Many of us are not really aware of the damage we cause to the environment when we carry out our tasks, such as excessive energy consumption, turning on the office lights when it is not necessary, we use many post-it notes to remember slopes, we print a lot of files that end up in the trash.
Perhaps as mype you do not give importance, since compared to a large company your waste is not many, but we must be the factor of change and take actions in favor of the environment, the ideal is to take measures focused on reducing the consumption of paper, water or energy in the office, which will generate a benefit to the company when paying the utility bill and you are also helping to reduce your environmental impact.
It is time to join the trend, consider the following actions so that the business model of your SME is sustainable or, at least, it begins to take its first steps in that direction.
1. Motivates the use of transportation alternatives
Public transport is always a problem in big cities and Lima is no exception. Every year it gets worse without giving us hope of improving. As an entrepreneur, he promotes that people who live nearby can come by bicycle.
2. Digitize
Currently there are many ways to carry out our tasks without the need to print a single paper, you can use a whiteboard to detail the activities you will carry out, establish a website to communicate with your work team or upload official communications. The important thing is that the use of paper should be done if necessary or urgent.
3. The energetic "vampires" disappear
Ask your collaborators to turn off their computer when they go out to eat or are going to a meeting. Likewise, configure the computers so that their brightness is at a medium level, install timers in the evenings or weekends, so that all the computer equipment is turned off.
4. Buy local products
Do your collaborators usually drink coffee? Make sure that this coffee is locally produced, so you will support national companies to continue growing just like you. You can offer a homemade food service that will benefit families close to your company.
5. Set rules for impressions
Create a rigorous regulation for printing on paper. We give you some ideas, buy recycled paper, ask your collaborators to make the prints on both sides, try to get your invoices or statements to be digital.
6. A multifunctional is better
Buy or replace conventional printers with multifunctional devices that perform various functions (copy, print, scan, etc.). This way you save energy that all these devices would consume.
7. Recycle the paper
Place containers in the office to collect paper in order to recycle it, encourage your employees to reuse the sheets.
8. Don't throw away empty ink cartridges
Companies like Xerox receive empty toner cartridges for recycling. An additional option would be to purchase a cartridge-free, solid ink printer that generates less waste than a color laser printer.
9. Natural light is better
Make sure that the office has open and ventilated spaces, in addition to having enough windows to take advantage of natural light, this will help a lot when the electricity bill comes.
