Going Green to Save More Green!

How adopting eco-friendly practices can attract customers and cut costs…

It’s often perceived that “greening” your business can cost more than it’s worth. The truth is, taking a few simple steps towards making your small business eco-friendly can not only help the environment, but help your bottom line.

To begin: Go paperless! Through your WorkingPoint account, you can manage your finances online or via your mobile without ever pressing “print.” Track your time, manage your expenses, create and send invoices electronically, and more – all while reducing your carbon footprint.

In addition to paperless records, payments, and transactions, there are a number of eco-friendly practices that are easy to implement, and reap real results. A basic step is reducing your energy expenditure, and thus reducing your energy costs. Better computer hardware means less power to keep them running. An easy place to start is the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT), where you can check out which computer and server models meet the standards of a green PC.

If you work from home, you might consider using compact fluorescent light bulbs and energy-efficient appliances, specifically ones with an Energy Star label. Though sometimes more expensive up front, most energy-efficient appliances come with government-sponsored rebates and are eligible for green energy tax credits.

Another step to consider is “cloudifying” your apps, leading to big savings on server costs. Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) products let small businesses tap into IT resources that were once reserved only for large enterprises. With broadband access and subscription payments, transitioning your workload to the cloud can enable data backup, collaboration, email, productivity software and a host of applications without ever deploying a single server.

As well as saving you money, an environmentally sustainable reputation is a great way to attract, and maintain customers. A recent Harris Interactive survey found that 82 percent of American adults claim that they are well-informed about companies and brands with a good track record for sustainability. In addition, 80 percent of those consumers let that knowledge guide their purchasing decisions.