Tips on Improving Your Company’s Environmental Impact

You might have heard the term greener office or similar in passing, but it’s a bit of a vague phrase to many people. As we deal with the reality of climate change, it’s a collective responsibility to try and reduce our negative impact on the environment. Businesses will need to do their part, and small changes make a difference when they happen regularly.

Safe Removals considers ourselves a greener removals company due to our ongoing commitment to improving how we operate. Here’s what it means in practice and how your company can make sound environmental decisions.

Greener Work Ethics for a Brighter Future –

Whichever way you look at it, we’re living and working in uncertain times to which we need to feel our way into new ways of doing things. These moments often give birth to positive change, where a struggle against an antagonist creates something new. And the fight against climate change should be the cause we all get behind. Likely, future pandemics will only get worse with the increase in carbon emissions and general lack of progress.

It’s true that a lot of the shake-up in environmental action and standards is needed at government and corporate levels, but small changes all add up. Every person and company have a role to play, whether it’s by adopting paperless office procedures or improving your recycling action. Even if you do your level best to keep waste from reaching a landfill, you’re making a massive contribution.

Another feasible way to make a proactive adjustment is by reducing your carbon output. At a business level, you can achieve this by having a remote working rota where x-number of employees don’t travel to your office. And in your workplace, replacing filament with energy-saving lightbulbs and turning off all electrical devices when not in use further increases your positive approach.

In this blog, we’ll look at how you can make some practical modifications to how your business functions. This will also include some considerations around renewable energy suppliers, better reuse, recycle, and repurpose strategies, which all adds up to sharing useful information and environmental practices.

Office Decluttering: Reuse, Recycle, Repurpose –

This might sound like a strange suggestion for a business, but decluttering isn’t solely for households. Plenty of hoarding occurs in the workplace, where backrooms and cupboards are hosting old folders and stationery. The environmental benefit of decluttering might not seem obvious at this point, but we’ll expand upon the benefits and how they interlink.

The main thing to remember here is that decluttering doesn’t necessarily lead to lots of waste. The aim is to avoid disposal which ends up in a landfill. This is where you can create and enact a better environmental process for waste management. If you have items, you no longer need but may be of use, consider how you can donate them for reuse or repurposing. Failing that, recycling is the best option.

Every district in London has lots of recycling points in places all around the city, usually near supermarkets. To give you a helping hand, you can check out this link to find the closest one to you. There are council initiatives for recycling which makes it possible to recycle at least 50% of your waste. You can read up on London’s local provisions and schemes for recycling here.

The key here is to rethink the way we do things. Wherever possible, we should be trying to reduce the volume of general waste we create. That means separating glass, cardboard, and plastic so they can be recycled. Additionally, you might also consider creating a compost bin to help further increase your drive to reduce waste.

Tips on Practical Environmental Improvements –

Switch to LED Bulbs – One simple but effective way to move towards a greener office is to change to LED lightbulbs.  Most incandescent bulbs use a lot of energy, so replacing them with LEDs will lower your overall consumption. LEDs also last for approximately ten years, and their efficiency is kinder on the national power grid.

Reduce Air Travel – Air travel is a significant contributor to carbon emissions, specifically due to the altitude where the CO2 occurs. As we’re looking for alternative fuel solutions, the easiest way to reduce this is by flying less and conducting more meetings with video conferencing. Try and get a train or bus if you’re travelling within the same country.

Say No to Single-Use Plastic – If you’re a coffee-lover, you can save a tremendous amount of money by avoiding a daily cup of barista coffee. The main players are also some of the worst offenders for single-use plastic. However, if you can’t resist the lure, then buy an eco-friendly cup and avoid their single-use ones. Plus-points for anyone who’s already taking their reusable bags to the supermarket.

Lights and Equipment Off – We’re all guilty of leaving an appliance or light on when it’s not in use. If you are more vigilant, you’ll be able to reduce your energy consumption just by switching devices off. Same with any lights when you’re not in the room. And remember – a printer or computer that’s on standby is still on.

Renewable Energy and Switching Suppliers –

Even though there are no longer any government subsidies for installing solar panels, it still makes financial sense to consider this renewable energy source. And in the long run, you will reduce your monthly utility bills and carbon output. Solar energy panels have come a long way in the last thirty years, and even the colder, cloudier parts of the UK can utilise solar power. A forward-thinking business owner will do well by having solar panels on the roof of each building.

Solar panels are usually installed on rooftops to get the most benefit from the sun, in addition to them being effective. New solar panel designs are coming onto the market, most notably the solar shingles. Solar energy is diverse in its design and application, with technology such as solar water heating. This is an alternative to central gas heating which would either replace this system or as an easement between the two modes.

If you’re not in a position where installing a renewable energy device is viable, this doesn’t mean you can’t utilise green energy. The energy sector is undergoing an awakening of sorts, with clean energy suppliers fighting for their share of the market. And the results show they’re finding a willing consumer base. By switching to a green energy supplier, you can reduce your carbon footprint and also save money on your monthly bills.

London’s Greener Business and Household Removals Company –

Safe Removals is always looking for ways to improve our greener business policy for removals and storage. Wherever possible, we reuse our removals boxes and any other packing materials for future jobs. And the ones that are no longer usable will go for recycling when we head to the next relocation, making sure we reduce our carbon emissions.

We do everything possible to avoid throwing anything away that may have a viable purpose. Our team make regular trips to recycling centres with unusable materials. And our local upcycling companies and charity shops receive donations of furniture and appliances clients no longer want to keep. This all adds up to our drive to avoid waste going into landfills.

Every removals job we book undergoes an assessment and preparation process. This makes it possible for each relocation to be efficient by weighing up the carbon impact for each removal. If we can logically use one of our smaller man & van vehicles, we will do so, but that may not be efficient. And one trip with one of our larger vans is more economical for specific situations.

Further to the reuse, recycle, upcycle, and donate process our teams work with, each facility uses electricity sparingly and has energy-friendly lightbulbs. We also encourage our customers to turn any electrical appliances off at the socket when they’re not in use.

Safe Removals – Reducing Our Impact on the Environment –

The recent pandemic lockdown was an eye-opener on many levels.  And the business community bore the brunt of the tighter restrictions. While it’s important to get our economy moving again, it’s now possible to make some long-overdue environmental changes to how we operate our businesses. Why not take advantage of this gradual return to things by creating and applying greener working practises?

At Safe Removals, we understand our role and responsibilities regarding things like carbon emissions and greener working processes. And while we believe our policy around this is substantial, we’re always reading up on new research and information. Efficiency is another key aspect which can play a pivotal role in improving environmental impact.

If you want to work with a removals and storage company that cares about the environment, please contact us today. Every decisive action makes a big difference, and our policy and greener working practises can benefit your carbon footprint.