The focus around climate change is forcing business owners to rethink how they can make their enterprise eco-friendlier. Businesses not only have to consider the environment to win over consumers that demand brands engage in sustainable practices. There are also legal obligations to reduce your carbon footprint – or you pay the price for polluting the air.

An understanding of the laws and regulations around environmental protection and climate change are a good starting point for cleaning up your business.


However, the regulations imposed by government legislation can often be expensive to rectify. Below are several simple, cost-effective solutions that can effectively help you lower your carbon emissions, engage in sustainable practices and improve your brand perception in the minds of consumers.

Use Eco-Friendly Cleaning Products

The majority of commercial cleaning products that are typically sold in shops contain toxic chemicals that are bad for the environment and the health of your employees and the skin care of cleaners.


Switching to non-toxic cleaning solutions or using environmentally safe alternatives contribute to a sustainable future and helps you to promote your business as an environmentally-friendly firm that cares about the health of its employees and its customers.

Introduce Telecommuting

Telecommuting programs have proven to be a positive strategy for providing employees with more flexibility and reducing costs for businesses. Allowing your employees to work from home is also a fantastic strategy for environmentally conscious businesses.


With fewer people travelling to work by car, CO2 emissions are reduced on the road and you use less energy in the workplace. You also use less paper and your computer hardware last longer because it is not used as regularly.

Source Goods from Sustainable Suppliers

Green procurement is being championed on a number of levels. Buying goods and services from local businesses that engage in sustainable practices helps to manage global pollution levels and also fuels the local economy.


Consider creating your procurement policy that can be passed on to your employees. Such policies help to promote local businesses and shape your company culture to engage in energy conservation and to achieve community goals.

Install Eco-Friendly Accessories

It doesn’t have to cost a fortune to improve the energy-efficiency of your office. You can reduce the amount of energy you use and waste you throw away by making a few adjustments or installing energy-efficient accessories.


Motion-activated light switches are ideal for conference rooms, cupboards and toilets that are not used regularly. Don’t rely on people to turn the lights off.

Smart water coolers eliminate the number of plastic cups, cans and bottles that are used in the office, and swapping paper towels for micro-fiber cloth reduces the amount of waste you reroute to the landfill.

Final Thoughts

While there is little hope of stopping climate change, there are ways to manage the amount of pollution your business emits into the atmosphere. We all commit to improve air quality and protect the environment. Businesses have a responsibility to lead to way.