7 Ways to Save on Business Costs by Going Green

Being green is a huge trend these days, and rightly so. However, what many small business owners don’t realize is that (contrary to popular opinion) going “green” is also closely tied to saving money. Why? Tending toward a more self-sustaining business plan will naturally save money because it works with the environment, rather than against it. Here are some small (and large) change you can made  to your office environment and business model that will help you streamline production and cut costs, while preserving natural resources.

1. Turn off Electronics

When all your employees leave at night, your office building is still sitting there running on close to the same amount of power as it uses during the day. If employees leave things like desktops and office lights on during off-time, that will rack up costs on your electric bill and deplete energy resources.

2. Only print when necessary

There is no reason to print documents that don’t need to be signed or otherwise viewed as a hard copy. Convert your office files and communication to an online format and you will save money on paper costs and save trees at the same time.

3. Print double side

This is another great way to save paper and money. When you do need to print a document, select to print it on both sides.

4. Use mugs instead of paper or plastic

Clear your office of Styrofoam coffee cups and plastic plates. It is better for the environment and less expensive to run dishes through the dishwasher at the end of the day than to rack up pounds and pounds of waste from constant use of paper, plastic and Styrofoam.

5. Use power strips

Power strips use less power, which makes them much more environmentally friendly and cuts down on your electric bill. It will also save you from damaging equipment during power outages, which will also save on costs in the long run.

6. Plant trees

If your business gets hot during the summer, you can save on electricity costs and save the planet by planting trees around the building. It also just feels better both inside and outside the space with more trees around.

7. Telecommute

Do you have employees coming into an office to do tasks that could easily be accomplished online? Save your employees money on the commute and save yourself office maintenance costs by changing to a telecommuting business model for positions that don’t need to be in-office.

This is a guest post by Nadia Jones who blogs at accredited online colleges about education, college, student, teacher, money saving, movie related topics. You can reach her at nadia.jones5 @ gmail.com