5 Eco-Friendly Ideas for Businesses

Being eco-friendly is not just great for the planet, but also for business. More and more, customers are looking at how sustainable businesses are, with 90% wanting to opt for sustainable businesses. Below, we will discuss some of the easiest changes that you can implement to make your business more eco-friendly and sustainable. Here are 5 eco-friendly ideas for businesses.

1. Switch to bamboo toilet paper for the office

Bamboo toilet paper produces 35% fewer carbon emissions than recycled toilet paper and 65% fewer carbon emissions than regular toilet paper. Also, due to bamboo’s naturally hypoallergenic and antibacterial qualities, there are zero chemicals used in both its fermenting and manufacturing processes.

One eco-friendly swap that you can make is switching to sustainable toilet paper for the office, and we know a great business that can ensure you are well-stocked (hint: it's us!). Bazoo’s subscription model allows us to help you find your frequency of rolls used every month and deliver to your offices before you even have to think about making the next order; effortless and hassle-free!

2. Go paperless

With the rise and ease of technology, one of the simplest changes you can make is to go paperless. Nearly 1 billion trees worth of paper are thrown away every year: by going paperless, you can be part of the answer to waste reduction rather than a contributor.

A few easy ways to go paperless include scanning documents, downloading rather than printing, switching to digital receipts and using e-signatures. If paper must be used, be sure to recycle it responsibly and in the correct way for your local area.

3. Offset your carbon emissions

Carbon dioxide is the main greenhouse gas produced every day by humans and their activities. It is emitted when making the clothes we wear, travelling for work or leisure, and the food we buy in the supermarket is a big contributor too. It’s produced every day, all the time, and is at record-breaking highs.

One switch you can make is by offsetting your carbon emissions with established and accredited carbon companies. Companies help you calculate your business’ or individual employees’ emissions and how best to offset them.

Ovo has a great post with everything you need to know about how to offset your carbon. Bazoo started their journey by offsetting 200% of all their carbon emissions with Climate Care and haven’t looked back!

4. Encourage sustainable forms of transport to work

Sustainable transportation options are a simple opportunity for all businesses to be more thoughtful about the impact their employees have when getting to and from work. 68% of the UK working population commute to work by car (source Gov.uk). Some ways you can encourage sustainable forms of transport include:

• Incentives such as cycle to work schemes.
• Flexible working that enables people to travel when roads/conditions are better.
• The option to work from home - cuts out commuting emissions altogether.
• If employees have to drive, encourage car sharing.       

5. Run initiatives to limit food waste

The UK generates over 16 million tonnes of food waste every year, costing an estimated £22 billion. Every business in the UK produces food waste which commonly goes to landfill. Reducing food waste can massively reduce the need for general waste services.

One easy switch you can make is to implement a food recycling service for unavoidable waste. You can also set targets to encourage workers to be mindful of their waste, or donate unused and untouched food to shelters or charities.

 

We hope this guide to eco-friendly changes for businesses has been useful. There are so many changes you can make to ensure your business is more sustainable - simply put, REDUCE, REUSE and RECYCLE. Reduce what you use, reduce your waste, reuse what you have and recycle what you don’t!

One sustainable switch your business can make today is the switch to bamboo toilet paper... Check out our rolls and contact us for our wholesale business prices or if you want more advice on making small changes with big impacts!