How your business can profit from sustainability efforts

How your business can profit from sustainability efforts

Looking to add to the bottom line while going green? Here are five easy ways to implement sustainability measures into your business.

Install LED Lightbulbs
LED lights can cut energy consumption, last longer and often look much better. LED lights actually use about 75% less energy than incandescent lightbulbs. The total cost of electricity after 25,000 hours at 12 cents per kilowatt hour is $30 for an LED light compared to $180 for an incandescent light. Over time, that means huge cost savings.

Telecommuting
Allowing employees to work from home reduces vehicle pollution, decreases energy costs within your office and, potentially, decreases the amount of space you have to provide per employee. It also appeals to younger employees, who expect flexible work arrangements.

Your workers will also be more productive. AT&T found its telecommuters worked more hours at home than its office workers. JD Edwards found that its workers were 20 to 25% more productive at home. Companies with full-time telecommuters save an average of $10,000 per employee per year on real estate costs as well, according

Power Off
How many times have you been the first into the office and the lights are on and computers are humming? Encourage employees to turn off all electronics and lights by the end of the day. If that doesn’t work, consider installing sensors that will turn off lights if no one is in the room. This will cut energy consumption and maybe even save you a little bit of dough. Small businesses in the United States spend a total of nearly $60 million per year on energy, according to Energy Star. Even the most basic energy-cutting measures can help your business take a chunk out of that number.

Use efficient appliances
By using more efficient appliances, like refrigerators or toilets, you can save about $300 per year for a small office. According to NASA, businesses and public institutions consume about 25% of the water used in metropolitan areas. More efficient toilets and water heaters can go a long way toward reducing that number. Also, be sure to look out for leaky faucets or broken toilets. Fixing these can save up to 90 gallons of water per month.

Some energy utilities offer rebates for energy-efficient appliances. Both Alliant Energy and​ MidAmerican Energy, two of the largest providers in Iowa, offer money rebates — ranging from $50 to hundreds of dollars — for efficient air conditioners, heat pumps, power strips and more.

Go Paperless
So what, you recycle your paper. How about not purchasing it in the first place? Offices are notorious for their use of paper. Going to a meeting? Let’s all print off this two-page agenda. You can see how that can become a lot over time.

Give employees laptops instead of desktops so they can store files on their computers and bring them from place to place. That means less paper in the recycle bin and more money for the bottom line!

A recent study from Forest Ethics found that Lockheed Martin saved $250,000 by putting a 100-page manual on the internet. General Electric estimated a cost reduction of up to $10 billion by digitizing its many processes.