7 ways to go green in your small business

LOVELY NATURE

Even if you're not worried about saving the planet, I'm guessing you would like to save money. It's just good business to reduce your energy and gas consumption -- especially with the cost of gas going through the roof.

When you do, you'll also reduce your bills. And small businesses can have a big effect on the environment.

I've got seven easy steps you can take to save money and the earth at the same time:

1. Go after waste aggressively. Waste, of any kind, wastes your money.

Think of it this way: Whenever you see waste, you're looking at something you paid for and didn't consume. It might be energy — lights and heat left on over the weekend — over-ordered inventory or excessive raw materials used because of inefficient production methods.

Examine every aspect of your business to be more efficient, use fewer resources, and cut waste.

2. Reduce commutes. Frequently, the biggest energy consumption comes before anyone even arrives at the office.

Commuting devours an immense amount of energy and time. Encourage employees and yourself to walk, bike, carpool or take public transportation.

Reimburse or subsidize public transportation costs. When your lease expires, consider moving closer to your home or public transportation hubs. You'll save money on gas and car expenses.

And you can put the time you would have spent commuting into money-making activities instead.

3. Reduce "vampire" energy drain. At night, "vampires" suck up energy in your office or factory.

No, these aren't the vampires that drink blood or star in movies; these vampires are the machines and equipment continuing to work even after you've left for the day or the weekend.

Your printers, fax machines, copiers and other office machines are on standby mode, continuing to draw down power. If you leave computers and monitors on, they use up even more. Surprisingly, this kind of vampire energy drain can account for up to 10% of your energy costs.

Turn equipment fully off before you leave every night. The extra minute it takes to warm these up in the morning isn't really that much of a hardship, is it?

4. Bring lunch. Make it easy for yourself and employees to eat at work instead of driving to a nearby restaurant or fast-food outlet.

Everyone saves money, and you won't lose so much of your employees' time while they're out of the office. If you don't already have one, set up a small kitchen or kitchenette with an office-size fridge, microwave and water cooler.

5. Go to the cloud. Using Internet-based, rather than on-premise software applications, can be very green.

Running your own servers is inefficient and costly. You not only have the cost of servers, but you have to pay for energy to keep them running and continually backed up and may have to maintain constant temperatures.

While large cloud-solution providers use lots of energy, they are able to be far more energy-efficient than you can in your own small business.

6. Use environmentally friendly products. Whenever possible, choose recycled and nontoxic products.

Look for post-consumer waste products, including stationery, packaging materials, paper towels and other kitchen and bathroom supplies. These are now priced competitively with nonrecycled products.

If you're a manufacturer or use chemicals in your business, ask for nontoxic, environmentally-friendly materials.

7. Buy hybrid or electric cars or trucks. Need a new car or truck for your small business?

Make energy efficiency a priority. This is especially important if yours is a business where you or your employees drive a substantial amount of time.

One look at the price of gas, and you'll immediately understand the financial benefit as well as the environmental benefit of such a choice. Whatever you drive, however far, make sure your cars and vans are well maintained and tires are properly inflated. That reduces energy use.

Little things add up.

Reduce waste, turn off lights, wear a sweater when you're cold and open a window when you're warm. You'll have more greenbacks in your pocket when you choose to go green.

Written by : Rhonda Abrams is president of The Planning Shop and publisher of books for entrepreneurs. 

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