When you look around at businesses you might notice that they seem to be making all the effort in the world to try and make themselves look eco-friendly and good to the environment. If you’re like most jaded consumers though, you may find that this all sits a little uneasily as you suspect they are probably just trying to ‘look good’ and have little interest in actually going green or saving the planet.
What’s important to remember though is that going green doesn’t just benefit the planet – it also benefits them to a huge degree and so they often generally are interested in being more eco-friendly and efficient. If it makes them look good too then that’s probably just a bonus.
For example: switching to solar. If your business makes the switch to solar energy, then it can enjoy a number of money saving benefits and marketing benefits.
Here we will look at a few ways that businesses benefit from going green, which may help you when making decisions regarding your own organization.
It’s Sustainable
A good business should be thinking long term, and this is the most important way to avoid getting into trouble later down the line and to maximize profits. If you sell produce or work with natural materials such as woods for instance, then your business is somewhat dependent on those materials and produce being available – if you can’t get hold of them then you won’t have anything to sell.
And as for switching to solar, this will
As such then using sustainable materials will ensure that a business can run much longer into the future and will help you to remain resilient.
It Costs Less
Being eco-conscious is all about being efficient, and good business should also be about being efficient. Every bit of energy you save on your lighting or your heating is not only going to reduce your carbon footprint, but it’s also going to save your company on those bills. Using solar panels is a fantastic way to do this of course and you’ll also benefit from the option to sell the energy back to the grid (potentially) and a tax break.
It Creates Marketing Opportunities
If you are an eco-conscious company, then suddenly customers have added incentive to support you because they will know you’re doing good for the planet. Even better, try writing in to a magazine that deals specifically with this subject matter and explain how you’ve made your company more efficient somehow and that will be newsworthy and will be free marketing!
Profit
If there are two products on the shelves for the same price but one is more eco-friendly than the other, then shoppers will almost always choose the more efficient product. This way they can feel good about themselves and do something to help, and will still get the same product for the same money.
In fact you will find that often you can even sell your eco-friendly products for more money than you could sell other products – which means you can increase your profits even further (and further still if you’ve also reduced your overheads by being more efficient with energy and materials).
It’s Good for Your Reputation
Of course, this is all very good for your reputation too and it will mean that customers think of your organization as one with a conscious and one that’s worthy of their support. This can also be a great way to improve your PR after a scandal or recent bad press. The great thing about a solar panel array is that it can be seen from a distance – it advertises itself!
