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How To Green Up Your Small Business
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Article 3: Tips For Making The Leap To Green
There are plenty of business cases to be made for reducing consumption, says John Rooks, president of Dwell Creative, a green ad agency in Portland, Maine. “They have a wonderful environmental impact but they are also just smart business decisions.”
So how to start? Becoming green is an evolutionary process.
The first thing to do is figure out how your company impacts the environment. You can find helpful analysis tools in a global warming resource section of the Environmental Protection Agency Web site.
Before you can become more energy efficient, you need to learn more about your usage. If your workplace measures between 500 and 100,000 square feet, it may be useful to calculate your facility’s energy usage compared to that of similar facilities by going to www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=small_business.sb_calculate.
You’ll also benefit from arranging a free or inexpensive energy audit to learn where you’re wasting electricity (perhaps from the excess air conditioning you’re pumping because there isn’t a shade over your sunny front window). You can often schedule an audit with your electricity provider or an energy services company.
Also, follow these steps:
- Invest in energy efficient equipment, including appliances and compact fluorescent light bulbs that carry the ENERGY STAR label, which shows a product meets strict energy efficiency guidelines of the EPA and the Department of Energy.
- Regularly conduct maintenance checks on your heating and air conditioning units.
- Turn off computers when not using them.
- Keep the lights off when they’re not needed. Timers are helpful.
- Install fans, which can help reduce your need for air conditioning.
- If you can choose your energy provider, consider going with one that could cost more but generates energy through renewable sources like wind, solar or hydropower. To find green power options in your state, go to www.eere.energy.gov/greenpower/.
You can also become more efficient in how you use paper. Paper manufacturing is the third largest user of fossil fuels worldwide, according to Green Seal, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that identifies environmentally preferable products and services.
Some tips on more eco-friendly paper use:
- Use both sides of the paper when copying and reuse one-sided pieces of paper for scrap.
- Reduce margins or font sizes used for your work, which reduces the number of pages you print.
- Choose paper products with at least 30 percent post-consumer recycled fiber.
- Recycle it when it’s time to discard.
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