Going Green In Business: Small Businesses Can Make A Difference

I just went to a second grade musical this week, and the theme of the performance was about the three R’s: recycle, reuse, replenish. So as a group of sweet seven- and eight-year-olds sang about taking shorter showers, using washable plates and saving energy, I began to feel a bit guilty and anxious. I’m not a water hog by any means, but I know there are more ways that I can change the way I do things.

Along that line, I started reading about ways small businesses can take small steps in order to become a greener business. I found out that buildings account for 39 percent of total energy use, among other things. So I found a great list that many small business owners and managers can incorporate into their business environment. If you want to join the club in taking action, here are some tips that are easy to incorporate:

• Make a switch from incandescent lighting to fluorescent bulbs.
• Teach all office personnel to turn off lights when not in use.
• Adjust your office thermostat up just 2 degrees in warmer weather, and 2 degrees down in the winter.
• Make sure your water heater is set at 120 degrees.
• Double check your exit doors to make sure the weather stripping is in good shape.
• Invest in a water cooler to eliminate water bottle usage.
• Make it easy for your staff to recycle aluminum cans, paper, cardboard and Nos. 1 and 2 plastic containers.
• Purchase office products in bulk, and when you can, buy products that are made of recycled material.
• If your office equipment has energy-savings features, make sure they are on and activated.

If all of this seems overwhelming, or you want to take it a step further by changing the structure of your building or adding features, check out www.usgbc.org for more information.