Over the last few years, there has been much publicity on ‘going green’, and making our homes or businesses more environmentally friendly. Many people are changing to “green” business technologies for different reasons. There are several different studies, such as the study published by the Retail Systems Research, sponsored by Intel, which cited different advantages of green businessES.
The study said that those companies or retailers who have outperformed their competition are building or practicing environment-friendly strategies. Aside from that, operation costs were also reduced. Although, it may appear that going ‘green’ could actually increase expenditure, since ‘green’ products tend to be more expensive, businesses and homeowners would eventually feel that they are saving more money in the long run.
Let us take the example of a delivery company. They have started using digital record keeping and communication through e-mail. Eventually, such practices paid off. Their 30,000 strong-company was able to save about 2 million pounds a year just by reducing paper transactions to two pages a day. Simple practices like these may not be appealing initially or may appear insufficient, but surprisingly, they eventually deliver results.
The conclusion is, going ‘green’ can help your business save more. Even Microsoft are saying that owners, businesses and residences could save 90 every year on electricity just by switching their computers into hibernate mode when not in use.
The government is also recognizing the efforts of the private sector in building a safer environment. There is a federal stimulus bill in 2009 which offers incentives and tax reductions to business who are practicing ‘green’ methods on reducing their energy consumption by as much as 50%. This stimulus bill is said to have about 50 billion in funds to promote cleaner energy.
Apart from that, there are consumers who stick to brands and companies that they know are taking the environment into consideration. Customers are starting to pay attention to the choices they are making. Which is why it would pay to advertise the company’s environmental stance. There are different organizations and PR companies that could help businesses let the world know how they are taking eco-friendly steps. They could help in sensitively promoting your business and instil social awareness and responsibility among audiences and consumers.
Consumers are starting to take an interest in ‘green’ products and companies since they show that they are safer to use and they are making a contribution to the environment. ‘Green’ businesses are not only getting more attention from possible customers but from possible investors, also, according to Dow Jones Sustainability Index.
What caused this shift? According to Forest Reinhardt, disasters from the past have contributed to social awareness, such as oil spills and gas leaks which killedmany people and at the same time created a geological hazard. Emerging global problems caused by a series of human activities and effects which are possibly irreversible are also contributing factors.
Following green business practices and strategies would benefit not only businesses, but the entire population. Business owners and managers are part of a community which would benefit by making ‘green’ and smart choices.