10 ways to reduce your business carbon footprint

The world is changing and it is important that your business adapts. Consumers favour brands that are environmentally conscious, as the world moves towards a carbon net-zero future in a bid to halt and reverse man-made climate change.

The goal is to reach a carbon-neutral world by 2050. Businesses are a crucial part of driving this because they are major contributors to carbon emissions.

Become a greener business with these easy steps

There are many simple ways you can reduce your carbon footprint. This will not only contribute towards a more sustainable future but also position your business as environmentally friendly. Meanwhile, there’s the added bonus of saving money through greater efficiencies in all of your operations.

Improve recycling: This can be as simple as installing recycling bins around your workplace with clear colouring and messaging to inspire workers to recycle. It can also extend to your products and packaging. You can also start using more recycled materials to reduce your carbon footprint.

Monitor and reduce your energy consumption: Smart metres are available that will deliver all the data you need to manage and reduce your electricity consumption.

Turn to renewable energy sources: Solar power has become highly accessible, along with battery storage solutions. If your business has the space for these panels, it will not only greatly reduce your carbon footprint, but your electricity bills as well.

Reduce company travel: This applies to both air and road travel. Installing a telematics system means you can monitor your entire fleet and use this data to develop more efficient business travel systems.

Encourage car-pooling: Create incentives for your workers to carpool to further reduce your carbon footprint outside of the workplace.

Improve your lighting: You can make a massive difference just by switching out incandescent lighting with LED replacements if you haven’t already. These are far more efficient and will last much longer, so you will be reducing the old lighting and volume of rubbish you are throwing away, too.

Reduce your HVAC usage: Your heating and cooling systems are a major power drain and a large cause of emissions. Ensure they are regularly serviced and maintained as inefficient HVAC solutions (Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning) will use even more electricity. Make sure your workplace is not too hot or cold, and turn off HVAC systems in spaces where there are no people working.

Limit the number of consumables that reach landfill: Encourage a culture of re-using items, rather than simply throwing them in the bin. This can include reusable water bottles and coffee cups, which can make a massive difference over the course of a year.

Eliminate single-use plastics: This will not only improve your corporate carbon footprint, but help in the fight to prevent these plastics from reaching our waterways and causing major problems in our eco-systems.

Offset your emissions: For the emissions that you cannot eliminate, you can offset them by investing in environmental projects that are helping to suck carbon out of the sky through large-scale tree planting activities and other projects.