Green options for a small business

Making a smaller impact on the earth has become a priority for our nation.Many businesses have embraced the idea and have taken steps to be a little greener.While it may seem that only larger companies have taken the steps to be greener, there are many things small businesses can do to lessen their impact on the environment.Here are a few options for small businesses looking to go green.

Fuel Efficiency

Some small businesses may operate a fleet of vehicles or they may just have one or two vehicles.Either way it is important to make sure those vehicles are running at their best fuel efficiency. Keeping maintenance up to date, such as oil changes, filter changes, tire pressure, and other fluid changes will help ensure that the vehicles are running at their most efficient capacity.This will in turn save the company money in gas and larger part replacement costs.

When the time comes to replace a vehicle, small businesses may consider a greener type of car such as a hybrid. Driving a hybrid with the company logo on it will impress potential customers, save the company money on gas, and allow the company to receive a nice tax break.Customers love to support companies that are doing their part to save the environment.

Paper to Cyber

Paper is a necessity in any business.Many companies use reams of paper every day. Besides having an adverse effect on the environment, paper use can be expensive.Companies may consider changing what they can over to a cyber format.Shipping confirmations, account updates, company newsletters, and anything else that could be just as easily be sent through email as is could be printed and mailed may be done through the internet or other network.Companies may also choose to store a lot of their records on an electronic server instead of in file cabinets.This can make the information faster to search, save storage space, and help the environment.

If documents must be printed onto paper, companies may decide to choose a recycled paper.Especially if the documents are not official, but for information only, recycled paper can be a great option.

Marketing on the Web

Traditionally, companies may send out mass mailers or focus on direct mail to market their services or products.This allowed the company to get their information directly to their customers or potential customers.Marketing on the web can accomplish the same purpose without the use of paper or paying for stamps.Marketing through mass emails has become an effective way to do direct marketing on the web.The same pictures and logos can be used in an email, and the advertisement is sent directly to customers and potential customers.

Other marketing options include social network websites.By creating a MySpace or facebook page, customers can become fans of the page.As each person becomes a fan of the page, each of that person's friends will be able to see the page also.The web effect allows a business's site to be viewed by thousands of people.Also, every time the company makes an update to the page, it will cause the page to appear on the web of friends' computers also.

Going green is not only for large corporations.Small businesses can benefit from transitioning to more green practices.From maintaining company vehicles, capitalizing on tax breaks, and switching from paper to the web to refocusing marketing to the web, small businesses have many options when it comes to being greener.