Future-proofing is being proactive to protect our people and our assets following natural disasters, economic crashes, or pandemics. One way to future-proof your business is to ensure that your business energy supply is procured and managed smartly and efficiently.
As we move away from fossil fuels and towards renewable, sustainable energy options, it behoves us to look towards green, environmentally friendly ways to future-proof our businesses.
In this post, we will look at trending and classic green initiatives to future-proof your business.
Hybrid working models
The Covid-19 pandemic taught us plenty about ourselves and how we live, work, and play. The ways in which we work have changed dramatically for many, as fully remote working models are now embraced by companies. Others who still favour or require on-site work have looked to hybrid models where employees have the flexibility to work remotely or in the office as they please. These hybrid models of work are said to be the future of work as they can improve productivity and happiness in employees.
There will not be a one-size-fits-all model for hybrid working, so your company will need to figure out what is best for you and your employees. If it is plausible for your business, let employees work a certain number of days from a location of their choosing. The benefits of this are many: employees benefit personally from the flexibility, they reduce their carbon emissions from traveling, and your office uses less energy, saving you more money.
If on-site work is better suited for your sector and employees, there are several ways you can reduce energy consumption, cost, and emissions. Our five sustainable office changes post-lockdown is a great resource with which to start future proofing your business. Setting achievable goals and adopting an energy management plan is the next big, but manageable, step you can take.
We believe all SMEs, making up 99 per cent of all UK businesses, can play a major role in helping our society reach its net zero targets.
Procure green business energy
The recent energy crisis has shown us the importance of embracing renewable energy in addition to using energy more efficiently. Today, business energy suppliers offer great green energy tariffs to their portfolio, giving you plenty of options to find renewable energy that fits your budget and suits your energy needs.
BusinessEnergyQuotes.com lets you narrow down your search for the best energy deal thanks to several filters from term length, preferred suppliers and even green energy providers. When you search for an energy quote, you can filter only green business energy suppliers in your results.
Sustainable procurement
Sustainable procurement is where you prioritise goods, services, works, and utilities that cause minimal impact to the environment. Environmental disasters brought on by climate change directly affect supply chains, natural resources, and communities, all of which are critical pieces in how our economies flourish. Looking towards sustainable procurement is important if you want to protect your business from risks associated with climate disasters.
Sustainable procurement also builds your green credentials and boosts your corporate reputation. Increasingly, customers and investors alike want to see businesses consider their environmental impact. Keeping the environment on the top of your list of priorities is a great way to increase your reputation amongst consumers and shareholders.
Some smaller green initiatives to future-proof your business
Go paperless
Technologies like cloud storage, file share, and advanced networking, plus the market for affordable and powerful personal devices allow us to move towards a paperless office environment. The reduction of paper use in your business is an extra saving on office costs. Collaborative platforms let us share our work more easily, too.
Not to mention: office printers are usually broken anyway, right?
Consider green hosting
A move towards a paperless office in favour of a more digital one requires more servers to host this data online. Servers and data centres are some of the most energy-consuming sites anywhere, so the more of them we have across the world, the more energy is required to keep them running. This means more emissions are spewed following energy generation.
Green web hosting is designed to reduce or eliminate the environmental impact that the service provides. Green web hosting companies use natural cooling, energy-efficient hardware, energy-efficient server software, and renewable energy supplies to power and cool their data servers hosting their clients’ data. Advancements in technologies supporting green hosting are paving the way for more companies to innovate in this area and offer professional web hosting that you would find with any regular hosting provider.
Energy saving tips for the office
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- Turn off lights, equipment, and appliances when not in use – This no-brainer tip is still worth a mention because, admittedly, many of us still leave powered on unnecessarily.
You can start by posting polite reminders around the office to shut down personal computers and other desk equipment during breaks and especially at the end of the day. In the kitchen and toilets, too, you can remind employees to turn out the lights.
At the end of the day, turn off your heating and air conditioning units. If you need to keep these on overnight, set them to temperatures where the units will not have to work so hard to meet. - Boil only as much water as you need – Coffee and other warm (and likely caffeinated) beverages are staples in an office kitchen, so we would be remiss if we did not offer another energy-saving tip in this important area.
If electric kettles are your primary appliances for making coffee, encourage your employees to boil only the water they need for their drink at that time. The reduction in energy drawn to boil water will create marginal savings – but savings nonetheless – on your final energy bill.
- Turn off lights, equipment, and appliances when not in use – This no-brainer tip is still worth a mention because, admittedly, many of us still leave powered on unnecessarily.
- Create green challenges for employees – Friendly competitions are great for nurturing a lively office atmosphere. You can motivate your employees to adopt green initiatives by introducing regular challenges with leaderboards and prizes. For example, you can create a cycle to work day, wear recyclable clothing day, reduce plastic day, and so on. The winners could get cool (and environmentally friendly) company gear or other special perks.
Secure a new energy contract now
Another way to provide peace of mind for your business is to procure a business energy contract at a price and in terms that suit your long-term goals and needs.
BusinessEnergyQuotes.com lets you compare energy quotes from over 20 of the UK’s best energy suppliers in seconds, and within just three minutes, you could be signing for your next business energy deal, 100 per cent online.