Greening Your Business

**In Collaboration** 

Businesses are facing increasing pressure to reduce their carbon footprint, but it can be tricky to find ways to effectively limit your impact on the environment. For organisations operating in Australia, it’s essential to find the right balance between adopting eco-friendly processes and minimising costs.

Find cost-effective ways to green your business with these top tips…

1. Recycle on-site

If your company doesn’t already have in-house recycling facilities in place, install them now. Businesses can get great rates on the disposal of recyclable materials, so you may even save money when it comes to waste management and collection.

If employees don’t have the facilities to recycle used bottles, paper and equipment, there’s no way for them to minimise their impact on the environment. Provide the facilities and you’ll notice a decline in your plastic output straight away. 

2. Find green suppliers

When you’re looking for vendors, suppliers or partners, make eco-friendly choices. By working with other companies that adopt green policies, you can immediately reduce the impact your operations have on the environment.

Making the absence of sustainable policies a deal-breaker will encourage other firms in your industry to introduce more green processes too, so you can maximize the impact with minimal effort. 

3. Use an oil water separator

Due to strict legislation, your company may be unable to make use of drain facilities. If you can’t allow wastewater to enter the drainage system, it can’t be treated and re-used. With a low-cost oil water separator, you can successfully remove impurities and oil from the water. In doing so, you can make use of drainage facilities with your filtered wastewater and prevent the condensate from having a harmful effect on the environment.

Companies typically spend a significant amount of facilitating the removal of water which contains impurities and oil, but an oil water separator means you won’t have to factor this into your resource budget. Instead, the condensate can be separated from the water on-site and the oil and impurities collected can be disposed of safely, with far less cost.

4. Use eco-friendly cleaning products

Whether you have a team of in-house cleaners or you use an outsourced cleaning firm, making the switch to eco-friendly products can have a major impact on the environment. Many cleaning products contain harsh chemicals, which can cause a considerable amount of damage to the environment. In addition to this, the aerosols and plastic containers these formulas are sold in generally end up in a landfill, which causes further harm.

There are plenty of green cleaning products on the market, so it’s easy to find suitable alternatives. With fewer chemicals being used on your premises, you’ll be providing a healthier workplace for your employees too. 

Enhancing your green credentials

People tend to assume that introducing eco-friendly processes will be time-consuming, complicated and/or experience. In fact, it’s possible to reduce your carbon footprint and save money at the same time. With a variety of small changes, you can successfully green your business and encourage others in your industry to do the same.