4 tips to make your company more sustainable

As a small-business owner, you are at the helm of many important decisions. You choose what your logo looks like, the style of your company's address labels, what your office hours are and even where you work. These decisions are all important, but what about your business's environmental footprint? If you care about protecting natural resources and preventing climate change, here are some tips for making your business more sustainable:

Recycle
Many office products are available in new and recycled form. Most items that are made out of paper, such as custom business cards and Post-It notes, can be made on recycled paper. Choose these options when ordering office supplies. It's also important to recycle anything you can, from appliances like your printer or old toaster to items from your break room like beverage containers and paper plates. 

Reduce
There are plenty of ways you can reduce your office's environmental impact. Turn off the lights and computer monitors when you leave for the day. Don't have paper plates and cups – instead, stock the break room cabinets with ceramic coffee mugs and plates. Encourage your employees to bring their own thermoses to the cafe they frequent when getting their morning coffee. These seemingly small changes can do a lot for the planet in terms of reducing the items that sit in landfills for millions of years.

Go local
Do you get groceries delivered to your company building? Why not choose to purchase items that were produced locally, not brought in from all over the world? Opt to get your coffee from a nearby roaster, and pastries or other items from a bakery down the street. You'll be supporting local small business, which in turn may lead to them using your services or buying your goods. The items you buy won't have traveled over long distances to get to you, which means they didn't cause as much pollution. 

Talk sustainability
These environmental efforts shouldn't end in the office. Talk with your employees and customers about the importance of sustainability. Encourage them to recycle, reuse old items and reduce their waste. If you sell products, see what you can do to make both the production process and the end commodity have less of an impact on the planet. That may mean using different materials or changing the machines you use.

The planet will be better off if you follow these tips, and you may entice new customers who appreciate sustainability.