Make Your Business Green?

Ok, by now you all know that the term green business no longer represents a color, but instead a way of life. And if there aren’t enough ‘green’ blogs or blog entries out there, I will add one more.

We have been told by all sorts of professionals, blogs, books, articles, etc. that Earth is warming up. While I don’t have an opinion on whether or not this is indeed happening, I do feel that it is important to work toward making your business green by being good stewards and set good examples for our children. Believe it or not, there are simple things you can do to run your business in a greeneco-friendly way and save money at the same time. And yes, here comes another list…

Unplug Your Computer!

Honestly, one of the best ways to make your business green is to unplug your computer.  If you aren’t using your laptop and it runs on batteries, then just shut it down for the night and/or unplug it. Or if you have a desktop computer and you are leaving the office for the next 12-16 hours, shut it down and unplug it if that is an option. And at the very least shut it down for the weekend. Believe me, I like convenience as much as the next guy, but unplugging or shutting down your computer each night will cost you approximately $90 less a year. Talk about a great way to save money! If you are in an office that runs 100 computers…well, you do the math. Additionally, laptops use far less electricity – particularly the new MacBooks. (Couldn’t help the shameless plug for my favorite company.)

Use Less Paper

There are only a few reasons left for paper usage that I can see in this world. What can I say? Not a fan. So how can you make your business green by practically eliminate it from your life? Glad you asked. Here are some suggestions:

  • Use email and send your documents that way. This will not only save paper, but time, postage, the cost of buying paper and ink and for that matter a printer.
  • The file is too big! Well, that used to be a problem, but it isn’t any longer with Dropbox and Google Drive. You can upload large documents and allow guests to download them or even share them so others can edit them or collaborate with you.
  • Newsletters, Announcements, Invitations. I will relent on graduations and weddings. These 2 important events do warrant paper, though, I myself would probably do something online. At any rate, making invitations online in Eventbrite or another event type service or sending something out through MailChimp. They offer a lot of template options, as well as the option to upload your own html document and meddle with the css. (Don’t want to tackle that yourself? We offer these services and more.)

Online Storage

Oh boy, yes I am going to say it. Get rid of that file cabinet! Ok, ok, don’t panic, but honestly, anymore you can get almost all of your documents electronically – bills, bank statements, tax documents, etc. and you can even email your invoices. So what if the worst, most dreaded thing happens when it comes to files on your computer – the blue screen or you spill your coffee on the keyboard (seriously get a lid)! If your stuff is in the cloud the only concern you have is shelling out money for a new device! Get your computer fixed (upgrade to a Mac) and when you next get online, all of your data is safe and sound – nothing is lost. You don’t have to reload it because it is in the same state that it was before your computer crashed.

Some final things I will mention to help you make your business green, but won’t elaborate on are:

  • Turn off the lights when you leave the office
  • Unplug your cell charger when you are not using it
  • Use recycled paper for printing, faxing and copying
  • Recycle, recycle, recycle!

Happy Greening!

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