in Renewable Energy

● Recycle and Do Composting for Waste Reduction

● Make Your Product Packaging More Eco-Friendly

Reducing Commuting To Reduce Greenhouse Gasses

As a Certified B Corporation, VIPdesk has an obligation to decrease our carbon footprint by 2030. Our first step was implementing a business model that includes an inclusive, equitable and regenerative economy. The biggest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions is transportation. VIPdesk values people the most. When looking at budgets, I would consider the expense of offices and consider remote work as a strategy that helps promote the well-being of people and the planet. Our brand ambassadors in 40+ states work from their homes which means that there is no commuting so they're reducing greenhouse gasses by not getting into their cars and trucks and traveling to work every day. Our business model also means there is no need for a large VIPdesk central office building. As a result, we eliminate most of the carbon producing HVAC systems that heat and cool a building.

Sally Hurley, VIPdesk Connect

Don’t Neglect Small and Local Environmental Changes

Tiny changes in our homes and offices make a big difference! I now have zero plastic in my laundry and other cleaning supplies. Imagine if even ten percent of communities did this, how many packages would never go into recycling or landfill! REDUCE is the big key. Single-use items are not allowed - reuse!. By reducing waste and recycling (which is no panacea), impacts of reduction are made. No plastic - it's difficult to get to zero, but we can reduce a lot!

Outdoors, by simply planting native plants with a focus on attracting pollinators, positive environmental impacts can be made. With expense, efficiencies in the home help too - update appliances and furnaces, for energy use, add solar. We have to think in our neighborhoods and communities as a collective to make a difference. By doing little things in homes and offices, great impacts can be made. The biggest tip to help environmental impact for small businesses? Do the things, share the ideas!

Kim Allchurch Flick, Mighty Epiphyte Consulting LLC

Focus On Energy Efficiency

For small businesses looking to boost their environmental impact, the single best tip is to focus on energy efficiency. By reducing the amount of energy your business consumes, you can minimize your carbon footprint and save money on your utility bills. There are a number of ways to make your business more energy-efficient, such as upgrading to energy-efficient lighting and appliances, insulating your walls and ceilings, and sealing air leaks. You can also consider switching to renewable energy sources such as solar or wind power. Even making small changes can have a big impact on your business’s energy consumption – and its bottom line.

Luke Lee, Ever Wallpaper

Work With Eco-Friendly Products and Partners

Besides practicing sustainability yourself at your small business, you can take it a step further by finding business partners and products that also promote sustainability and positive environmental impact. You can start with your supply chain - find a supplier that uses sustainable materials, processing, and distribution practices. You may also find an upcycling business where you can donate anything you no longer need to reduce your small business’s waste. Overall, there are a multitude of ways you can partner with eco-friendly businesses than the ways we described that will help your small business boost its environmental impact.

Rich Rudzinski, Drivey

Rethink Your Paper Use

Brainstorm alternative solutions to avoid using too much paper at your company. Start by opting out of receiving paper bills and business catalogs. At our executive search firm, we became more mindful of our paper usage after noticing the number of mailings that we performed weekly. We slowly transitioned from relying on physical marketing materials to digital marketing, including electronic business cards, email campaigns, and brochures. Eventually, this expanded to rethinking additional ways to maintain sustainability, including investing in eco-friendly gifts for employees.

Benjamin Farber, Bristol Associates, Inc.

Offset You and Your Staff's Carbon Dioxide Emissions

As a B Corp we were looking for an effective way to 'move the needle' on our environmental impact and we discovered Ecologi.com, who make it easy to buy good quality carbon offsets. They have a program called 'Climate Positive Employer' where you can buy monthly offsets for each of your staff based on different profiles. It's a great staff perk and it's a way for us to offset more of our upstream emissions.

Matthew Stibbe, Articulate Marketing

Make The Move to LED Lighting

Switching out your old-school light bulbs for energy-efficient LED alternatives is one of the quickest and easiest ways to reduce your business’s environmental impact — and save a ton of money on energy costs. Energy-saving bulbs use 75% less energy than traditional incandescent bulbs and can last up to 25 times longer. They also generate very little heat, which helps lower your air-conditioning costs in the summertime.

Demi Yilmaz, Colonist.io

Calculate and Manage Your Carbon Footprint

Decarbonization is a core part of any climate action strategy, and it all starts with data. The good news is, calculating small business carbon data can be a manageable process.

At SOL VAE, we use the SME Climate Hub's free carbon footprint calculator. Then, we work with Native (a public benefit corporation) to help fine-tune our calculations and purchase either renewable energy certificates or carbon offsets to address our footprint. Although our carbon footprint is relatively small compared to larger brands, we appreciate there are more than 31 million small businesses in the US alone. The collective decarbonization efforts of small businesses matter and are critical to boost environmental impact.

Bridget Thorpe, SOL VAE

Use Sustainable Storage as Much as Possible

Sustainable storage is a great way your small business can reduce your waste and help the environment. Regardless of what your small business produces or the services you provide, there is always an opportunity to reduce your footprint and switch to eco-friendly materials. Think about it, if you need to store your products in plastic containers in a freezer, that’s a lot of pollutive plastics and that’s a lot of energy every single month. If you instead used green containers and switched to a solar-generated freezer system, you’d be cutting down on your waist monumentally. With just a little consideration and some fundamental changes to your storage systems (which honestly, are more cost-effective in the long run) your small business can make a gigantic impact on the health and sustainability of our environment.

Staci Brinkman, Sips by

Invest in Renewable Energy

Many small businesses are looking for ways to boost their environmental impact. There are a number of steps that can be taken to make a business more sustainable, but one of the best things a small business can do is to invest in renewable energy. Renewable energy is energy that comes from sources that are constantly replenishing themselves, such as the sun, wind, and water. Not only is renewable energy good for the environment, but it can also save businesses money on their energy bills. In addition, investing in renewable energy can help businesses to attract and retain customers who are interested in supporting sustainable companies. For all these reasons, investing in renewable energy is the single best way for small businesses to boost their environmental impact.

Marcus Astin, Pala leather

Recycle and Do Composting for Waste Reduction

As a small business owner, you know that every decision you make has an impact on your bottom line. But did you know that those same decisions can also have a significant impact on the environment? Here is one way you can boost your environmental impact and show your commitment to sustainability: focus on waste reduction. Recycling and composting are great ways to reduce the amount of waste your business produces. You can also cut down on packaging by using reusable or recycled materials. And instead of disposing of unwanted items, see if there is someone who can put them to good use.

David Gu, Neutypechic

Make Your Product Packaging More Eco-Friendly

It’s undeniable that there’s nothing that helps the environment more than reducing plastic waste. If you can, consider replacing all plastic parts of your product packaging with more eco-friendly alternatives. Switch from bubble wrap to shredded paper or paper bubble wrap, replace plastic containers with glass containers, and avoid any plastic wrappers altogether. Nowadays, there is an abundance of eco-friendly alternatives and if you want to positively boost your environmental impact, there are certainly viable options for you.

Igal Rubinshtein, Home Essentials Direct

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12 Tips to Improve Green Practices at The Office