When you say eco-friendly, most people think donating to various charities and recycling waste. However, going green no longer means boring people with long talks about the importance of saving the environment but instead, refers to the practice of reducing energy waste in individual households and office spaces and helping save the environment in the process. Here are five ideas for those who wish to help the environment by starting their own green business.
Eco-friendly lights
One of the best ways to conserve energy and lower your electricity bills is to switch from incandescent lights to compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) and light-emitting diodes (LEDs). The traditional, incandescent lights waste more energy and produce more CO2 when compared to CFLs and LEDs, which use a quarter of the energy and produce four times less CO2. These two environmentally friendly options also happen to last significantly longer, making them a better long-term investment. You can open a store specialized in selling and installing of these lights or connect with already established eco-friendly brands and help them find new markets.
Green Consulting
With the energy prices on the rise, both individuals and businesses are becoming interested in reducing their energy expenditures but they aren’t sure how exactly they’re going to achieve it. As a green consultant, you can help people and businesses become eco-friendlier by taking a walk through their homes and offices and proposing specific changes, as well as products and services that can allow them to save energy, water, and resources. This includes preventing cold and warm air from escaping by reinforcing the insulation, weatherstripping doors and windows, and properly installing the adequate HVAC system.
Sustainable construction materials
Building a green home has become significantly easier in the last couple of years. Currently, there are numerous companies that offer recycled, reused and sustainable building materials which can be used both in home building projects and in infrastructure repairs. Think repurposed aluminum, glass, wood, plastic composites and even steel. And these are all high-quality materials that have been rigorously tested for their strength and durability. Not to mention that recycled and repurposed materials cost way less and can drastically reduce your building or remodeling costs.
Green retail
There’s a number of ways business owners can make their retail business greener. These include using eco-friendly materials during production, green packaging, rewarding customer’s loyalty by donating a part of the revenue to their favorite green charity or environmentally friendly organization. Another option is offering educational content to raise awareness about the environment and different ways we can help keep it clean and free of various pollutants. Additionally, if you own a physical store, the best course of action would be to move away from paper and plastic bags and printed shopping receipts. Instead, you should switch to shopping bags made from recycled materials ask your customers whether they actually need a bag and email them the receipt.
Home retrofits
Building a green home is ideal for those who have the required budget to build an entire house from scratch using sustainable materials. However, there are people who already own a house and don’t plan on tearing it down anytime soon and the best choice for them is to retrofit their existing house and turn it into an eco-friendly home. Have in mind that most retrofitting work can be accomplished by hand, but be extra careful when dealing with old houses.
Back in the day, asbestos was used as an insulator of choice and removing it is extremely dangerous and hazardous for your health. If you happen to run into asbestos while performing an audit in the larger Sydney area, don’t hesitate to call in one of the several professional companies specialized in asbestos removal from Sydney and avoid putting you and those around you in harm’s way.
Whether it’s offering eco-friendly advice and solutions, such as energy efficient lights and sustainable building materials, or using green products packaging and rewarding customers with a donation to an environmentally friendly organization of their choice, there are a number of different, creative ways you can add a green-touch to retail and make a decent living out of it. Keeping the environment safe for our children is more than just charity donations and non-profit organization. In fact, all of the business models mentioned above can be used to endorse your environmentally friendly activism and generate revenue while doing it.
