What can businesses do?

There are dozens of ways to make your business or organization greener. Here are 10 tips to get you started.

Tips for a Greener Business

1. Reduce office waste. Cut out paper communications where possible. Make two-sided photocopying a company policy. Use outdated forms or letterhead for printing in-house memos.
2. Create a reuse and recycling center. Reuse one-sided documents for printing drafts or informal documents.
3. Purchase green. Buy recycled, refurbished, or reconditioned products wherever possible.
4. Reduce your energy use. Encourage lights, computers and other devices to be turned off when not in use. Make sure appliances that use energy even when off are turned all the way off, via power strips or other technology.
5. Be energy-efficient. Purchase efficient appliances (the EnergyStar label is a good guide) and use energy-saving technologies to reduce lighting needs.
6. Save water. Reduce and conserve. Install water-efficient appliances. Reuse water when possible.
7. Find non-toxic alternatives to toxic products.
8. Encourage alternative transportation. Support carpooling efforts and provide public transit subsidies, as well as bike racks or lockers for employees and customers.
9. Green your building. When building a new location or renovating existing space, identify environmentally friendly design components that can reduce the impact and lifecycle costs of the facility.
10. Network with other green businesses. Learn from other businesses committed to reducing their environmental impacts; two good local places to start are the Brighton Chamber of Commerce and the Rochester Green Business Network.
11. Get credit where credit is due. When you take action to reduce your environmental footprint, nominate yourself for Brighton’s Green Business Award . 

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