The collective power of business water efficiency, recycling and taking steps to reduce your business’s carbon footprint – even slightly – does make a difference in the fight against climate change, and the stats are there to prove it.

Improve water efficiency

Water efficiency is a great way to reduce your business’s carbon footprint. Using less water means less energy is spent throughout the water infrastructure cycle, mainly on pumping and treating the water. One way to quickly reduce water usage is by ensuring that all business toilets are dual-flush. Dual flush toilets typically use around two to four litres less per flush, which could easily add up to savings of thousands of litres per year, per toilet. That means less pressure on the water network and cheaper running costs for your business.

Whether you are a small business with only one toilet and a handwash basin or a coffee shop, hairdresser or florist with greater water needs, your business water is a cost that must be managed. Your business can start saving water straight away by putting a few practical measures in place.

Going paperless is great – but there are alternatives

Reducing the amount of paper a business uses is a great way to reduce waste, but for many business, going completely paperless just isn’t an option. For those that need them, switching from laser to inkjet printers can really help to save energy. With this small change, printer manufacturer Epson claims that SMEs can achieve energy savings of up to 96%, CO2 emission reductions of 92%, and waste reductions of 95% on their printing. These statistics suggest that if every business in the UK made the switch to business inkjet printers, it would save enough power to run more than 60,000 households. For those businesses who are looking to reduce the amount of paper they use, Castle Water is keen to support as much as we can. Castle Water customers in Scotland can choose to receive paperless billing, a convenient and eco-friendly option that we will be offering all our UK customers in the future.

Inspire your customers

When your business leads by example, it can inspire your customers to make positive changes. When restaurant chains take a stand against single-use polystyrene – and now plastic – it prompts their customers and partners to reflect on the way they use and consume materials. When coffee shops and hotels encourage people to refill bottles instead of buying new ones, it prompts them to re-evaluate the influence their choices have on the environment. Your business and its daily operations naturally have an impact on your customers and the way they behave, so why not make that impact a positive one?

Don’t be shy

A business that promotes and stands by their core values is one that customers can trust. If one of your business values is to promote sustainability and make environmentally friendly choices, don’t be shy, let your customers know you care! This not only bolsters a business’s existing customer base, but could expand it, as a recent Neilson study showed that 46% of consumers agree that it’s worth paying extra for products that are ethically produced or kinder to the environment.

We all want to do business in the right way, with consideration for our community and the wider environment. There are lots of ways to improve business water efficiency and reducing water usage will help to cut costs and have a positive impact in the fight against climate change.

Curious about your energy supplier? Use our online tool to get your own assessment about how you could save the environment and your capital.