Eco-Friendly Office Money Savers

Julie Starr • Jun 16, 2021



All businesses can play their part in helping the environment. Making a number of small changes can have a large impact over the course of a year, and there’s always room to make more. And these changes can benefit your business even more if they help you save money too.

So what types of changes can your business make to save money while taking a more sustainable approach? Take a look at the following ideas for some eco-friendly office money savers.

Cut down on your energy use

Your office’s energy costs can be very high, especially if you waste a lot of energy. But taking a more proactive approach to cutting down your energy use could see those costs decline. Work out where your biggest energy consumption comes from and find ways of bringing it down. 

When replacing old equipment, make sure you replace it with equipment with lower energy consumption. Technology is constantly evolving, with manufacturers aiming to develop new ways of bringing down energy use from their products.

Encourage employees to think about their own energy use at work

While there are some fundamental changes you can make to your office energy use, there a lot of changes your employees can make that will not only help them think about their behavior at work but at home too. 

Some of the company-wide green policies you can implement are:

  • Avoid charging equipment during peak office hours – if items need charging, they can be done overnight when energy tends to be cheaper.
  • Encourage employees to turn things off at the mains when equipment isn’t in use, and when they leave the office.
  • Try to open windows and let natural air circulate instead of relying on the A/C constantly. 

Close the office at a set time

Setting a closing time for your office can bring a lot of benefits to your business. Not only can it stop your employees from working excessive hours, but you could also benefit from reduced operating costs. If you’re worried about changing business functions or a drop-in service, there are ways around this. Having a live call answering service can mean you can continue to take calls from customers and clients, even without a team based in the office. You could even consider finishing up early on Fridays (especially during the summer) to give your employees a reward, while also cutting down on some of your running costs.

Adopt energy-efficient and smart lighting

Office lighting is essential, but it doesn’t have to come at a high price. By adopting energy-efficient or smart lighting, you can save a lot of money over time, while also making sure you run a more sustainable office space.

You should also assess the lighting in your building – there could be areas where the amount of lighting is unnecessary due to being unused or near large window areas. 

Phase-out single-use plastic

You’ll have read about a lot of companies phasing out single use plastic , and if large corporations can do it, so can yours. Making a commitment to go plastic-free shows that your business is taking things seriously, making you accountable to your pledge. And it can start in your office.

From plastic cups and straws to finding alternatives to plastic packaging, there are different ways you can say goodbye to plastic for good. Learn lessons from other businesses to discover the innovative ways your business can get rid of single-use plastic.

Cut down on your travel

In light of COVID-19, more and more businesses have had to get on board with remote working. Even as things start getting back to normal, could you continue practices such as video conferencing to avoid meeting travel? It will reduce your costs significantly, and help you reduce your carbon footprint too.

You could also consider moving to a smaller office space if more of your employees will be working remotely – there’s no point maintaining a large space with heating, electricity, etc. if you’re not going to be at full capacity.

Becoming a more sustainable, eco-friendly business should be high on your priorities list. And if it saves you money at the same time, then that’s a fantastic bonus. Begin by making small changes to see how they can fit into your business, over time you can make even further changes that can help your company become one of the leaders for sustainability in your industry.

Is Your Small Business an Appealing Place to Work?

By Julie Starr • 07 May, 2024
Bringing passionate, enthusiastic and talented people into your business is obviously a top priority when you’re growing a company. However, the only way to onboard the brightest talent is by ensuring that your brand is an appealing place to work. Driven employees have certain expectations when it comes to choosing their ideal workplace, so you need to show them what you have to offer. Whether you’re looking into your business ethos , or reassessing certain compensation plans, you can do so much to ensure you’re attracting the best possible employees. Consider some of the following methods and your small business will soon be the go-to place for skilled, driven and talented individuals to work. Pay and Benefits Should Be Competitive When you’re running a small business, the idea of paying regular salaries to your employees will always be on your mind. Keeping up with bills and ever rising costs will never be easy, but you have to offer a competitive salary in order to attract the right type of people to your business. You should also consider all elements of a compensation plan so that your employees always feel valued for their contributions at your workplace. It may be worth talking to your current staff members to see what would be most important to them so you can assess it in the near future. Create a Career Development Plan Working towards the next goal is certainly something that most career driven individuals are keen to do. Staying stagnant in the same role for a prolonged period of time can reduce motivation and cause issues with staff retention. Making sure that there are clear progression opportunities will help to bring in the most talented and focused employees who are willing to put in the work and climb the ladder within your business. Adopt an Eco-Conscious Approach More and more employees are looking for workplaces that put the environment at the forefront and actively choose sustainable processes. Taking care of the planet and going green with your business may help you to align with the right talent for your company. Although this might not be the priority of everyone, it’s certainly a very popular value that a number of people carry in the modern day. Working in an environment where sustainability is a priority is extremely appealing and these people will help you to work alongside like minded colleagues within your business. Your small business goes above and beyond you as an individual; it’s also about the people who work for you and the potential employees you could be onboarding very soon. You can be sure that you’re reaching out to the right type of people and attracting the best possible talent by offering competitive salaries and benefits and working in a sustainable way that always keeps the environment in mind too. Hopefully, these ideas will give you a huge advantage when it comes to bringing in new people who would be an asset to your business.

How to Make Clinical Trials More Sustainable

By Julie Starr • 07 May, 2024
Running a business means you should know how to follow a sustainable path toward success. But while this is straightforward in some industries, it can be trickier in other professions. One common problem involves scientific businesses and laboratory environments that often struggle to ensure full sustainability and eco-conscious approaches. So how can clinical trials become more sustainable? Here is some advice to consider. Early Planning Planning is always a useful tool when working out how to improve sustainability within any workplace. You already know what you need to do, so why not focus on planning the different stages to ensure you can avoid delays or other problems that could generate wasted resources and electricity? Planning in laboratory settings is arguably even more crucial as the controlled environment requires a careful approach that is entirely error-free to ensure success and genuine results that scientists can use. Digital Solutions Businesses are using digital solutions more often as these can accelerate lessons and help them find accurate information immediately. The same can apply to clinical trials where using AI will reduce costs and provide quick insights into what you have learned, allowing you to make the most of the data without worrying you’ve made a mistake. Furthermore, this approach can avoid delays and reduce the number of people required in the lab at any time, meaning you can use fewer resources and don’t need to worry about getting to and from the lab. Partnerships Partnering with other companies or organizations can also help clinical trials become more sustainable. You can collaborate to share information, which means you have an entire library of data at your disposal without needing to collect it yourself. This can provide fast and efficient solutions and you don’t need to waste time and energy going into the field to collect this data yourself. Finding The Balance As much as clinical trials can improve sustainability, they also need to know how to find the balance. Since many central laboratory services require face-to-face conversation, it’s important to determine when to hold these meetings and invite patients into the controlled laboratory environment. You know you need to collect samples, but you must do as much as possible to avoid wasting resources. Ensuring you get everything right the first time will make a significant difference and help maintain a sustainable approach. Recognizing Where to Improve No business is perfectly sustainable, so understanding where to improve will be a continuous process. Clinical trials and similar environments can identify strategies to reduce the carbon footprint and take a more eco-friendly approach to their work. Although you won’t reduce your emissions or environmental impact entirely, you can do as much as possible to minimize any damage by maintaining transparency and following compliance regulations that put your laboratory in the best position to excel in every area. Sustainable Building sustainable practices is vital for any industry, and scientific environments are no different. These tips should highlight how and why clinical trials can become more sustainable to improve conditions and reduce the impact on the planet while also striving to further humanity’s knowledge and ability to overcome diseases and other issues.
Share by: