Being a “green” business isn’t easy. But there are ways tech can help you minimise your environmental impact. This is something that can have huge benefits.
Because being ecologically sound has gone mainstream. Consumers are prioritising using socially and environmentally sustainable brands.
This means businesses that can successfully demonstrate their green policies are profiting by doing so.
They’re also reducing overheads and waste and minimising their spend on shiny new equipment.
Here are a few ways you can leverage technology to start making your business more profitable as well as better for the planet:
5 ways tech can help you minimise your environmental impact
1) Switch off to save costs
The cost of energy always seems to be rising. For the average workplace though, it’s not always the big, obvious appliances that are driving bigger bills.
The culprit is often those little things that people forget to switch off. The office lights, water cooler, or a desktop accidentally left on overnight or (horror) over the weekend.
One easy technological solution is smart power strips. These turn off when the devices that are hooked up to them aren’t in use, saving forgetful team members from letting the side down.
Better team training explaining that “off” buttons and power-saving modes exist and when to use them can be a profitable low-tech fix too.
2) Use smart technology
Almost every office uses more energy than it needs to. Lights, heaters, and air conditioners are frequently on when they aren’t required.
There are also the classic disagreements. One team member can’t work without the window open. Another insists on compensating by turning up the thermostat.
Smart technology is embedded with sensors that can tell when your office is occupied. It can reduce energy usage by up to a third – around 30% of bills, which amounts to shocking waste!
Smart thermostats and other energy savers automatically adjust when your office is empty and let you set a reasonable compromise temperature for your team too.
3) Go digital (with signs, presentations, and meetings)
Technology provides an alternative to all kinds of things that used to create needless wastage:
- Projectors – let you deliver large presentations without expensive big screens or dozens of paper handouts.
- Digital signs – can be used creatively instead of traditional paper advertising.
- Videoconferencing – is now intrinsic to most businesses, reducing travel and commutes. The same is true of collaboration tools like Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace.
The classic example of a senior-level employee who refuses to go without a hard copy handout is another example of when further training is necessary.
Equally, the need for in-person meetings requiring extensive commuting for no reason other than personal preference should be carefully assessed.
4) Measure and analyse your environmental impact
Tools like product life-cycle and input-output analysis. Your business’s carbon footprint and other measures of environmental impact. It can all be tracked and analysed using technology.
An analysis of your current systems and processes and how you make decisions relating to them is also vital if you want to ensure you aren’t being needlessly wasteful in the way you operate.
Collecting good data from across your operations – and up and down your supply chain – is an important first step. Your tech can help there too.
5) Reassess your e-waste policies
If you need to replace your office equipment, sustainability – including safe resale or disposal of your old tech – should be a focus of your procurement policy.
Because millions of tons of office equipment and furniture is thrown out every year. Much of this e-waste, as it’s known, doesn’t actually have anything wrong with it.
Of course, there is a very real need to ensure your technology is serving you well. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean completely replacing what you have.
At Dial A Geek, empowering a company’s tech to better fit its needs, protect it, and drive its growth is a key part of what we do.
There’s every chance a proper assessment of your tech can help you minimise your environmental impact and improve your business outcomes without leaving all that waste hanging over you.
Want to talk through how we can streamline and improve your business’s IT use?
Dial A Geek has already helped nearly 1000 businesses in Bristol and beyond do exactly that.
Arrange a cost and commitment-free chat with Chief Gildas Jones today. Let’s see what we can do for yours.