Building an eco-friendly business is less about starting a business around a great idea and more about executing your idea according to high environmentally ethical standards. Being environmentally aware in your business and office space has become more and more important these days as pollution and climate change are taking their toll on the earth. Here are some tips from The Hour on how to create a greener business with this in mind.
Establishing a Green Plan
Before you draft your business plan, you need to decide what business structure and tax classification you will use. Many people choose an LLC, which is an inexpensive structure that protects the owner from lawsuits. You can choose to set your LLC up as an S-corp, which is a tax classification that often provides savings on self-employment taxes. These savings could allow you to put more money back into the green aspect of your business. Plus filing for both the structure and tax classification is relatively inexpensive and simple. However, you can enlist the help of a formation service to ensure you submit all of the required paperwork for your state.
Business plans are a vital element of all businesses starting out – whether eco-friendly or not. But when it comes to green businesses, creating an eco-friendly marketing plan becomes even more vital as there will most likely be added elements to consider to aid in the execution of your newly formed business. Some of these elements might include considerations such as:
● Use Eco-Friendly Packaging Whenever Possible
Depending on your offering and the type of packaging and quantity of packaging you use within your business, this can often be a substantial contributor either positively or negatively to your waste and recycling efforts. Using packaging that is biodegradable or plant-based, for instance, can only enhance your eco-friendly business for the better as well as reduce costs and improve profitability at the same time.
● Save Paper by Going Digital
Capturing and sending information digitally is the way to go nowadays. Not only is it more feasible as a result of the way things are commonly done in today’s digital age, but more importantly, it also obviously saves a significant amount of paper too.
● Market Your Green Business
Marketing your green business should be really easy to do since there is such a strong movement worldwide regarding eco-friendly business practices. In saying that, when it comes to marketing methods to showcase your green business, you should ideally use paperless methods such as digital marketing as well as implement other eco-friendly methods such as making your logo visibly green, and using recycled paper where possible.
You should also consider investing in content marketing with an organization like Cornerstone Content that can help generate general interest in your service or area of expertise, thus helping you build your potential customer base.
Remember, limiting paper use doesn’t take away from creative options. You can still post cool graphics, images and the like while staying true to your green efforts. For example, you can use an online infographic template to create a custom graphic in minutes that can be resized and used across your marketing and social media platforms.
Your green marketing efforts could also include social aspects, such as showing your support for other environmental organizations or actively participating in social causes that complement your green efforts.
● Use Eco-Friendly Business Premises
Another important aspect to consider when starting your eco-friendly business is to decide on the eco-friendliness of your business premises. For example, using an energy management system to manage electricity usage as well as heating and ventilation more effectively is one way to reduce electricity consumption, as is utilizing power in off-peak hours rather than during peak power consumption times.
● Enhance Your Water Efficiency
Using modern facilities such as waterless toilets and energy-efficient equipment such as dishwashers for example is a very effective way of enhancing water efficiency which in turn helps to reduce pollution and energy consumption. There is also the option of recycling water and other waste to further reduce pollution too.
● Add Natural Elements to Your Office
Literally greening up your office can also be a great way to encourage positive thinking. Plus, plants can boost the oxygen in your space and decrease anxiety. So make a point to add potted plants throughout your shop or workspace.
Go Green or Go Home
Understandably, creating a green business from scratch may be more complex than starting a regular business that doesn’t take ‘green’ factors into consideration. One thing is for sure, though, deciding to go green is an all-encompassing decision that will require wholehearted effort. However, the rewards will not only be rewarding but immeasurable beyond belief for the greater benefit of the environment and the world overall.
Running a green business may take a little more effort, but it is well worth the effort. People are realizing the negative impact that traditional business practices have had on the environment, and they are looking for more eco-conscious options to support. If you plan well and embrace some of the green options presented in this article, you are well on your way to a successful green business.
The Hour helps you in taking care of all those tasks that keep you from achieving your goals. We take your to-do list so you can make time for things that really can make a difference to your business. Call 888-505-6485.
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