Did you know you could save small amounts that together add up to big benefits for your business? Conserving energy, making smart use of technology, recycling, seeking out energy tax breaks, and other moves can improve your business, help make employees more committed and result in savings.
Here are 10 ways to do that:
- Adjust the office thermostat. Historically temperatures in offices have been set for the assumed height, weight and metabolic rate of a 40 year old man. A better average suggests setting cooling at 76 and heating at 70. You should also involve your employees in the decision.
- Pick the right light bulbs. Ninety percent of all the energy produced by a traditional incandescent bulb is released as heat and light bulbs make up 5 percent of your energy budget. Choosing more energy efficient bulbs could save $75 on your energy bill.
- Turn lights and equipment off. Beyond replacing bulbs, there are other things you can do to cut the energy you consume. Install dimmers, turn off equipment when not in use, dust light bulbs to lengthen their life and use motion sensors to turn off lights automatically when everyone is gone for the day.
- Recycle, recycle, recycle! There are 254 million tons of garbage produced annually in the U.S. Doing what you can to reduce your own company’s waste plus looking to get your energy from more renewable sources shows stewardship of the environment your customers will appreciate.
- Shop around for energy. A surprising 90 percent of small businesses don’t switch vendors — and this includes energy providers. But energy makes up an average of 30 percent of your business costs. So saving even a few cents on your energy rate could make a huge difference to your bottom line.
- Do an energy audit. Establish a baseline for your energy use. Then start looking at the sources of your use, whether habits and behavior like leaving lights and computers on, choices of technology like the kind of light bulbs you use or simply the age of your equipment. This will give ideas on how to start saving.
- Ask for advice and tips from energy suppliers. While you can do an energy audit and implement many of these other tips yourself, your energy provider can also help. So contact them for more on reducing energy usage.
- Landscape outdoors for summer cooling or winter warmth. Did you know landscaping on the property where your business is located can save big bucks? Plant evergreens as windbreakers, deciduous trees for shade and shrubs for insulation. These steps can save money on heating in winter and cooling in summer.
- Choose smart technology. Implementing energy saving policies with the help of your employees is a great first step. But the easy install of a smart thermostat and other similar technology can help you manage energy efficiency even more.
- Take advantage of energy tax breaks. Finally, look for tax breaks and rebates that pay back for making energy saving improvements. For example, you can get a $1.80 per square foot deduction for installing energy efficient lighting, HVAC or water and a $7,500 credit for buying an electric or hybrid vehicle.
For more tips about saving energy, please see the reading list assembled by Constellation.
These tips and many more were presented during a recorded webinar held October 5, 2017 with Michael Cammon of Constellation, small business expert Ivana Taylor, and hosted by Anita Campbell, SEO of Small Business Trends. You can watch the full session here:
Compact Fluorescent Light Bulb Photo via Shutterstock