Blog Action Day: How Small Businesses Can Help Combat Climate Change
- Posted October 15th, 2009
- Filed under: @sbbuzz, Community, Technology, twitter
Global climate change is obviously a big, big issue. So what can we as small businesses do about it? As part of Blog Action Day 2009, BatchBlue turned to our resident experts in all things small business (our customers and our contact network, of course!) to find out what they are doing not only to bring in the green, but also to be green in their business practices.
During Tuesday’s small business Twitter chat #SBBUZZ, we discussed how there are many small steps you can take to help green up your business (and thus help do the big work of saving the planet!)
We were fortunate to be joined on #SBBUZZ last night by green expert, author and professional organizer Candita Clayton, who helped guide the discussion about what small business can do to save energy, reduce waste and fight climate change. Here are some simple, easy-to-implement tips that came out of our discussion:
Recycle: Make it easy to recycle paper, glass and plastic. Set up separate bins where they will be seen and used. If your business doesn’t have a program in place, start one! It’s worth it to be the squeaky wheel on this issue since it’s so important. And many communities have programs in place where you can drop off unwanted computers, printers etc. Keeping these hazardous items out of the landfill will go a long way in helping to halt pollution and resultant climate change.
Reuse: Before you toss something in the trash, see if it has a potential secondary purpose. Tricia Mumby from Mabel’s Labels says “We have found a very unique way of disposing of some of our paper waste: donate to day cares and schools! Some of our cardboard, paper and plastic waste is very much appreciated for craft time!” Mumby adds that one of their goals is to generate as little trash as possible, so they make sure to provide their breakrooms with adequate dishes, cups, tea-towels and containers that are re-usable.
There’s also the great site Freecycle.org, which allows your trash to become someone else’s…well, you know!
Power down: Several folks suggested unplugging computer equipment and related electronics when not in use. I chimed in with an idea I heard a while ago: plug all your electronics into a Clapper, then “Clap Off!” when you are done working for the day. So much fun, you’ll never forget to do it! (Clappers can be purchased via Amazon.com)
Promote green computing: Nancy Cobado from Brain Trust Technologies suggests trying electronic document management, online meetings and collaboration. “Print less, consume less power and travel less,” says Cobado,”It’s amazing what you can save!”
Go paperless: Another popular suggestion was to try for a paperless office. There are many small business web apps out there that will help you manage tasks like invoicing, payroll and contact management (ahem!) without killing a single tree. Check out our friends on the Small Business Web for inspiration.
From a practical standpoint, Fernando Labastida of KPIOnline.com suggests the following: “Small businesses can use Business Intelligence tools to track the purchases of line items such as copy paper, notebook paper, tissue, set disposable reduction goals for these items, and track them on a monthly basis. The pure act of measuring something spurs creative ideas for improving the metrics of something that needs improving.” He adds, “If your goal is to reduce copy paper consumption by 20%, you now have a way of actually measuring the consumption of your copy paper.”
Telecommute: At BatchBlue, we’re huge fans of working from home (or the local coffee shop, or waiting for the kids’ soccer practice, on a train etc.) Mobile technologies and laptops have freed us to work where we choose to work rather than being arbitrarily tethered to a desk. There’s even a name for this brave new way of working: Workshifting. This site is full of advice for those either currently workshifting or seeking to start. And on our site, BatchBlue president Pamela O’Hara has written a blue paper about how you can set up and manage your own virtual office.
Obviously…the difference of the impact on gas consumption and related climate change between commuting two hours and walking to your dining room table? Huge.
Small business, big change
BatchBook customer Daniel Mark Wheaton summarizes his company’s efforts nicely “At Canuka Web Solutions, we’re a pretty small company, but we try to take little steps to be as green as possible. All of our invoices are e-mailed, or printed on recycled paper. Our promotional material is also printed on recycled paper and placed in folders made from 100% recycled material. And by using technology to share ideas and teleconference, we cut our costs as well as minimizing our impact on the environment by reducing unnecessary travel.”
Leave a comment, save a fish
We know you’ve got even more great ideas, so please feel free to share them in the comments below. Or just say hello! BatchBlue will donate $2 for every commenter on this post to the Blue Ocean Institute. Because a healthy climate means healthy oceans and vice versa, and because we love the work they are doing to save the world’s oceans and coastlines. As an added bonus, one lucky winner will be randomly selected to win their very own Clapper!
Thanks for joining us in thinking about how small business can help combat climate change. Please try some (or all!) of these tips and let’s join the fight against climate change one small business at a time.
UPDATE: Well, we didn’t get as many comments as we hoped, but we’re still making a donation in the name of small business to The Blue Ocean Institute. And the lucky winner of the Clapper will be contacted within the next couple of days. Thanks everyone! –MRR
We work in a shared office environment. Four different companies sharing 3 skinny corridors. And while we occasionally disagree on what should and should not be stored in those corridors, we’re always in agreement that bicycles get free reign!
Some of us commute via two wheels and on days when the weather is just right a lot of us do.
A few of us have even gotten together to do some pro bono work for an organization called Recycle-a-Bike an organization that “promotes bicycling as a safe, fun, sustainable and empowering mode of transportation.”
We’ve started paper recycling in our office. Yes, we all wish we had been doing it sooner! Step one to more environmentally-friendly practices.
Thanks for the great post! I was on the #sbbuzz chat Tuesday night and so many great ideas were brought up, which you’ve already outlined above.
Here’s to going green!
Jessica Routier, IAC-EZ
As the business manager for 5 companies, I am constantly bombarded with paper, so I encourage my vendors to go paperless, to invoice via email rather than snail mail(in a pdf so it can easily be moved and archived). I also tell them I don’t have a fax machine, so it’s not an option for them.
Once you’re recycling the next step is to compost! You’d be surprised how much bio-degradable waste gets thrown out. Of course it helps to live in SF where the city will pick up your compost but it should also be easy to find a community garden that will take it off your hands.
Thanks for all the great suggestions – turning off the power for items not in use is certainly something I could be doing a better job of.
I haven’t used my printer in ages though…
One thing I like to do is to shop locally whenever possible – it not only decreases my gas usage but also helps support the local economy.
SB
I think one of the most pressing concerns facing the environment and the oceans in particular is the Pacific Gyre and plastics in the oceans.
I’m very excited to see consumer electronic vendors starting to adopt a smaller plastic footprint for their packaging. It’s being driven by the anti-clamshell packaging movements. Those clamshells are hard on consumers (can’t open them) and hard on the environment (lots of the clamshells end up in the ocean).
Anything that can be done to support that would be great.
Nate Gilmore
Shipwire product fulfillment
Businesses should encourage their employees to exercise. This might take the form of subsidizing a membership, or just recognizing some time in the weekly schedule for people to get moving. Fit people are ill less and require fewer sick days. They tend to be happier and more productive while they are at work and they are less likely to need to turn up the heat during the Winter (though they may be fond of AC in the Summer). Fit employees are also more likely to consider riding a bike as an alternative to driving. See, I linked it to the environment eventually!
Once people are thinking about making themselves stronger they usually look into what they eat. Whole and local foods are better for you and the environment too. Plus (and I know that BatchBlue is already beautiful but hey…) your employees will become more attractive!
Working from home has never felt so good.
In fact I think that I will recommend your blog to my boss, in the hope that he sees how much good he is doing for the environment, and how much he is saving money by employing me to work from home. I sense a raise…
Not only that but I am an ardent recycler, with fantastic recycling amenities on my door step there is really no excuse.
All that I need now is to finally convince them to electronically send my pay slip, rather than trad post. So long as it arrives I am happy.