Reducing Waste & Growing Your Business

We all know that recycling is good for the environment, but there is a lot more to it than that. Through taking a little bit of time to recycle any of the recyclable items we come across each and every day, we are able to save time, energy and money too!

For businesses, there can often be a great deal of pressure from customers and local governments to employ sustainable practices and demonstrate a commitment to protecting the environment. However, by focusing on the positive outcomes that are associated with becoming a greener and more sustainable business the idea begins to seem more viable.

BEING GREENER IS BENEFICIAL TO THE ENVIRONMENT

• Save energy
• Save resources
• Reduce landfill
• Reduce air pollution

MAKE MONEY & SAVE MONEY

Through managing your businesses waste effectively, it is possible to make significant savings.  Handling and disposing of waste can be expensive, so by minimising waste it is possible to reduce outgoings, particularly if you are able to reduce the amount of landfill tax you are required to pay.

The cost of sending waste to landfill is set to increase so it makes sense to avoid these charges and reduce costs where possible. The most successful businesses will use their resources efficiently, then reduce, reuse and recycle as much of their waste as possible.

Being an environmentally responsible business can help you to stand out from the crowd and attract new customers and contracts.

REDUCING WASTE

As well as seeking new ways to manage the waste your business produces, you should always be looking for new ways to reduce the amount of waste you produce. Even the most seemingly trivial changes can make a big impact in the longer term.

The following areas are useful to focus on;

• Low energy appliances and bulbs
• Rechargeable batteries
• Avoid leaving appliances on standby unnecessarily
• Purchase sustainable equipment and materials in bulk quantities
• Buying good quality, durable equipment that will not need replacing in a hurry
• Keep packaging to a minimum
• Refill printer cartridges rather than replace them

GENERATE AN UNEXPECTED ADDITIONAL INCOME FROM WASTE MATERIALS

The type of waste produced varies a huge amount from one business to the next, but by reducing waste and improving upon existing waste management techniques it is possible for any business to save money.

Perhaps now is the time to review your current practices and explore how they could be improved. In some cases, businesses are actually able to generate an additional income from materials they had previously discarded as waste!

Being greener does not necessarily have to involve any outlay whatsoever and if you are able to save money and help the environment without any capital investment, surely it would be mad not to?