This is a little off topic. But here goes...
We have a family business and we decided to be more friendly on the environment with the cleaning agents we use and all that. Where or how should we start? Ideas, anyone?
Last edited by alivecream; 07-31-2015 at 03:58 PM.
Pfizer Macht Frei!
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What's a carbon impact? Is that some kind of asteroid event?
When your high end kayak collides with a boulder....Originally Posted by Nolan
Stop carrying anything that uses petroleum products in it's packaging.
To lessen water use in a convenience store eliminate public facilities.
To lessen electrical usage eliminate conditioned air and cut back on overhead lighting.
These solutions will of course limit the public's desire to spend any amount of time inside your building causing sales of junk to plummet.
Then again if you were really serious you'd bulldoze the buildings and plant a flower garden.......
Spoken by a man who consciously avoids convenience stores like the plague......
You could use 'grey' or rainwater for some water needs. Trees planted on the south and west sides of the building will block sun from heating the building during the summer, and evergreens planted to block prevailing winter winds will lessen the amount of 'new air' you need to heat. Two sets of doors with an un-conditioned in between (like a porch) can do the same for both seasons. Sun lights (think Walmart) and windows on the north side of the building can reduce electricity needs for lighting. Selling products made closer to home made from ingredients also close to home will reduce the carbon output (and costs) of shipping your merchandise. Taking measure of where the water and electricity is being used might help you find inefficient/defective appliances or practices of the consumers which are hitting your pocket book (i.e. if the ice cream sandwich freezer is always using more electricity then other freezers at the same temp, and the freezer is not defective, you could assume the customer may be holding the door open while they look for ice cream sandwiches, and so it may benefit you to put ice cream sandwiches behind the register with a picture board of your selection.).
1) Offer some sort of incentive for people who bring reusable bags. It could be something as silly as 5 cents off per full reusable bag, or a coupon, people will take note. A local store in my town did does it. The coupon idea is particularly great because customers are likely to return to one of your stores and redeem it.
2) Carry as many "green" alternatives as possible. Look for specific products that that are consumers desire and you'll know will yield a similar profit margin (e.g. food items from sustainable companies.)
3) Switch to energy efficient lighting (LED bulbs.)
4) Rotate stock so it sells before the sell by date, and nothing is tossed. Appropriately discount slower moving items approaching the 'sell by' date. I would rather see a well stocked clearance section than full dumpsters. Clearance shelves are particularly attractive to students. When I was in college, I would go to the stores that had the best coupons and clearance section.
Good luck!
LED bulbs.
motion sensors for bathroom lights.
Install solar panels.
Install solar water heater.
Put poison pills in random products, to help reduce the population problem.
If you're going to paint everything green I suggest starting at a hardware store. There are several shades of green there as well as offshoots to greenish red for example.
Not sure what painting everything green has to do with energy or footprints. My feet usually leave an impression in the dirt. I've had moss grow in my prints in the garden. That's kinda green isn't it?
Don't flush the toilet after going number 1.
Take showers not baths
Don't shower for more that 5 mins
Shut the fosset while you brush your teeth and use cup while brushing
Use powered milk instead of liquid milk. The extra energy needed to transport the extra water weigh is more than it takes to evaporate the milk ate the dairy. They also have a longer shelf live without needing refrigeration
Use home filters instead of buying bottled water.
Plant a home garden when the weather cooperates.
And you can make the rest up by buying green credits from Al Gore
Take showers, but plug the drain, and use the water from the tub to flush the toilet.
Thanks for the suggestions you guys. I'll make a list and see which ones we can apply.
We're also thinking of hiring the services of a company like this one to help us monitor our consumption and wastage even for just a few months.
Why shower, just wait 'till it rains and go outside with your biodegradable soap.
Pfizer Macht Frei!
Openly Straight Man, Danke, Awarded Top Rated Influencer. Community Standards Enforcer.
Quiz: Test Your "Income" Tax IQ!
Short Income Tax Video
The Income Tax Is An Excise, And Excise Taxes Are Privilege Taxes
The Federalist Papers, No. 15:
Except as to the rule of appointment, the United States have an indefinite discretion to make requisitions for men and money; but they have no authority to raise either by regulations extending to the individual citizens of America.
Everyone should shower once a month, if it doesn't rain save the water from watering your plants.
"The Patriarch"
LOL! Then I can conserve so much by doing this. But on a serious note, thanks everyone for the replies. I get to think that maybe I am really idealistic when it comes to this matter.
That's actually a great idea.
When a trumpet sounds in a city, do not the people tremble?
When disaster comes to a city, has not the Lord caused it? Amos 3:6
At the end of the day, saving $$$ is the greenest option (ignoring the pun.)
In our society, the value of goods and services are approximated by $$$, so by spending less $$$ you are wasting less goods and services (for the same product, in general.)
Three main costs are material, production, and transportation.
Larger transportation costs means more fuel is being burned, and more time is being wasted. Larger production costs means more energy is being used in production. Larger material costs can mean one of two thing:
1. The production of this "green" material costs a lot. Meaning a lot of energy was used to produce it.
2. The material is rare. Money was spent buying rare materials, where it could have been invested other places to drive overall costs down.
But, this shouldn't be the only factor in your overall decision. The costumer is always right.
They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the Lord was my support.
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