Go for the Green Business
Going green on your business has been heralded all over the world, yet aside from saving mother nature, small and medium enterprises set a competitive advantage against the big players by simply going green. Well maybe not too simple, as going green means some changes in lifestyle and most every practices we have grown accustomed to in running our business. This may seem like another set of expenses especially for a start-up company, but there are some environment-friendly practices that can be observed by small businesses and be as competitive as their big businesses counterparts. Here are some helpful ideas that you can draw inspiration from:
Be efficient. Turn off lights and appliances that are not in use. Even much better, unplug your computer, coffeemaker, and other appliances so that they will not consume electricity.
Go paperless. Consider implementing an electronic filing system in the administrative part of your business. Print only documents that you need a hard copy.
Recycle, reduce, reuse. Segregate your garbage, encourage your employees to return old car batteries that contain toxic chemicals in exchange for some cash, and use recycled shopping bags or bags made from natural fibers.
Go flat. Opt for LCD computer monitors that consume up to 5 times less electricity than a CRT monitor.
Switch to CFL. Compact fluorescent lamps or CFL use only 25% of the energy consumed by incandescent light bulbs and last 8 times longer.