Why Businesses Should Go Green In The Office
Going green is steadily becoming a key priority for businesses – a trend attributed in part to increasing awareness of environmental degradation. There are also additional benefits to be gained in this venture towards a sustainable Earth. We share some compelling reasons for integrating environmentally-friendly practices into your business operations:
1. Cost Savings
When considering the big picture, going green may not necessarily be cost incurring. In 2000, chemical producer DuPont committed itself to a 65% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. By 2007, its efforts were saving it $2.2bn annually – a sum equal to its total declared profits that year.
Power and water wastage are commonly overlooked in the office, and could potentially result in substantial savings if curbed. Switching up incandescent light bulbs for compact fluorescent (CFL) lighting could save up to 70% on lighting bills. By repairing a toilet leak or switching off appliances when not in use, companies could accumulate large savings through these small actions.
Simple acts of saving also extend to print management. Printing double-sided translates to half the paper costsand reduces 10 liters in water footprint per sheet of A4 paper, and all it takes is selecting a different printer setting. Choosing an efficient printer is also essential; for instance, Canon’s MAXIFY printer line enjoys 50% in ink savings when using genuine PGI-2700XL cartridges, reducing both costs and environmental damage.
2. Business Differentiation Through Building Brand Values
In today’s saturated business landscape, choosing to go green can serve to distinguish your business from your competitors. Embracing sustainable operational methods can effectively situate your company as a leader in this field.
Adopting environmental sustainability as a business philosophy also aligns like-minded people to your cause, creating greater appeal to business partners and customers. Nielsen’s 2015 study suggested that 58% of global respondents are willing to pay more for products by a company known for eco-friendliness.
Besides improving business opportunities, an environmentally responsible image can also benefit your business in terms of higher staff retention and satisfaction. Up to 64% of US millennials surveyed were likely to take into consideration an organization’s social and environmental causes before taking on a job. To attract employees from an increasingly environmentally conscious talent pool, it is imperative to exhibit social responsibility via efforts to go green.
3. Community Health and Well-Being
Sustainable practices can also benefit employees directly through improved health and morale, as well as greater productivity throughout the organization. A UCLA-led study has found that employees are 16% more productive in companies that adopt sustainable practices.
A company’s involvement with environmentalism may also improve overall morale in an organization. Engaging in sustainable business practices promotes a strong sense of social responsibility within the management, which could extend to protecting the welfare of the employees. For those looking to better manage intra-office relations, championing sustainability might be a cause worth considering.
On a larger scale, the move toward green practices is a step toward sustainability. Financial support is also in place to lower the barriers to entry for smaller companies,like PUB’s Water Efficiency Fund and EDB’s Productivity Grant, which co-fund projects and studies aimed at improving water and energy efficiency.
In the meantime, companies can embark on eco-friendly alternatives for their day-to-day functions, beginning with these five simple ways to go green in the office. Follow our LinkedIn page here at Canon Singapore for more business insights pertaining to productivity, culture and sustainability.