Believe it or not, your business harms the environment in ways beyond imagination. Be it textiles, paints and coatings, or agriculture, the operations of your business are polluting the air, water, and soil, depleting resources, and contributing to greenhouse emissions.
As environmental consciousness continues to rise, businesses are under increasing pressure to adopt sustainable practices. As a result, many companies in America are thinking of going green to reduce their carbon footprint. Over 80% of businesses intend to increase their spending on sustainability.
Making your business eco-friendly is not easy, but it isn’t tough either. There are several high-tech ways that can help your business go green. Here, we’ll discuss some of them.
1.Go Paperless with Cloud Computing
Piles of cardboard and paper polluting America’s landfills cost the economy a staggering $4 billion. That’s according to the findings of the researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s NREL, or National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
Your business will contribute to the landfill if you use paper for daily operations and store records. Reduce paper waste and make your daily operations sustainable by embracing the cloud.
Cloud computing reduces the need for physical paperwork and the energy consumption associated with on-site servers. Replace paper bills and invoices with e-billing. Give your customers e-receipts for the purchases they make.
Avoid printing paper documents. Instead, use digital documents like a metal business card with nfc that can easily help you network with others without too much hassle. Services like Microsoft OneDrive, Dropbox, and Google Drive facilitate seamless document sharing and storage. You can also get them signed virtually. Apps like Docusign make it easy for businesses to share documents for signing and tracking progress. These signatures are time-stamped as well as tamper-proof.
Use project management software like Trello and Asana to organize projects, schedule assignments, and share documents with your team members. This will help cut back on paper expenses while boosting your employees’ productivity.
2.Lower Your Water Footprint With Atmospheric Water Harvesting Technology
Businesses in the U.S. use a huge amount of water. Industries use over 18.2 billion gallons of water per day. That’s too much water. Lowering the water footprint is important for businesses because parts of America are in a water crisis.
Implementing atmospheric water harvesting (AWH) technology can help lower your water footprint. This technology extracts moisture from the air to produce clean, usable water. Industries that require a lot of water for their operations will benefit greatly from this technology.
Atmospheric water harvesting (AWH) devices are divided into three types: dewing, fog harvesting, and sorption. Dewing involves cooling air below its dew point to condense water vapor. Fog harvesting uses large nets to collect tiny water droplets hanging in the air. Sorption involves capturing moisture from the atmosphere and releasing it during the day.
The most cost-effective AWH device is sorption. One of the many benefits of AWH technology, Atoco explains, is that the harvested water quality is extremely pure. It requires no additional filtration. It can be used for drinking purposes, too.
Implementing AWH systems can significantly reduce reliance on traditional water supplies, decreasing the strain on local water resources and infrastructure. For businesses, this translates to a more resilient and eco-friendly water supply, ideal for use in daily operations, irrigation, and sanitation.
3.Implement Smart Building Technology
Your business can become eco-friendly if you implement smart building technology. This technology involves integrating Internet of Things (IoT) sensors and devices to enhance comfort, optimize energy usage, as well as improve operational efficiency within a building.
It will monitor and control various systems of your building, including HVAC systems. You can analyze the collected data and make adjustments automatically to minimize energy waste and maximize efficiency.
Take, for example, smart thermostats. These devices will learn the occupancy patterns of your building and adjust temperatures accordingly. This will reduce energy consumption without sacrificing comfort. Likewise, advanced lighting systems equipped with sensors can dim or turn off lights in empty areas of your premises, further saving energy.
Smart building technology also offers predictive maintenance. It will help identify potential problems before they emerge into something big. This will help lower downtime as well as save you money that would be spent otherwise on costly repairs or replacements.
4.Switch to LED Bulbs
Switch to LED bulbs to make your business eco-friendly. These bulbs offer plenty of advantages over traditional incandescent and fluorescent lighting options.
Incandescent bulbs are cheap, but they are the least energy-efficient. You’ll save upfront but end up paying more in your energy bills. Expect to pay $744.80/year if your establishment contains 40 light bulbs.
Compact fluorescent light bulbs last up to ten times longer than incandescent bulbs. You can pay anywhere between $161.20 and $186.00 annually if your office has 40 fluorescent light bulbs.
Light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, last 50 times longer than incandescent bulbs. For your building with 40 LED light fixtures, expect to pay $99.20 to $124/year. Thus, LEDs reign supreme when it comes to energy efficiency. Switching to LED bulbs is a practical and sustainable way for your business to reduce its energy consumption, lower operating costs, and minimize environmental impact.
To sum things up, greening your business is not only good for the planet, but it’s also good for your pocket. Embracing technology will help your business cut costs while lowering its environmental impact. It will also improve your business’ operational efficiency.
Remember that embracing green technology isn’t just a moral imperative—it’s a smart business decision that ensures long-term sustainability and competitiveness in a rapidly evolving marketplace.
