- Category:
Small Business Energy Savings - Published:
March 1, 2023
Earth Day Tips and Activities for Small Businesses
Celebrate your commitment to a healthy environment with small business Earth Day activities that make a difference. We’ve gathered this list of ideas to help you get started in thinking about ways to engage your employees and customers in caring for our planet and to support environmental sustainability in your business.
10 Earth Day Ideas for Your Small Business
Use these small business Earth Day tips to spark your creativity in finding ways to get your company involved in the celebration. Ideally, what you start on Earth Day will establish sustainable workplace practices that you build on through the year. Make real changes that have a measurable impact.
It’s fine to start small, but to have an authentic impact, you’ll want to follow through. Small business Earth Day activities can be the kick-off for your company’s long-term commitment to environmental stewardship.
1. Find creative ways to recycle and reduce waste
Recycling offers triple benefits to the environment. First, you get maximum utility from the inputs used to manufacture each item you recycle. Second, it’s one of the most effective ways to reduce waste in your business and decrease the amount of trash you send to landfills. Third, it prevents harmful chemicals and materials from entering the environment, such as the plastics and metals that go into making a laptop.
2. Pick up trash around your local community
This is among the more visible Earth Day tips for small businesses. Not only will your community see your employees cleaning up trash in the area, they’ll see the results of your efforts. You can directly improve your community and provide a high-impact way to engage employees. Consider turning trash pick-up into a year-round or annual activity.
3. Donate to an environmental organization or cause
Don’t limit yourself to hands-on small business Earth Day ideas. You can magnify the impact of your contribution by fundraising for an environmental organization or cause, especially one that is relevant to your business or has personal significance. You might also encourage your employees to give with a matching program.
4. Find sustainable replacements for single-use plastics
Eliminating single-use plastics from your workplace is a great way to make your business more environmentally friendly. Replace disposable plates and cutlery with sustainable alternatives like china and glass. Install a water filter and get rid of bottled water. Most single-use plastics don’t recycle well. You’ll be doing a huge favor for the planet by using as few throw-aways as possible.
5. Make Earth Day a carpool or public transportation day
Carpooling and encouraging the use of public transportation are small business Earth Day activities that work every day of the year. Getting people out of their cars on the commute to work reduces your company’s carbon footprint and helps cut traffic congestion. Reduced emissions on the streets of your community benefit everyone.
6. Plants trees or flowers around your business
Trees pull carbon out of the atmosphere, working as nature’s natural air filter. They can also be an effective windbreak and provide shade. In both cases, your HVAC system doesn’t have to work as hard, which helps your business save energy. Your property is also less of a heat island in the summer when your property is covered in greenery.
7. Offers incentives to customers and employees who take action
Many small business Earth Day tips concentrate on group activities, yet individual employees can have an impact. Match employee donations with an additional contribution. Offer employees time off for volunteer work. Engage your customers, too. Offer them discounts for making contributions to certain charities. These individual efforts add up to big results.
8. Look for ways to limit paper use
Reducing the use of paper in your small business saves trees. It also reduces energy involved in manufacturing and shipping it. Less paper leads to less trash and less space needed to store paperwork. Going paperless in your business may make it possible to scale down areas you need to heat and cool.
9. Share information on how to reduce water and electricity consumption
Replace fixtures in your place of business with those that use less water and electricity. Low flow toilets and highly efficient dishwashers can dramatically cut your water and power usage. Perform regular maintenance to reduce wasted water and electricity consumption. Use signs to remind employees to turn off lights and to make sure they don’t let faucets drip.
10. Set sustainability goals for the future
Use this day to engage your employees in identifying and setting small business sustainability goals for your company. When you get everyone involved in creating a small business sustainability plan, it heightens their commitment and increases follow through. Make a formal plan, execute it well, then keep people updated on your progress and achievements. Customers and partners prefer to do business with a sustainable company, and it also helps attract and retain good employees.
More ways to promote sustainability in your business
Here are some small business Earth Day tips for making your workplace more sustainable on Earth Day and every day. Now is a great time to be going green in your business.
- Use high-efficiency light bulbs. ENERGY STAR® certified light bulbs use up to 90% less energy and last 15 times longer than standard bulbs.
- Set the thermostat lower or higher. Lowering your thermostat in the summer burns more energy. The reverse happens in winter. A temperature difference of even five degrees can help to limit your power usage.
- Upgrade to energy-efficient office equipment. Upgrading computers and printers is an effective way to trim your business’s overall energy consumption.
- Switch to an eco-friendly cleaning service. They use efficient equipment, products that are sustainably made and safer for the environment, and employing multiple use linens.
- Source locally. Use locally-produced inputs as much as possible to minimize carbon emissions involved in shipping.
- Reduce travel. Encourage working from home and meeting clients online instead of flying to see them. You’ll burn less fossil fuel.
Celebrating Earth Day reminds your employees, partners and customers of the power your business has in addressing challenges to the health of our environment. You’ll raise awareness, not just of the need to do more to protect our planet, but also how people and groups in your community can do their part. Earth Day can be the start of a new commitment to the environment or can mark your company’s expanding activities in caring for the earth.
