Sometimes it’s hard to strike a balance between ecology and economy. The reality of running a business is that you can often find yourself unable to do as much for the environment as you would like without giving up some of your profit. Most green-minded entrepreneurs will tolerate this to a point, but they can only sacrifice so much. Here are four smart ways to reduce the carbon footprint of your store without running yourself out of business.
Manage Sunlight
The ability to keep sunlight out during hot weather and let it in during cold weather is vital for your business to maintain balance in its energy consumption. Investing in some quality blinds will give you the freedom to introduce sunlight for extra winter heat and to ease the strain on your air conditioning by blocking out solar heat in the summer.
Improve Door Performance
We can’t help the constant traffic of customers coming and going at our stores. In fact, we like it. The only downside is the energy that we lose as they move in and out of the door. Fortunately, you can mitigate some of this impact. Adjust the closing mechanism to make it a little faster. Check weather stripping and thresholds to make sure the door closes tightly. Finally, make sure you have a well-insulated door that doesn’t lose energy while it’s closed.
Show Less TV
The easy mounting and low cost of flat-screen TV’s has led to their widespread use in many different kinds of businesses. Restaurants can show multiple sports events simultaneously, while stores may run product pieces of music videos. TV’s use quite a bit of electricity, so keeping them turned off when not in use–or simply having fewer to begin with–can create a big impact on your electrical consumption.
Improve Efficiency of Equipment
We all know that keeping the heat and A/C under control is an important way to save energy. You should do that in your store as well, but most stores have other types of equipment as well. Talk with electricians about doing a complete checkup of all the powered equipment in your store. They may recommend upgrades to your equipment or other changes that will encourage more efficient operation, improve safety, and increase reliability for refrigeration, electronics, HVAC, water heaters, and everything else in your store.
Operating a store in a way that encourages “environmental green” without undercutting “economic green” is not always easy, but these simple tips are a good fit for anyone who wants to shrink their store’s carbon footprint.
