The Bottom Line & Beyond
Companies like Chipotle, Google, Whole Foods and Starbucks have linked their socially responsible attributes to their brands and corporate missions. It’s true that socially responsible companies have been known to outperform companies that don’t engage stakeholders, from shareholders and customers to employees and activists. It has been proven that customers and clients prefer to do business with companies that are taking active steps to reduce their environmental impact.
If that is not enough to compel you to consider taking a greener approach to doing business, check out these startling facts and our list of 25 simple ways to green up. Going green might be easier than you think.
Startling Facts
If each American household used 3 CFLs (compact fluorescent light bulbs), it would be the equivalent of taking 3.5M cars off the road for one year.
-Every day in the U.S., we produce enough trash to equal the weight of the Empire State Building. We throw away 2.5 million plastic bottles every hour, produce enough Styrofoam cups annually to circle the earth 436 times and trash enough office paper to build a 12-foot wall form Los Angeles to New York City. We throw away 570 disposable diapers each second, and toss out enough aluminum cans to rebuild our commercial air fleet every three months. Each year we fill enough garbage trucks to stretch from Earth halfway to the moon.
-Recycling one ton of paper saves 17 trees, 2 barrels of oil, 4,100 kilowatts of energy, 3.2 cubic yards of landfill space and 60 pounds of air pollution. Recycling one aluminum can saves enough electricity to power a TV for three hours, and aluminum cans can be recycled an unlimited number of times. Recycling a ton of glass saves the equivalent to 9 gallons of oil.
-It is estimated that the population will swell to over 9 billion by 2050. That means that if the world’s natural resources were evenly distributed, people in 2050 will only have 25% of the resources per capita that people in 1950 had.
Every little bit counts – 25 Simple Ways to Make a Difference
1.Set up recycling receptacles in your office.
3. Eliminate the use of paper and require employees and customers to electronically sign paperwork.
4. Implement a company policy that requires all employees to rent electric or hybrid vehicles when renting a car for business travel.
5. Switch from a fax machine to fax modem. You can use a service like My Fax (www.MyFax.com), which sends faxes through e-mail in the form of a PDF, so no need for printing.
6. Use flash drives to transport documents rather than printing material.
7. Use draft mode on printers to make double-sided printing your default, if printing must occur.
8. Use the print preview function prior to hitting “Print” to avoid printing blank pages.
9. Buy recycled toner cartridges.
10. Use 100% post-consumer recycled paper.
11. Reuse envelopes for intra-office mail.
12. Use rechargeable batteries.
13. Insert an e-mail footer that reads: “Think green before printing this e-mail.”
14. Set computers to hibernate when idle and turn off at the end of the day. Energy Star estimates that firms can save up to $75 per PC per year by shutting computers down at night and over the weekend.
15. When replacing a computer, purchase a laptop. They use 80% less energy.
16. Recycle old computers and printer cartridges.
17. Require employees to bring their laptops to meetings rather than bringing printed reports.
18. Provide coffee mugs and glasses with your company logo rather than using Styrofoam or plastic products.
19. Partner with a green dry cleaner (carcinogen-free). Tell them you will promote their services to your employees if they can work out a discount program for you.
20. Reward those who drive electric or hybrid vehicles by installing front row parking stalls designated for electric or hybrid vehicles only.
21. Consider flex time for your employees, allowing them to work four 10 hour days to reduce their travel to and from work.
22. Consider allowing employees to telecommute. According to Gartner Group, telecommuters are 40% more productive than office-based workers and businesses are seeing a connection between telecommuting and increased revenues.
23. Consider using a green printer for your printed materials and brochures. They use recycled paper, vegetable-based inks, alcohol-free components and recycling of by-products. Check out www.GreenPrint.com. Green Print does not charge a premium for their green printing services.
24. Use more video conferencing to reduce travel.
25. Call Discover True North. We can set up a virtual conference center and a virtual training center for your company meetings and training events. Improve productivity by saving travel time and reduce your carbon footprint by eliminating employee travel.
You may already be practicing green initiatives without realizing it or talking about it. Raise awareness by discussing your green approach with employees and customers and take credit for being socially responsible.
