Today, more than ever before, consumers and businesses alike are becoming more conscious about the environment and the role they can play to become more environmentally friendly.  For example, many restaurants the world over have started using paper or biodegradable drinking straws, while the likes of New Zealand have banned single-use plastic. As the consumer grows more aware of how various business and manufacturing practices effect the environment, they will also start to avoid products/services that are not environmentally friendly, as much as they can. It is therefore important for organisations to make strategic moves to eliminate as much of their carbon and waste footprint as possible, or suffer the loss of environmentally conscious customers.

This highlights the question – how can organisations move towards becoming more conscious of the effect that their processes might have on the environment? The trick is to start small and to make low-cost decisions that have a long-term impact.

Some ideas that could be implemented in the office that might make a small difference:

• Switching over to a paperless environment
• Encouraging staff to forgo the use of plastic bottles and use glass instead,
• Installation of solar panels
• Encouraging staff to recycle their waste by implementing recycling bins on the premises.

Not only will these changes encourage a more environmentally-conscious employee, but the effort will not go unnoticed by your customers and a big bonus is that we can make some changes that will actually help the environment. If you’re curious about how modern technology can make it easier to go green, take a look at the following tips:

Mobile Eliminates Excessive Use of Paper

In a world where technology plays a huge role, it is important to highlight the role that mobile plays in various business practices around the world. From signing documents to emailing invoices, almost all business practices can have an online aspect or certain tasks can be executed by means of mobile devices. Not only does this eliminate excessive paper use, but it also gives customers the impression that your organisation is forward-thinking, modern, and environmentally-conscious as well as being able to take care of business on the spot.

ERP Solutions Reduce Wastage

If a green business is what you’re trying to achieve, it is important to take note of the way in which an ERP (enterprise resource planning) system can help you reduce wastage. Many retail businesses invest in an ERP solution without fully understanding the various ways in which it can help reduce wastage; from wasting money on resources or staff components that are not necessary or wasting paper used for reams of records and archive filing. By efficiently making use of your ERP solution, an organisation can eliminate wastage on a massive scale which can have a number of positive financial benefits.

Solar Solutions Reduce Reliance on Government Subsidiaries

From manufacturing to sales, many South African businesses rely on the likes of Government Subsidiaries for their power supply. However, in the era of load-shedding and unscheduled power cuts, this dependence can be detrimental to a business. Investing in Solar solutions can minimise this dependency, and assist businesses in moving forward without the unnecessary concern of dealing with an unpredictable power supply.

With the continuous improvement of technology solutions, going green is easy and more businesses have more opportunities than ever before to improve their practices. If you’re looking for modern solutions that can help future-proof your organisation, click HERE.