Going green is more than just a buzzword.
For many people and businesses, it's a way of life. And while doing your part to help improve the environment is always a good thing, there are reasons why going green is a smart small business move too.
In fact, studies have shown that people who work in green offices have improved productivity, take fewer sick days and even report better sleep.
Did that catch your attention?
Now add to that how going green can actually help save your business money over the long term, and you have a winning combination.
Have you been thinking about going green? There's no better time to start than right now.
Experimenting with even a handful of these can help improve your workplace conditions and help you save money over the long term.
Replace Bulbs
As your standard light bulbs go out, replace them with compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) and light-emitting diodes (LEDs). These bulbs offer the one-two punch of both requiring far less energy and lasting years longer than traditional bulbs. So investing in these bulbs will lower your lighting bills.
Recycle
Today recycling is the norm, but take a look around your office and see if you're really putting it into practice. A simple fix is to buy a few more recycling bins and place them in heavily trafficked areas, so they're convenient for your employees to use.
Check Air Quality
The last thing you want is your employees getting sick because of the air quality in your office. Poor air quality from bad ventilation, mold or toxins can wreak havoc on employee health and productivity. Don't put that to chance. Check the air and toxin levels in your working environment on a regular basis. You can request these checks in your yearly heating and ventilation system cleaning, ask your building management to run a test or purchase a kit to test and monitor the air quality yourself.
Go Paperless
Some jobs require a lot of paper, there's no getting around that. But you can encourage your employees to go as paperless as possible in their roles. Remind people with signs by the printer and have a stack of used paper ready for reuse.
Stock the Kitchen
A huge source of waste in many offices is the kitchen. Employees can go through dozens of paper cups and plates a day for their morning coffee or snacks. Invest in reusable mugs and cups to reduce trash and encourage drinking from the tap versus supplying bottled water.
Start a Green Challenge
If you have a workplace wellness group, task them with starting a green challenge. Make a note of your monthly bills and spending on paper, trash and electricity and celebrate when you're employees pull together to come up with smart alternatives to embrace going green.
Highlight Eco-Friendly Commuting
An easy way to do this is to make your office bike friendly. One big feature many local co-working spaces in Colorado highlight is their bike storage facilities. Do the same for your office and celebrate events like Colorado's Bike to Work Day to encourage your employees to do the same.
Go Remote
Remote working is no longer a foreign concept to most businesses. And having a few days a week where employees can work from home can translate to savings in the office. So explore remote work and build a culture that embraces it.
One Last Tip...
Focusing on building a safer environment at work benefits more than the health and wellness of your employees, it can also help you save on potential workers' comp claims as well. Here's one common example: Having to change fewer bulbs over the course of a year can mean a reduction in falls, a common workers' compensation claim.
So these little changes do add up, in more ways than one, and it can help you see big improvements over the long run.
If you're interested in getting the right Colorado workers' comp insurance for your company's needs, get in touch today. Cake can help you get a quote in just five minutes.
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