How to reduce your expenses (and your carbon footprint) at the same time

Last year, leading climate scientists delivered a dire warning to the world: We only have 12 years to limit climate catastrophe. If we don’t, climate change will raise the planets average temperatures by more than 1.5C.

To go beyond this temperature ceiling will severely increase the risk of drought, floods, extreme heat and poverty for millions of people. We are talking about a change that will affect the entire planet, and all it’s inhabitants, for the worse.

The stakes have never been higher. According to the UN climate change summit, we are the ‘last generation that can stop climate change’.

So, what does this mean?

It means we need to take action. It means we need to pull up our bootstraps and do our part in both our personal and professional lives.

That’s right, this isn’t just about cleaning jam jars for recycling at home. If we want to make a difference, every business needs to do their part. Thankfully – if the planet boiling like an egg isn’t incentive enough – your business can also reduce expenses while saving the planet.

Here’s how to reduce your expenses (and your carbon footprint) at the same time.

1. Switch to LED or DAY lighting

Lighting is obviously necessary in any office. Ideally, you’ll have lots of natural daylight steaming into your workspace, reducing your dependence on electric lighting. However, if your office is on the darker side, you can switch to LED lighting. This will bring the bills down while reducing your electricity usage.

This is because LED bulbs have a circuit break which doesn’t have the capacity for all the electricity that flows through it. The excess energy then converts to light. A regular bulb uses all the electricity to power a separate lighting mechanism, which needs more power.

If you switch to LED lighting, you can cut costs-per-bulb by £80 and save 320kg of carbon dioxide over the lifetime of the bulb.

2. Travel only when necessary

Travel can be a massive portion of your business’s carbon footprint. It can also be very expensive. In fact, the average London business trip costs £387.15 per person. So, any trip with multiple employees could cost you thousands of pounds.

If you want to reduce expenses while improving your carbon footprint, you and your employees should only travel when necessary. For example, why not hold a video conference instead of an in-person meeting? We highly recommend RingCentral, we use it all the time.

3. Make small changes for big results

There are lots of small changes that you can make as a business which can reduce expenses while saving the planet.

• Turn all office lights out at night. Unless you’re working late, those lights that are on at night are a waste of money and energy.
• Be as paperless as possible. Only print when necessary and use tools like Dropbox Paper to share editable documents throughout your business. You can even make your purchasing processes paperless with the right software.
• Be smart with your air conditioning. Obviously, we’re not advocating freezing or boiling your employees. But, by setting your air conditioning to come on at 24C instead of 23C you can save up to £2,374 per year. Not only that, but you’ll use 30,000 fewer kilowatts.
• Be ‘Power Safe’. If you have devices you use every so often, like photocopiers and monitors, turn on ‘power safe mode’. This means they will use less energy when not in use.

Save money, save the planet

It’s a fallacy to think what’s good for your business can never be good for the planet. There are many businesses out these who want to take responsibility and do their part. For example, our parent company Articulate Marketing is a B Corp. They have a carbon neutral footprint and are recognised as a business that is a ‘force for good’ in the world.

We’d highly recommend any business to start the B Corp journey. If you do, be sure to use the environmentally friendly advice we’ve listed above. We hope it’s useful to you. If you’d like to find out how Turbine can help you save money while reducing the amount of paper you use for purchasing, expenses and time off requests, get in touch today.