Celebrate National Green Week with Small Business Sustainability

Starting the first week of February each year and lasting through the end of April, the admittedly odd-titled National Green Week is two months of recognizing the importance of eco-friendly and sustainable practices. While this awareness campaign is usually geared toward schoolchildren, you can always use the same idea to improve sustainability at your business. Find out how these effective, low-cost ideas can turn your business into a shining example of sustainability.

Partner With Green Suppliers

One of the best ways to show your support for National Green Week is by choosing suppliers and partners that have the same eco-friendly mantra. This doesn’t necessarily mean that all of their products are green, but if they can manufacture products using solar energy at their production plant, that’s a step in the right direction toward sustainability.

Use Sustainable Lighting

Natural light is the preferred way to illuminate the office, so open the shades and blinds and let the light pour in. Interestingly, human mood and happiness have been shown to increase in this manner—and that’s just the cherry on top of the savings and sustainability.

If you don’t have much natural light or you can’t remodel, you can still have sustainable practices simply by swapping out your lightbulbs. Switch your incandescent or even your CFL bulbs for LEDs. Not only do they lower your bill and energy usage, but they also last 10 to 20 years. That’s a pretty solid return on investment.

Save Water

Regardless of the plumbing setup in your office, you can always build a more sustainable business by cutting your water usage. Replacing your toilets with low-flow options cuts wastewater immensely. You can also install an Energy Star dishwasher to reduce water usage compared to non-efficient appliances.

And if you want to go that extra sustainable mile, purchase some rainwater barrels. By catching rainwater, you can water the landscape or lawn of your office if necessary, all without using additional water from the spigot or tap.

Encourage Green Transportation

Cars are the largest source of greenhouse gases in the world, so if you want to promote sustainability, promote green transportation at your business.

If you’re not sure how you have plenty of options. You could provide swag or prizes to those who bike or walk to work. Or you could pay for a monthly or yearly public transportation pass. Finally, you can install charging stations for electric cars—not only will this reduce emissions, but it will also put you ahead of the curve when the government requires more EVs to hit American roads.

Discuss Your Ideas with a Green Energy Consultant

Not every business owner has the resources and time to put together a comprehensive list of sustainability initiatives. So, if you want a green business while maximizing all the benefits and incentives available to you, discuss your options with our reusable energy consultants at 3 Phases Renewables

Our team has the expertise to discuss sustainable practices at your business, as well as how to put the ideas in place. Whether you just want some basic ideas or you’re going to install solar panels, or charging stations our consultants have the information you need. With their help, you can celebrate National Green Week with savings that last all year.