Many small business owners may think that going green is expensive but being a green small business can actually save you money in the long run. Every business can take steps to use energy more responsibly and to recycle and cut down on waste. Ultimately, these steps will save on energy costs and the cost of hauling trash to a land fill. Another easy way to make your business's carbon foot print smaller is to buy locally whenever possible. Although the product may cost a little more, the shipping will cost less helping to balance the scales. Owning a green small business and advertising your commitment to the environment can also increase sales.
If you operate a fleet of cars or trucks, you can switch to more energy efficient models which will save on fuel costs and have less impact on the environment. It may seem like a small thing, but wait until you see the monthly savings. Fuel efficient vehicles emit less hydro-carbons and create fewer greenhouse gases. Make sure that the vehicles are well maintained to insure the maximum savings.
Replacing incandescent light bulbs with fluorescent light bulbs will result in an energy savings that may surprise you. Not only that, but fluorescent bulbs last about 4 times longer than incandescent bulbs which means less waste going to the land fill and less money spent on lighting.
If your business has the space, and your door is opened frequently, take a page out of the big retailer's book and put in an air space or foyer to help keep hot and cold air inside your business. You've been to Walmart, K-Mart,Macy's, even Blockbuster and Office Depot and seen this area between two sets of doors. Well, it's there to control the loss of heated or cooled air and save on energy use.
One innovative green small business sells organic fertilizer made from worm castings. Using worm castings for fertilizer is nothing new, but they package their liquid fertilizer in reused soft drink bottles, not recycled, reused. They simply wash the bottles, relabel them and fill them with their product. Recycling is great, but it uses energy. The reused bottles are more environmentally friendly.
An organic vineyard in Columbia, South America has cut shipping costs by switching from glass bottles to boxes. Although glass is recyclable and sustainable, it's heavy and takes up a lot of room in shipping. Using boxes takes fewer trucks to get the packaging to to bottling area and since boxes are lighter, the wine being shipped weights less and costs less to transport both in energy and shipping costs. Great idea for a green small business.
Of course, many green small businesses specialize in selling green products. Cleaning products, personal care products, even cosmetics can be green. Sustainable and recyclable packaging and environmentally friendly ingredients are good for both the Earth and the bottom line.
If you are a consumer, make a practice of supporting your local green small businesses. If you are a small business owner, find out about the benefits of going green. The changes may seem small, but they are having a growing impact on consumers and on our environment.