Currently, one of the biggest trends within business is the move to ‘go green’, but are there any real benefits?
Here are a number of key drivers that could change your views:
1. Improving the environment.
Today most businesses recognize that climate change is a problem and maintaining eco-friendly business practices is a social obligation for all stakeholders within the community. Here are some simple facts that clarify the situation:
• The average business consumes 3.6 tons of paper each year – equivalent to a large garden full of trees.
• The average business consumes 480,000 m3 of water per year- A family of 4 consumes around 140 m3 of water per year.
• The average business consumes 1,175,000 KWH/year – enough to power 65 average sized homes for a whole year.
2. Reduce Waste & Decrease Costs.
By improving efficiency and lowering operation costs thousands per year can be saved. Simply turning off unnecessary lights in your office, replacing bulbs with energy efficient ones, printing less paper, refilling ink cartilages, recycling, enhancing your transportation strategy and utilising telephone conferencing technologies to reduce petrol consumption, will ultimately reduce your utility costs and spiralling business expenses. However, looking to your supply chain can reduce your carbon footprint even further. Choosing eco companies who also offer reverse supply chain services for old equipment and goods, such as Prism Industries who recycle electronic equipment.
3. Go Green for Public Image & Increased Sales.
People love organizations that care and a natural effect of positive public image is increased sales. Studies show that consumers are more attracted (and loyal) to companies that care for the environment. In the last decade environmental issues have become an extremely serious topic. Studies have shown that companies with green initiatives, and better still – green products, have witnessed an increase in their profits. More and more consumers demand eco-friendly products and services, placing it higher on their list of buying criteria, so can you afford to ignore it?
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology conducted a one-year inquiry that involved in-depth interviews with fifty global leaders, followed by a survey of more than 1,500 executives and managers worldwide. The survey respondents cited the impact on a company’s image and brand as its paramount reasons for addressing sustainability.
Here are the results listed in order of importance:
1. Company or brand image. 6. Business or process innovation
2. Cost savings. 7. New sources of revenue.
3. Competitive advantage. 8. Effective risk management.
4. Employee satisfaction, morale & retention. 9. Shareholder relations.
5. Product, service, or market innovation.
The perception that a clean environment is going to cost too much is not always the case. In fact, there are more opportunities for positive ROI values with green projects than negative values. Progressive and smart companies use their environmental strategy to innovate, create value and build competitive advantage. The opportunities are endless. Going green has become more than just a trend it is now part of our culture, affecting all of our lives, whether we want it or not. So implementing change within any size of business and taking part in the global strategy is inevitable.
At Green Telecom the benefits of our green policy and projects are passed directly on to our clients. Since 2008 we have traded as carbon positive by over offsetting the carbon footprint created from our operations. From this time our systems installations division has also operated a tree planting programme and are committed to helping organisations meet their telecom Carbon Reduction Commitment whilst saving them money. We believe that going green should not cost organisations more. We believe we can trade as a carbon positive company and be both profitable and environmentally responsible whilst providing our clients exceptional customer service.
• By switching your telephone lines to green telecom, you will be contributing towards our offsetting projects in the UK and overseas. You will be issued with a certificate to show that you have made the difference and you will have free use of the Carbon Reduction ‘we use green telecom minutes’ logo for use on your web site or headed paper. Remember this will be in addition to reducing your current telephone call and line charges.
• Our Offset project in 2008 and 2009, in addition to our UK tree planting programme, was a wind energy project in Harshnath, India. The total estimated reduction from these carbon offset projects was 16,591 tonnes of CO2. In 2010-14 we offset our carbon footprint by planting even more trees in the UK under our tree planting programme.
In 2015 we are looking at more localised UK projects, which are customer driven and will benefit communities within the UK.
• By calculating the carbon offset costs for telephone calls made on suppliers green networks, we are able to assign a percentage of these call costs to offset projects and carbon reduction programmes each year.
In an extract from the Harvard Business Review they stated that going green really did create jobs and new industries as it was a catalyst for innovation, new market opportunity and wealth creation. However, ‘Going green is a team sport’ you can’t do it on your own and ‘You are only as good or as green as your supply chain.’ So with that in mind let Green Telecom be part of your green supply chain.
“We were very impressed that Green Telecom traded as carbon positive in 2009 and are trading in an environmentally responsible manner”
Mrs Ruth Moore – St Paul’s Cathedral
“Using Green telecom for our telephone calls and line rental is helping us achieve our carbon reduction and saving us money, it really is the best of both worlds”
Daniel Gregor – KCS Ltd
On behalf of all of us at Green Telecom thank you for being our partners and making a positive difference to the environment.
14/5/15
