To look out for the long-term future of our society, it is essential that all the businesses should take steps to reduce their carbon emissions. Yet beyond all obligations, there are many benefits for businesses that actively work towards sustainability.
Not only the low levels of carbon emissions help businesses to bring down their overall expenditure, they can also play a vital role in influencing consumer’s choice. Studies done on this, have constantly been showing that the public is lot more willing to faith those businesses which have transparent and strong CSR policies & commitment towards the environment.
Before getting into the reduction process of carbon emissions, businesses should first evaluate the volume of their carbon footprints. This will highlight the key areas of opportunities, providing an excellent kick start for the businesses to develop an approach towards this critical concern.
1. Behavioural Changes – Its often noticed that the tiniest of things makes a huge difference. For example, lighting up a typical floor of a building overnight can waste enough energy to prepare 1,000 cups of coffee. Switching the lights off is not an out of the box thought, but it also goes for other electrical appliances; like the copy machine, printer, generator/inverter etc which is actually an effort to reduce the amount of emissions on a daily basis.
2. Recycling – Running a business produces a lot of unwanted waste, and as much of this waste as possible should be recycled. One of the best ways to start is by discouraging your staff to keep a bin at their desks. Instead, providing them with the recycling bins for all kinds of office waste like glass, metal, paper and food etc at a commonplace. This will encourage a holy attitude towards saving the waste across your business.
3. Greener Commutes – General populous drive or ride to their offices, by their own vehicle. This is ultimately inefficient and leads to a major amount of carbon emissions, not to mention traffic jams. To realise its severity towards society; businesses can persuade their staff to start car-pooling to work; to use public commute, or to walk or cycle to work, if at all possible. Businesses could even offer incentives to employees who have come up with greener ways to commute. Installing bike racks and sheds like facilities for the benefit of those who make an effort in this direction can prove to be a good push.
4. Efficient Heating – There are a few ways to ensure that any heating system for a building, is working efficiently. These include proper system of insulation, blocking the drafts, and ensuring that radiators are never covered over. It is important to make sure that offices are never warming up so bad that your staff feels the need to open the windows.
5. Reduce & Reuse – Office furniture and supplies do not consume energy themselves but the energy gets used in their manufacturing which sums up to a huge amount of consumption. One way to reduce your carbon footprint is, ensuring that all office supplies were sourced and manufactured in ethical and sustainable ways. Recycling the paper and using vegetable-based inks could be the best when it comes to the paperwork; & all office furniture should be made using sustainable wood.
6. Offsetting – An organization can reduce their environmental impacts by offsetting their carbon emissions and wisely come down under their permissible limit.
At all cadres of operation, there are plenty of opportunities for businesses to reduce their carbon emissions. Most of these might seem obvious or even insignificant, but in the long-term, even the smallest of efforts from every business and organization can make a positive global impact.
