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Make It Your Business to Save Energy in the Workplace

Adam Groff

June 01, 2015

If you run your own small business, then you already know how important it is to cut costs wherever possible.

Fortunately, there are a number of ways your business can save money on its energy bill and it starts with getting your staff involved.

Here are just a few ways you and your employees can help your business save on energy costs:

Take Advantage of Online Document Sharing

One way to save energy and reduce costs in the workplace is to skip the printers and take advantage of online document sharing.

Using Google Docs, Dropbox, and even traditional email is a great way to cut the energy costs associated with printing and copying.

It's important to get your employees onboard too.

You can do this by making it mandatory to send all correspondence via email or doc sharing programs.

Likewise, you can quit printing cold turkey by getting rid of centrally located office printers and copiers.

Putting an end to paper will help your business save on office supplies as well.

Use Motion-Sensor Lighting

Lighting goes a long way when cutting energy costs at the workplace.

The article “4 Things Homeowners Should Know About Energy Reviews” mentions using LED and compact fluorescent lighting as a way to reduce energy costs. Well, the same goes for small business owners too.

You can take energy-efficient lighting a step further by using motion-sensor lighting in combination with LED and CFL bulbs.

Installing motion-sensor lights in hallways, restrooms, conference rooms, and storage closets will help you save tons of money each year in workplace lighting costs.

Find the Ideal Office Temperature

Chances are the temperature in your office changes every time one of your employees walks by the thermostat. You want your staff to be comfortable, but constantly changing the heat and A/C setting will wreak havoc on your energy bill.

Instead of doing the temperature shuffle, try to find a common ground among your staff in terms of the ideal temperature.

Taking a poll among employees and finding the ideal heat and cool temperature will ensure your staff is comfortable and you aren't running up a massive HVAC bill due to constant temperature swings.

Encourage Telecommuting

Not only is telecommuting convenient for your employees, it can also help drastically reduce energy consumption at your business.

When there are fewer workers in your office, it means there are fewer computers in use, fewer lights in use, and an overall reduction in energy usage.

Power Down on the Weekends

When the weekends roll around, your workplace probably goes dormant.

Sure, you might turn off all the lights and adjust the air temperature when leaving for the weekend, but all of that electronic equipment is still siphoning power and costing you a pretty penny in the process.

Before your employees clock out on Friday, make sure they power down their computers and unplug anything they can.

This includes computer monitors, charging devices, personal printers, and so on. These devices trickle electricity even when not in use. So, unplug on the weekends and save in the long run.

When it comes to keeping energy costs down at your small business, keep in mind the pointers above.

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