Top tips to make your business more sustainable

The UK government has pledged to achieve net-zero on greenhouse gases by 2050. That means reducing emissions as much as possible, and then “offsetting” what remains. As a part of this, the government is urging businesses, especially SMEs, to cut their emissions in half by 2030, and reach net-zero themselves by 2050.

According to the UK Green Building Council (UKGBC), the built environment is responsible for 25% of total UK greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions so the sector can play a huge role in helping to cut carbon emissions.

Here we take a look at some of the ways you can help make your business more sustainable and how a facilities management company can help you to achieve that goal.

Where to start?

The first step in any process of improvement is measurement. Without this reference point, you won’t know what you need to focus on, nor will you be able to demonstrate progress.

Even if your goal is an absolute one, like zero-landfill, you need to know how much you are sending to landfill now, before you can decide on a deadline or timescale to associate with your aim.

Work with your facilities management partner, utility providers and so on to create a baseline for the things you are focusing on – waste, water usage, electricity and gas consumption, vehicle emissions, etc. If you’re concerned about carbon emissions, head to a carbon calculator like this one.

Reduce waste

Every business, whether big or small, will generate waste, but it’s how you deal with that waste that can really help you on your sustainability journey.

There are small changes we can all make to reduce waste, for example, go paperless – do you really need to print those documents out? And with the paper you do use, make sure you have a suitable recycling plan to ensure that it is collected and recycled in the most appropriate way.

But recycling doesn’t need to stop at paper! Think about how you can recycle other items too.

Why not buy refurbished computers and appliances or even chose ‘upcycled’ furniture over brand new when refitting your office space. Refurbished electronics can have a great impact on the environment, and can help your business save money too!

Other top tips:

• Use recycled materials for your products and packaging
• Avoid buying or selling one-use items – go for reusable
• Recycle more – specialist recyclers can break down electronics and a whole range of items
• Send unrecyclable waste to EfW (energy from waste) – typically, waste is burned in an emission-free environment, with the steam driving turbines to produce energy

Save energy

If you don’t use a Building Management System, talk to your FM provider. These systems can be used to monitor when rooms are full, empty, part full, and so on, and then can intelligently turn lights, heating, air conditioning, and other systems on or off, so they are only active when needed.

Even if you use a BMS, ensure you are getting the most from it. It can be possible to bring in and analyse data from your security and access control systems too, allowing you to identify trends in staff or visitor footfall, and default your systems to patterns that are most relevant to usage.

Other ways to save energy can include:

• Replace old lighting with modern, lower-energy LEDs; this can cut your energy bills by more than you might think.
• Sanity-check your equipment maintenance & replacement strategy – regular servicing of assets can often extend their lifespan. Undertaking an asset lifespan projection exercise can help inform you about their environmental impact, and indicate how replacement units might be more energy-efficient, which in turn has a knock-on effect on the savings which could be achieved.
• Switch to more environmentally friendly heating options – consider phasing out inefficient gas-fired boilers, and maximise efficiencies by using existing air conditioning units to heat as well as cool. Plus if they are powered by a renewable energy source such as solar, then it makes them even more sustainable!

Save water

To cut your water usage, use hold-down-to-activate, “non-concussive” taps for timed flow in your bathrooms. Also, install aerator taps that mix air into the water flow. Much less water is used, even though they wash just as well. Consider dual flush toilets that have two flush buttons, one of which dispenses half as much water for when (ahem), that’s all that is required.

You may even wish to consider installing a water butt outside your office to collect rainwater for reuse in, for example, watering plants.

How Precision FM can help

As an FM provider with ISO 14001 accreditation, we have a long-standing commitment to local sourcing of products and staff, and a strong belief that we must all do more to protect the planet.

Brij Thankey, CEO at Precision FM says: “We know that many businesses have put sustainability at the heart of their business operations, but for some, taking steps to achieve these goals can seem daunting.  We work with our clients to either put plans in place to help them be more sustainable or identify areas where we feel they could benefit from improvements to deliver greener results and often save money too.

“Often, this would involve setting up a PPM schedule, where we can build in demonstrable savings from the start, prolonging building assets and ticking a number of boxes on their sustainability journey too.”

At Precision FM, we’re passionate about delivering a first-class service to our clients of all shapes and sizes. If you’re interested in finding out more about how we could help you to become a more sustainable business, call 0116 366 6508 or email info@precisionfm.co.uk