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The Environmentalist’s Approach To Business

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article |Environmentalist|The Environmentalist's Approach To BusinessRunning a business and being an environmentalist are two things that might not seem to naturally go together, but they can actually work together pretty easily if you know how best to approach it. The truth is that there is a way to run a business which is good for the environment, but you do have to make sure that you are specifically doing that, otherwise it won’t just happen on its own. Let’s take a look at some of the things to bear in mind if you are keen to run your business in this way. You might find some of these things make a huge difference.

Be Honest With Shareholders

One of the things you need to do is to make sure that you are being honest with your shareholders about what you aim to do regarding the environment and your business’ approach to it. If you are not honest about this, it only means that you are going to attract the wrong kind of shareholder, so that is something that you’ll find doesn’t pay off anyway in the long run. Be honest with them upfront, however, and you should be able to get a lot more out of it.

Take Care With Construction

Essentially, anything new that you create you have to make sure that you are doing so as sustainably as possible, as otherwise you can’t really be sure that you are genuinely helping the planet as much as you would like to. You should therefore consider it a general rule of thumb to take care with your construction of products, buildings and whatever else, and to ensure that you are sourcing your resources sustainably and using them appropriately too. That is going to really make a huge difference, so it’s something you’ll want to think about.

Reduce Waste

That feeds in nicely to our next major point – that you should be aiming to reduce your waste as much as possible as you go about running your business. The less waste you produce in business, the better for the planet it is, not only because it requires energy to have it disposed of, but because it helps to reduce the amount of leachate in landfills and other such toxins that you would rather avoid if at all possible. Do all you can to reduce waste and you are going to be helping the environment a lot.

Take Responsibility & Hold Yourself Accountable

Above all, you need to make sure that you are actually taking responsibility for what you do, and that you are making a point of holding yourself accountable at all times. As long as you are doing that, it should mean that you are going to have a much better chance of doing right by the planet at all times. This is something that you can then do better and better as time goes on and as your business grows – just as it gets more important to do it, too, as your impact grows as well.

Going Paperless With Your Finances: Why It Makes Sense

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Finances Article |going paperless |Going Paperless With Your Finances: Why It Makes SenseNo matter how complicated your finances are, you need a way to keep track of invoices, payments, tax details, and all other relevant information.

For most people, this means using paper files and dealing with the hassle of storing hundreds of pieces of paper in an overcrowded filing cabinet.

Believe it or not, paper waste is responsible for about 40 percent of the waste that ends up in landfills in the United States. Just think of the number of times you have to take out the trash when you’re cleaning out your filing cabinet! The sooner you can ditch your paper filing system, the better off you’ll be.

Going paperless can feel like a big deal. Here’s why it’s more than worth the effort.

Going Paperless Saves You Time

If you’ve ever relied on paper files for your business finances, you know that searching for a single page out of hundreds can take time. That’s time you could better put to use running your company and making sure your clients and customers are happy.
Things get misplaced and tracking them down when the files are out of order is time-consuming at best.

When you go paperless, you’ll save yourself time anytime you need to access information. Instead of having to flip through file after file, you’ll be able to search for the exact information you need on your computer. All it takes is a few keystrokes and the information will be at your fingertips in a matter of seconds.

Once you’re done, all you have to do is close the webpage window. You won’t have to make sure the paper gets filed in the proper folder in the right order!

You’ll Stay More Organized

It’s rare for a filing cabinet to stay organized all the time. When you add new documents, the system gets crowded and when you pull out a file, things often get misplaced.

This makes it hard for you to keep things organized so all information is available when you need it.

When you take your finances into the digital space, you’ll be able to improve your organization methods immediately. The physical filing cabinet will get replaced with digital files that never get shuffled around.

The more organized you can keep your finances, the easier it will be to stay on top of things.

Just make sure to invest in the right equipment to make going digital easy. Start researching your options and look for ways to save a PDF as a JPEG to further improve your organization methods.

It’s Eco-Friendly

Paper doesn’t just clutter up landfills. It also uses up tons of water. In fact, it takes over 3 gallons of water to produce a single sheet of paper.

By cutting out paper files and documents from your life, you’ll dramatically decrease your carbon footprint each day.

You can even advertise your business as an eco-conscious company. If you combine your paperless initiative with other environmentally friendly improvements, you may be able to attract new customers that otherwise wouldn’t have approached your business.

Paperless Files Save You Money

Believe it or not, ditching your paper filing system in favor of a digital system can save you serious money each month. Anytime you print a document, you’re using up paper, electricity, and toner. Over the course of the month, the amount you spend on those items can really add up.

By ditching paper, you’ll decrease the amount of money you have to spend on those costly office supplies. Your electricity bill may even go down slightly since you won’t have to send power to the printer often.

Remember, you’re already relying on your computers each day. Using them to manage digital files won’t add to your expenses.

It Improves Information Security

Paper files go missing all the time even when you and your team are incredibly careful. Unfortunately, even a single missing file can be a huge security risk for both business owners and individuals.

Clients and customers expect business owners to keep their information safe at all times. Misplacing files means their sensitive information is at risk and could get intercepted by identity thieves.

Going digital actually improves security for you whether you’re a business owner or taking control of your personal finances. You can add password protection to the files and control who has access to the information at all times.

You don’t even have to store the information on-site. Instead, you can use cloud-based data hosting services to keep your sensitive files safe at all times. These companies have the right protocols in place to keep your files secure against the most common cyber threats.

You’ll Be Less Stressed During Tax Season

Businesses and individuals alike have to deal with the uncomfortable task of filing taxes each year. To get the most out of your tax return, you need access to your financial documents, accounting records, and receipts to claim the largest deductions possible.

If you lose track of those files and records, it will only delay your tax return and increase the stress you feel when you’re trying to file by the deadline.

By scanning your documents onto your computer or storing them in the cloud, you’ll never have to worry about misplacing critical information. If you can’t find the document you’re looking for, all you have to do is search for it.

This can dramatically reduce the amount of stress you feel during tax season.

See the Benefits of Going Paperless for Yourself

If you’re considering going paperless, don’t wait. The sooner you do, the sooner you’ll be able to experience these benefits for yourself.

Don’t worry about rushing the process, though. Take your time, go through your existing files, and get rid of ones that you no longer need. This way, you won’t have to deal with an overcrowded hard drive.

Going paperless isn’t the only way to improve your business or personal finances. You just need to know where to start. Check out our latest posts for more tips and tricks to help you take control of your finances once and for all.

Four Things You Could Be Doing For A More Sustainable Construction Biz

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article |Sustainable Business | Four Things You Could Be Doing For A More Sustainable Construction BizThe construction industry has always been well respected while also being at the center of a global focus for pollution. Poor air quality is a big deal, and the construction industry is always in the spotlight due to the way the pollutants hit the air. It’s construction that is a number one polluter, and yet there are so many things that companies in the business could be doing to clean up their act.

The air we breathe and the grounds that you work on all need to be cared for properly to avoid adding anything more to the environment than is necessary. Your strategy should take into account the space your teams work in around the country, too. Taking all of that into consideration, you can check out the four things that you could be doing to build a sustainable construction site from today.

  1. Look At Your Premises. As a lot of pollution comes directly from the building sites and the transportation used in the business of construction, and it’s important that you get as much information about zero valent iron and other safe remediation products to remove pollutants from the soil outside. Your site should be energy efficient, and you should be able to use as many renewable sources as possible while you and your team work.
  2. Remove Waste Safely. Construction sites often emanate waste, and the contribution to waste streams means that construction is never really considered as sustainable. An effective waste management policy is essential for your business, and if you want to combat the sustainability issues with your company, you need to look deeper.
  3. Make Your Transport As Economical As Possible. At the moment, transport on the road is a significant contributor to carbon dioxide emissions. If your drivers aren’t efficient on the road or with the vehicles on site, you will not be as eco-friendly as you would like. You can switch to cars that are more efficient with fuel, and if you source as many materials locally as possible, you can reduce the impact on the environment, which will be a positive thing in the long run.
  4. Efficient Equipment. As well as making sure that you are using the right materials to remediate the grounds you are working within, you also need to ensure that you are using renewable options for equipment where possible. This also means using fuels of a high-quality, and this means choosing the right equipment for your site from day one. The equipment here can include the generator, as you want to use generators that fit your needs.

The construction industry is working hard to remain responsible in the industry, and your business should be taking a stand, too. Operating a carbon reduction strategy is just one of many ways that you could do well for the environment, and you can get started today to do better for the world.

Improving Your Industrial Business Climate By Reducing Your Carbon Footprint

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StrategyDriven Tactical Execution Article
Photo courtesy of Pixabay

It is one of the most important aspects of running a business in the modern world, its impact on the environment that cannot be underestimated. Whether you are running a business that uses a lot of electricity all the way through to something that makes a bigger carbon footprint, like an industrial business. There are many ways to improve your business so it can be a lot more environmentally ethical in this respect, so let’s go through some of the basics and make sure that you are up to speed.

Working With Like Minded Clients

Practicing sustainability is not just something you need to do in-house, but it’s something that you need to think about on every step of the chain, from where you purchased your equipment, all the way through to your suppliers. When you look at equipment like rig mats from Northern Mat, you can see that this company are continuously working to reduce environmental impacts through the everyday processes and equipment they make. It’s important that you align yourself with the company with the right ethical outlooks, especially as the government policies and regulations are becoming increasingly stricter with every passing year. Every aspect of your equipment in an industrial framework is a potentially dangerous item of machinery that has a big impact on your carbon footprint as a whole.

Making Your Business Sustainable From The Ground Up

An environmentally conscious business isn’t just something to benefit the planet, nowadays it’s a key part of how you attract clients and how you do business, so it needs to be part of your overall business operation. Potential clients will look to see how you are dealing with sustainability, not just on the ground level, that’s all the way up the ranks, through to your business plans and processes. It’s not enough to make it appear like you are covering your bases in this respect, it needs to be part of your whole ethos.

Replacing Your Raw Materials

Running an industrial business is a big drainer of raw materials, so it’s important for you to replace those, not just because of the moral obligation, but it also sets a good example to other businesses to do the same. A very simple example of this is to offset the devastation of deforestation in the world, so if you are a business that uses a lot of paper, planting the equivalent number of trees to replenish the paper you are using is a small step to show your intentions with the future of the planet.

Long gone are the days of recycling being a cutting-edge approach to helping save the planet. It’s an automatic approach to the way everybody looks after the planet now. So you need to make sure that you are imbuing your company with the best possible ways to cut back on damaging Mother Earth. From the products to the processes, and everything in between, it’s time to put your thinking cap on if you’re working on building an industrial company.