Greening Your Business Can Be a Smart Move

Let’s face it.  You are an entrepreneur because you want to make money. It’s not only how you earn your living. It’s also how you hope to earn your first million.  You may not feel like you have time for greening your business.

In fact, you may think it’s impossible for your type of business to even go green.  You aren’t alone. There are many business enterprises that have a long way to go before they could be called pro-environment.  That doesn’t mean, however, that you can’t try.

Why should you?  It’s good for business.  If you can show the public that you are making an effort, they will feel more inclined toward your enterprise. Investors will like the positive publicity.  Clients or customers who may have environmental concerns will be more likely to overcome that reluctance and purchase your product or enroll in your service.

Those are the reasons why greening your business can be a smart move.  But how can you make it happen?  Entrepreneurs are busy.  They don’t have time to follow whims.  That’s why we have brought together these recommendations.  Even if these examples don’t apply directly to your business, hopefully, they will inspire you to think creatively.

You’ll Look Good When You Zero Out Waste

Your business can emphasize recycling in all aspects of its endeavors. Perhaps you’ll get lucky and your waste product can be sold.  That’s what happened with tires. They were once just thrown away, but now old tires are sold to manufacturers who will turn them into something new.

A company that manufactures composite mats found a way to zero out waste. They simply collect all of the scraps from the process. Then that material gets melted down and used for the next batch of mats.

Donations Reduce the Waste Stream

Perhaps you can’t recycle your excess, but maybe there’s somewhere your extra products can go to keep them out of the landfill. Perhaps they can be donated somewhere.  This reduces the waste stream, a fact which you can discuss with investors and clients. It may also give you a charitable tax deduction, helping your bottom line.

Protection is Cheaper than Restoration

If the environmental impact of your business is one that can be seen, it’s a good idea to address it head-on.  Protection is always cheaper than restoration. How can your enterprise prevent environmental problems that can be seen by the public?

For example, a contractor may rip up the yard where he is remodeling a home.  He can invest in 20 composite mats to cover the grass and prevent soil erosion. This makes the customer happy and shows that he understands how important topsoil is to the environment.

Sometimes You Need to Find the Spin

As stated already, many businesses simply can’t avoid their environmental impact.  However, there are ways to use monetary donations to make up for this.  If these go to charities, this may be a tax write-off.

For instance, a developer was often criticized for how many trees were destroyed on each new building site.  The developer started donating to a city program that planted trees all over town.  Instead of being known for cutting down trees, his business became known for greening the city.

There are so many ways to make a positive impact on the environment. Entrepreneurs simply need to use their natural creativity to discover how their business can become greener. Not to sound cynical, but there may even be money in it, and that’s sure to be an incentive to entrepreneurs everywhere.