Ten Steps to Carbon Freedom for Every Small Business
1. Establish an Energy Consumption Baseline
How much energy do you use (gas and electric) to heat, cool, light, and run machinery (including computers) at your business? Monthly average is fine; monthly rates adjusted for heating / cooling days is better. It should all be on your utility bills.
2. Establish a Consumables Baseline
What are the monthly quantities (not prices) you consume of copy / printer paper, toner and / or ink, …and, any other item that your business consumes, not your customers. For example, if you make doughnuts, the flour and sugar are consumed by your customers, not by you (except for necessary quality control samples, of course!), and should therefore not be counted as your consumables. Oil used to fry the doughnuts is consumed by your business and therefore is counted as one of your consumables.
3. Understand Your Goals
Your goals are to (1) reduce energy consumption, (2) reduce use of consumables, (3) engage in those activities (like recycling) that offset your energy and consumables consumption. Your carbon footprint is the net sum of these activities (energy used + consumables used – offsetting practices = carbon footprint). Online calculators convert these components into an equivalent effective release of tons of carbon into the atmosphere. (Read our 6/12 blog entry.)
4. Be Reassured
You don’t have to eliminate your carbon footprint altogether; reducing your footprint, by whatever amount, will help the environment and almost certainly help your bottom line as well.
5. Lower Your Energy Consumption
Use equipment / computers / appliances that draw less energy (e.g., use Energy Star rated equipment, use lower wattage bulbs, etc.). Use equipment / computers / appliances less frequently (e.g., turn off computers at night, use power strip switches to kill “energy vampires.”)
6. Lower Your Use of Consumables
For example, print only when you need to, but when you do, print on both sides of the paper. Use higher quality oil that lets you deep fry more batches of doughnuts before it must be replaced.
7. Measure Offsetting Activities
How many pounds of paper do you recycle each month? How many recycled toner cartridges do you use? How many gallons of fry oil do you recycle, not simply dispose of?
8. Don’t Reinvent the Wheel
Others have done this before; benefit from their experience. Read our Blog and Green Tips.
9. Recalculate and Celebrate
After all these changes, recalculate your carbon footprint and celebrate your savings.
10. Share Your Story
Tell us how you did, and how you did it. Send us a note at info@crabtreecompany.com. |