You are here: Home / Archives for Tips & Tricks

A Business Guide to Reducing Waste

It is a fact of an operating business that every business is going to have and produce some type of waste. For some companies the waste produced is going to be fairly small such as paper and cardboard waste, while others will have large amounts of waste such as air pollution, water, paper and other products. No matter how much waste your company produces there are simple strategies that your company can do to reduce the amount of waste that is produced by your company.

Here is a look at how to produce that waste reduction policy for your company or business.

Do an overview of what wastes your company produces. Before you can make any type of business strategy you must take a step back and look at the overall business structure of your business. You have to see what waste is being produced and in what amounts. This allows you to get the overall picture of what is going on and where improvements need to be made.

Evaluate waste saving measures that can be put into place. After you have seen where all the waste is in your company and what is being produced, the next step is to decide what needs to be done about it. Take a look at the various aspects of the waste that is being produced and figure out how you can change it so that your company is producing less. Some changes can include changes in policies, new products being offered or even less hours of operating.

Get goals for your company. Waste reduction is not going to happen overnight. You will need to set goals and try to stick to them in order to see if you are reducing the amount of waste. Start off with small easy to change items and work your way up to the larger items.

Filed Under: Tips & Tricks Tagged With: ,

Energy Saving Tips: Solar Panels

You may have noticed several local businesses sitting around with huge black squares on their roofs or in the back of their buildings. This might be a strange sight to see as it does not really go with the building but the reason behind these panels is amazing. These large black panels that are found on top of businesses and behind buildings are actually solar panels. Businesses have been making the switch to energy efficient solar paneling for a number of years.

Solar panels are silicon based square panels that will take the solar energy that is produced by the sun and convert it into clean, usable energy for any business or home. Solar panels can be created using a number of different type of objects but the most common is that of silicon based.

The basis behind solar paneling is simple. The panels are placed directly into the sunlight so that the panels receive the maximum exposure to the sun. While the panels are directly in the sun it is estimated that they produce up to two volts of electricity. However, due to the rotation of the sun and seasonal weather solar panels must also be backed up with other electrical forms of energy.

Recent studies have been done to see if solar panel energy can be created and stored up. This would allow areas that experience extreme summers to create the energy and use it at a later time. However, nothing has developed from that and at the moment solar panels must be used at the time to create the energy that it uses.

Many businesses are making the switch to solar panels in an effort to switch to more energy and cost efficient measures. Just switching half of a business’ energy over to solar panel can save up to 30% of the energy that was used previously.

Filed Under: Tips & Tricks Tagged With: ,

Going Green Business Tip: Energy Saving Tips

Businesses are starting to implement many different procedures to help their company make the switch to a greener company. One of the most popular ways for a company to switch to greener practices is to start engaging in many different energy saving tips. However, not every business knows how to go about saving energy. Here is a look at some great energy saving tips that any business or company can start to use.

Time Sensitive Lights. Many companies are starting to use time sensitive lights. These are lights that are turned on at a specific time. This will allow excessive lights to be turned off during the day and cut back on the energy use of the company.

Change Light Bulbs. If a company does have to use lights throughout their office, instead of using the traditional bulbs they are switching to compact florescent bulbs which consume a lot less energy.

Use Natural Sunlight. A lot of companies have been reliant upon artificial lighting for a while. Try to open your office up to natural light. Open the blinds up during the day and allow windows to let in natural light. It is amazing how natural light can help you reduce your reliance upon artificial lighting.

Computer Shut Off. Companies that have a lot of computers tend to encourage companies to keep their computers on stand by. Instead encourage employees to turn off the computer completely which will drastically reduce the amount of energy that is used by your company.

Flex Hour Days. A lot of companies are using flex hour days as a way to reduce energy costs. These flex hour days involve working four days a week for 10 hours a day. Instead of five days a week for eight hours. This will cut back on energy costs as the office can be completely closed that one day which will reduce the amount of energy used.

Filed Under: Tips & Tricks Tagged With: ,

Going Green Business Tip: Waste Reduction Tips

When a company decides to make the switch to going green it is usually assume that they will start putting energy saving measures into effect. Energy costs and energy saving measures are usually the first thing that companies do to make sure that their company is going green. However, there is also another area that businesses can work to improve on. Waste reduction can help a company achieve a green status in the eyes of consumers and other companies.

Here are some popular waste reduction tips that companies can start to implement within their business structure.

Toss the Styrofoam and Plastic Cups. Offices generate a lot of waste by having their employees drink out of Styrofoam and plastic cups. Simply toss those materials out the window and provide all employees with mugs that they can use instead of the wasteful cups.

Ditch the Water Bottles. Water bottles provide a lot of waste in the world’s landfills. In fact, they take decades to break down when tossed into a landfill. Instead of providing employees with water bottles considers setting up a water cooler and having employees get water into reusable water bottles.

Printing Rules. Start enforcing printing rules. Have employees print on both sides of papers and use faxed papers for scrap paper. This will cut back on the amount of paper used by the office and will help your company go green.

Encourage the Use of the Internet. Many companies are encouraging their employees to use emails and websites to post messages instead of pieces of paper. This will cut back on the amount of paper that the office is using and reduce the amount of waste that is created.

Shredded Paper as Packing. If you are running a packing business instead of using bubble wrap or other types of packing materials consider using shredded paper from the shredder to pad the boxes.

Filed Under: Tips & Tricks Tagged With: ,

Going Green Business Tip: Recycling Tips

While many companies might decide to change their energy consumption or reduce the amount of waste that they produce, some companies will choose an easier path for going green. The easiest way that companies can go green is simply by starting a recycling program within their company.

Recycling is the easiest and most cost effective form of going green for companies all around the world. Here is a look at several different recycling tips that companies can start to implement to create themselves as a green company.

Set Up Recycling Bins. Set up recycling bins throughout the office. Set the bins right next to the trash bins so that it is an easy alternative to tossing something in the trash. Make sure that you provide bins for paper, plastic and cardboard so that all materials that can be recycled will be. The more readily available recycling bins are the more likely employees will be to use them.

Reuse Basic Office Supplies. A lot of basic office supplies can be reused several dozen times before you need to replace it. Reuse binders, tape dispensers, folders and envelopes. This will reduce your office budget and help you cut back on environmental waste.

Make a Switch to Recyclable Items. There are several items that can be switched out in favor of a recyclable version. Batteries can be changed out with rechargable batteries. Offices can also start using refillable pens and ink jet cartridges which will cut back on costs and environmental waste.

Order Materials Made of Recycled Materials. A lot of the office supplies that are available are available in recyclable materials. Make sure that when you order paper, plastic cups and pencils that you are ordering recyclable materials. This will make a huge impact on the environment and will help your office go green.

Filed Under: Tips & Tricks Tagged With: ,

Business Green Tip: Encouraging Carpooling and Other Forms of Transportation

There are a lot of cars on the road today. It is believed that the amount of cars on the road today are nearly triple that of what they were 20 years ago. This increased amount of cars on the road has lead to higher amounts of air pollution and increased amounts of greenhouse gases. While many people have made the promise to cut back on the use of their car for trips and driving to work, very few actually follow through with it. Which is why many companies are starting to create incentives for their employees to make the switch to greener forms of transportation.

Here is a look at some of the incentive programs that companies have developed to encourage employees to make the switch to greener forms of transportation.

Contests. Many companies are offering contests for those that make the choice to use greener forms of transportation. For every mile or time a green mode of transportation is used the employees name is entered into a contest. At the end of the month the company chooses a few names for those that win the prizes. Everyone loves to win free items which encourages the employees to take part in greener modes of transportation.

Free Products. Instead of offering contests many companies are actually giving away free products to those that are making the switch to greener modes of transportation. For example a company recently purchased all employees that wished to bike to work, top of the line bikes and helmets to encourage them to bike to work.

Cash Back Incentives. Some companies are offering cash back incentives. Some examples of these cash back incentives include for every mile that is used in a car pool the company might pick up the tab for gas or companies might offer to purchase bus or train tickets for their employees to encourage them to take public modes of transportation.

Filed Under: Tips & Tricks Tagged With: , ,

Business Green Tip: Using the Green Craze as a Promotional Item

Everyone wants to go green nowadays. There are green products in almost every sector of the market. There are green water bottles, green baby products, green clothing and green food. Everyone wants to do their fair share to help the environment and reverse the damage that is being done to the planet Earth. While it might seem as if this green phase is a bit of a phase or craze amongst the public, it serves as a great way for businesses to promote their business.

Many people only want to patronize businesses that have taken the efforts to “go green”. This is why many companies are starting to offer free promotional green items. These items serve a two fold purpose.

The first purpose is that these items help promote their business. By offering tote bags, water bottles and cups with the company’s name or logo on it, people are basically giving free advertising for the company. The cost associated with having to purchase these promotional items is a lot less than traditional advertising and it can really work. The promotional items will reach a number of audiences that traditional marketing could only dream of reaching.

The second purpose these promotional items have is the ability to give off a vibe of caring for the environment. There is a whole niche market just sitting there waiting for companies to go green. This market is filled with people who will only shop at environmentally friendly shops. By offering these green items to people and encouraging shoppers and clients to go green the company is taking a “green” stance, which appeals to this niche market.

Green products as promotional items are really a great way to advertise and help customers change their opinion of your business. This cost effective marketing tool will help bring in a whole new stream of revenue for your business, while also helping to save the planet.

Filed Under: Tips & Tricks Tagged With: , ,
Newer Posts »