Small businesses have been slow to embrace the green movement, for one very good reason: in the beginning, adopting green technologies was an expensive prospect, with very little benefit other than the satisfaction of feeling that you were doing your part to help. Perhaps the business community would be more apt to adopt green technologies if the movement was known as "becoming more energy-efficient" rather than "going green."
Going green can be summarized by the mantra "reduce, reuse, recycle" -- which means reduce waste, reuse what you can, and recycle what you can't reuse. For most small businesses, this probably means taking small steps initially, which can be supplemented once the first steps prove their economic value.
Here are 10 easy steps to begin the going green process:
1. Commit to turning off all lights, computers, and other users of electricity at the end of each work day and when not in use-- it costs 9 cents an hour to leave a computer on
2. Replace your incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs
3. Lower your thermostat by a few degrees in the winter and raise your thermostat by a few degrees in the summer
4. Commit to printing on both sides of the paper or use electronic-only documents whenever possible
5. Recycle/Reuse bags-- In a retail environment, offer incentives for customers to bring their own bags
6. Maintain your plumbing and fix all leaks, including dripping faucets
7. Refill printer ink cartridges rather than buy new ones
8. Add recycling bins in the office to recycle paper, glass, plastics and aluminum cans
9. Buy goods in concentrated, dry, or bulk form to reduce transportation and packaging costs
10. Rather than buy post-it notes or other note-taking papers, use scrap paper, such as opened envelopes