How To Help Your Corporation Cut Its Carbon Footprint

Julie Starr • November 30, 2021



Running a company is never easy, as it’s a huge responsibility with many tough decisions that will weigh on your shoulders long after you’ve left your role. Fortunately, it can also be a greatly rewarding opportunity, as you gain the chance to make a real difference with the work that you do, pushing the corporation in the right direction toward long-term success. One big feature that you can change inside your corporation to promote modernity is sustainability, as proving your commitment to green operations will help you to attract swathes of new customers while allowing you to maintain a far clearer conscience at the same time. There are many brilliant tips and tricks that you can make the most of to cut your corporation’s carbon footprint, and it couldn’t be easier to begin your journey to environmentally friendly operations in no time at all. So, if you’re interested in finding out more, then simply read on! 

Change Your Energy Source 

One of the biggest areas of consumption that your corporation can actively improve to meet better environmental standards is your energy source, as you no doubt use masses of power to keep your property up and running while eating through bath loads of fuel to power your transportation. Changing your energy sources to those which are more sustainable and environmentally friendly will cut your carbon footprint like nothing else can, as eating into finite resources will ensure that you are doing extreme damage to the planet that is potentially irreversible. Instead of using the aforementioned finite resources like gas, coal or oil, search for a more eco-conscious option like solar power or even geothermal drilling . Harnessing the endless power that mother nature has to offer will be far less impactful when compared with unsustainable methods, so you can rest assured knowing that your corporation doesn’t cost the Earth. 

Cut Your Total Waste 

Another brilliant option that you can pursue to cut your corporation’s carbon footprint involves reducing the amount of waste that you produce and send to landfills each year. Waste is a big issue for businesses around the world, as landfill sites are piling up to unmanageable heights while oceans and other areas of natural importance are becoming riddled with the stuff. Reducing the volume of waste that you create as a big business is never easy, but you can begin by choosing to upgrade single-use plastics to those which are recyclable. Single-use plastics should serve no purpose in a modern business, as these are the items that go to landfills and spend decades or even centuries breaking down before they become microplastics that litter the earth and sea. Opting instead to use recyclable materials will cut this completely, as your waste will be given a totally new life again and again rather than festering away with no purpose. 

Cutting your carbon footprint as a corporation has never been such a simple task when you can utilize the effective recommendations detailed above!

5 Everyday Items That Can Quietly Boost Your Brand

By Julie Starr • July 17, 2025
The best branding doesn’t always come from big campaigns or expensive graphics. Sometimes it’s the smaller stuff that leaves the biggest impression. Things people actually use, touch, or carry with them. That’s where your brand can quietly make its mark without needing to shout about it. If you’re only focusing on social media and business cards, you’re leaving a lot on the table. Here are five overlooked ways to get your name out there that feel natural, useful, and more personal. Thank-you slips If you’re already sending out orders, there’s no reason not to include a short thank-you slip. You can easily get these made through any decent online print shop , and they’re usually pretty cheap to run off in small batches. Just a simple note that says thanks, maybe with a reminder to follow you online or a cheeky discount code for next time. It’s quick, thoughtful, and makes the whole order feel more finished. Customers notice that kind of detail, especially when everything else they buy online comes with zero personality. You don’t need a complicated design either. Just something clean with your logo, a message that sounds like you, and maybe a social handle. The point is to give them a reason to come back or remember your name without it feeling forced. Branded zip pouches If you sell physical products, offer services, or run events, small zip pouches are surprisingly effective. Think of the kind you’d use for stationery, receipts, or travel bits. You can get your brand printed on the side and hand them out with purchases or include them in welcome packs. People keep them because they’re actually useful. They get tossed in handbags, school bags, or glove boxes and your logo just keeps turning up. Cleaning cloths for glasses or screens This one works brilliantly if you’re in tech, health, beauty, or anything involving screens or eyewear. A simple microfibre cloth with your branding on it can go a long way. Everyone needs one. Whether they use it for glasses, a phone screen, or their laptop, it’s something they hang onto. It’s not the kind of thing people throw away, and that means your name sticks around too. Receipt envelopes You might already use little envelopes to hand over receipts or business cards. Branding those envelopes is a small change that makes a big difference. Instead of someone getting a scruffy bit of paper in a plain sleeve, they’re handed something that feels a bit more finished. You can even add a message inside. Doesn’t need to be anything dramatic. A simple “thanks for visiting” or “see you next time” is enough to add a personal touch. Wet wipes or mini hand gels If your business is in hospitality, food, or anything hands-on, branded wet wipes or pocket-sized hand gels are surprisingly popular. People actually use them, especially at festivals, food stalls, pop-ups, or kids’ events. They end up in handbags or cars and stick around longer than you think. They don’t scream “marketing” either. They’re practical, and when done right, they make your business feel thoughtful. That’s what good branding does, it shows you’ve thought ahead.

How Student-Led ‘Energy Audits’ Are Cutting School Costs (and Lighting the Way Forward)

By Julie Starr • July 14, 2025
What happens when students stop waiting for adults to fix things and start conducting their own energy audits? Money gets saved. The lights get switched off. Data gets analyzed. And a quiet revolution in sustainability begins—inside schools that once overlooked their own inefficiencies. Across the globe, student-led energy audits are proving that change doesn't always need to come from a policy shift or a major capital budget. Sometimes, it begins with a clipboard, a spreadsheet, and a group of curious minds asking: Why are the hallway lights on at noon when sunlight floods the building? The Energy Detectives These audits aren’t science fair projects. They’re rigorous investigations, often done in collaboration with facilities staff, local environmental nonprofits, or even engineering mentors. Students go from classroom to classroom measuring electricity usage, checking for phantom loads , and identifying where heat is escaping in winter or air conditioning is leaking in summer. One high school in Ontario saved over $12,000 a year after its Grade 11 physics students ran an energy audit and suggested simple changes—LED upgrades, motion sensors in bathrooms, and smarter heating schedules. They didn’t just propose ideas. They pitched them with spreadsheets, thermal images, and payback timelines. It worked. Learning That Pays Off—Literally Unlike textbook learning, these audits blend real-world math, environmental science, economics, and persuasive communication. Students aren’t just learning about sustainability. They’re doing it. And the savings add up. From dimming overlit hallways to reprogramming HVAC systems that run all weekend for empty buildings, students are surfacing blind spots that administrators often overlook. In some districts, their findings are influencing energy policy. Elsewhere, the audits have inspired school boards to hire sustainability coordinators—often alumni of the student programs themselves. There’s something poetic about a school funding new books or laptops from money saved by students who found out the vending machines didn’t need to be plugged in 24/7. Why This Matters More Than Ever With education budgets tightening and utility costs rising, every dollar saved is a dollar that can go back into classrooms. And here’s where it gets interesting from a family finance perspective, too. If you’re a parent setting aside money for post-secondary savings, every bit of school efficiency helps. Fewer energy costs might mean more programming, better STEM facilities, or even bursaries. That raises a broader point: when families save for their children’s future, they often look into RESPs (Registered Education Savings Plans). And many wonder—is a RESP deduction available on my taxes? While contributions themselves aren’t deductible, the gains grow tax-free, and students often pay little to no tax when they withdraw the funds during school. A Movement Worth Replicating These audits aren’t just an exercise in environmentalism. They’re leadership labs. Students learn how to spot inefficiencies, speak up in board meetings, and make a business case for change. They don’t just flip switches—they shift mindsets. And they carry these habits into adulthood. The result? A generation growing up not only with climate anxiety, but also with tools to tackle it.