There are many ways in which your business can go green, from the building you choose to set up shop in to the way you offer receipts to your customers. One way a good amount of businesses are striving to save money and save the environment is by going virtual. When everything is done online there is no need for wasted papers and if you’re working from home you don’t even need to worry about vehicle emissions destroying the air and the environment.
While not every business is going to be able to thrive from a home environment, if yours can it’s a great way to save money and the earth. Even if you can’t, here are some of the ways that doing more work through the internet can help your business be more green, and save some green as well.
Start with a Backup Plan
Instead of printing everything out and keeping it in bulky filing cabinets, you can easily save all of your businesses information online, or on your computer. It’s important to make sure to keep backup disks, or even have thumb drives with information backed up on them. Instead of spending money to have an IT professional in house, you can hire an IT company when the need arises. This will help you save money.
Not only does keeping your info on a computer a good idea, but it also helps protect the information of your customers as well. Just make sure you have security measures set up on your computers to prevent hacking and information theft. You can also use the cloud to save up on storage space.
Quit Printing Things
It seems like everyone has an email account these days and many retail stores are taking that into account when it comes to the possibility of saving money and trees. By emailing receipts to customers it cuts down on waste, although many companies are still giving their patrons the choice of whether they want them printed or emailed.
Even doctor’s offices and courthouses in many area are working harder on cutting down paper waste by having people sign in on laptops and computers. It keeps information safer, since there is no way to know who is going to have access to actual paperwork, but a computer can be secured so that only certain people can see certain information.
Cloud Computing
By getting on the cloud bandwagon you will not only save on paper and waste, but there are so many other things that you can do with the cloud. You can get a phone system that is more reliable than the normal phone systems, and can allow you to stay connected no matter where you are as long as you have an internet connection.
The cloud also offers a unique way to share information between clients and employees. Instead of always emailing documents that can easily be shared with a link.