Your business has a responsibility to tackle carbon emissions. A consensus by NASA concluded that over 97% of climate scientists agreed that the Earth’s climate has increased and that urgent action is needed. The Paris Agreement on climate change is a step in the right direction with over 190 countries agreeing to implement eco-friendly changes in their economy in a bid to combat climate change.

Although it’s good that several of the world’s governments have agreed to take action, it needs to be implemented at the domestic level. Business owners need to improve the sustainability practices of their business. What most business owners fail to realise is that their stores typically account for 5% of carbon emissions, whereas the supply chain accounts for up to 65% and consumers 35%. Your business can make a difference by implementing the following eco-friendly habits, technologies and partnerships.

Retrofit your business with energy efficient lighting.

Your business can reduce its energy consumption by up to 60% per year by switching to energy efficient lighting solutions such as LEDs. Incandescent light bulbs are inefficient because they lose up to 90% of energy through heat. Your business can partner with an LED light supplier that can retrofit and implement a lighting design that will illuminate your business’s property and reduce its energy consumption.

Improve the amount of natural light in your business’s building.

The best lighting solution for any business is sunlight. There’s no carbon footprint by using natural sunlight, which lowers business’s energy consumption. Furthermore, studies have linked the abundance of natural light to improved business productivity.

Businesses can improve the amount of natural light in the following ways.

• Install large windows on the property.
• Install solar tubes to direct natural sunlight into areas of the property.
• Install skylights that will provide a large amount of sunlight.
• Placing mirrors and shiny glass and metal objects throughout rooms.

Partner with eco-friendly organisations.

There are organisations that your business can partner with that will help to improve your business’s contribution to carbon emissions. For example, rather than partnering with an energy supplier that generates their energy from coal, partner with an energy supplier that provides renewable energy such as solar, wind or hydro.

Another area where an eco-friendly partner can help is recycling plastics. A lot of oil is burned in order to create plastic. Your business can partner with plastic recyclers from your local area. For example, businesses that use ink cartridges for their printers can partner with a supplier like Cartridges Direct (www.cartridgesdirect.com.au) who will also collect and recycle used cartridge so that it won’t affect landfill.

Invest in energy efficient equipment.

This is one of the easiest actions that businesses can do. Audit your business’s use of electrical equipment and identify the items that aren’t efficient with their energy consumption. For example:

• Plasma televisions
• Refrigerators
• Printers
• Desk lights
• Computers

Encourage your business’s consumers to improve their energy consumption habits

Your business is in a position to advise consumers on how they can improve their energy consumption once they have purchased a product from you. For example, Marks and Spencer’s realised that they sold 350 millions of clothing every year and they advised their consumers to wash their clothes at a temperature of 30 degrees instead of the usual 40 degrees. If their consumers took action, the amount of carbon dioxide emitted would be reduced significantly.

Mobile phone providers are advising their customers to improve their habits by not leaving their phones charging all of the time and to replenish the battery once the energy has been completely depleted. Additionally, energy-saving modes should be used to minimise energy consumption.

Improving the energy consumption of your business matters. Climate change and carbon emissions is a big threat to future generations. Commit to making these eco-friendly changes today.

About the Author: Simon Williams is the Managing Director of Cartridges Direct. His mission is to help organisations improve their eco-friendly initiatives by partnering with a cartridge supplier that whose recycling process minimises businesses contribution to landfill. Businesses can apply to participate in the program here.