1- Don’t automatically buy new!

This is especially pertinent when purchasing things like office furniture. There are a number of websites where other people offer items for free pick-up. This saves you money and of course the resources wasted making the product. Auction sites are also good for picking up green bargains that help the environment by being reused and also save you money.

2- Printing.

Don’t do it if you don’t have to, and if you do, do it double sided. Waste paper can also be used as note pads. Most reading isn’t Tolstoy to be curled up with in your bed, it can be read on screen.

3- Light bulbs.

Get rid of the old style ones and replace them with green energy saving ones. They last up to 10 times the length of time that the old ones do. They also use around a third of the energy, which can add up when you know that lighting normally counts for 5% of your energy bill. Add on top of that the hassle of having to change them (clambering up step ladders) and having to go to the store and purchasing them and it really adds up. Ignore the initial expense and make an investment.

4- Switch off.

Computers are notorious for being left on all night but other culprits are things like printers and photocopiers.

5- Keep it local.

Use local contractors, they are far more likely to develop a personal relationship with you and offer you discounted deals. They will also have a better understanding of your market, plus their locality will cut emissions from transport and communication.

6- Insulation.

This is more of a green investment but will save you money. The best way to assess this is through having a utility company do an “energy audit”. In the long term this can save you a lot of money.

7- Tax breaks.

There are tax breaks available for businesses that invest in green friendly machinery. Research them! In the UK you can get a 100% tax break on investment in energy-saving plant and machinery, low carbon-dioxide emission cars, and natural gas and hydrogen refuelling infrastructure and water-saving plant and machinery. This means that you can write off a massive part of your investment in your company against the profits that it makes.

8- Internet.

Don’t let the mailman do the job that the internet can. Send invoices, payments and mail this way. If another type of contact must be made do it over the phone.

9- Heating.

Turn the thermostat down. Switch the heating off at night and install timers so that it heats up for the morning.

10- Carpool.

If employees have to travel by car introduce a carpool, which saves them money. This has the benefit of cutting carbon emissions and also allows a proportion of your workforce to turn up drunk (joke).