Making a Contracting Business More Sustainable and Less Wasteful

Are you running a contracting business? There is more pressure than ever to make contracting businesses eco-friendlier.

The sustainable contracting industry is projected to be worth over $610 billion by 2027. However, many contractors miss out on these opportunities, because they don’t know how to take advantage of it.

Keep reading to learn more about making your contracting business greener.

Tips for Making Your Contracting Business Green

The world’s natural resources aren’t limitless. Many of the raw materials used by businesses in products are incredibly finite. And, companies often use environmentally unhealthy methods to access, transport, and refine these materials. Every person on the planet can act in more sustainable ways that protect the environment.

Businesses are also uniquely positioned to lower their costs and improve their brand reputation when they choose to act in less wasteful ways. Contractors, in particular, need to take the right steps to go green.

If you’re looking for ideas to make your business greener, you’ve come to the right place. Any contracting company can become more sustainable by following these top tips:

Use Eco-Friendly Materials

The types of materials you use in building projects will be very important in your commitment to sustainability. As a green contractor, you have to choose them wisely.

Recycled steel, cork and bamboo are some of the most popular eco-friendly building materials. There are a lot of other building materials that can also help lower your carbon footprint, like wool insulation and rammed earth. Choose eco-friendly materials wisely to lower your carbon footprint and reduce waste of nonrenewable resources.

Remodel for Energy Efficiency

Suppose you’re serious about turning your business green. In that case, consider all of the ways that you’re currently wasting energy and then remodel the building to improve efficiency. For example, you might switch from a heating and cooling system that uses fossil fuels like gas, oil, or wood to a more environmentally friendly geothermal system. If you entirely or partially rely upon a utility company that uses fossil fuels, you might consider installing a solar energy power generation system with a battery backup. In general, remember to inspect the entire structure every year for gaps around the windows and doors, in the ventilation system, near the foundation, and in other common areas that often allow exterior air to seep indoors and adversely affect interior temperature.

Manage Energy Usage Better

Renewable energy is important for any green business. Sustainable contracting companies, especially need to focus on using green energy.

However, you also need to know how to manage traditional energy wisely. Companies can achieve exceptional energy savings with demand management solutions as well. Beyond choosing solar energy generation as your primary source for electricity, you can sell your excess energy to traditional utility companies so that they don’t have to use fossil fuels as much. You can also better manage the energy demands on-site in various ways. Consider installing smart technologies to manage your indoor and outdoor lighting, heating, cooling, and even landscape watering systems. For example, you might install a smart thermostat that uses sensors to maintain preset temperatures so that you never have to worry about employees manually changing the settings to match their perceptions about room temperature. Additionally, you might install outlet meters that turn off the energy supply to unused electronics to prevent energy leakage and drain.

Create Recycling Spaces

Of course, you need to ensure that everyone on site is recycling whenever possible. To guarantee that employees and customers, if applicable, are doing their part, consider setting up recycling areas along a wall or in an alcove or room near a high foot traffic spot. Set up recycling bins based on material type, such as newspapers, cardboard, shredded and un-shredded office paper, plastic bottles by grade, plastic bags, glass, aluminum, copper, and even electronics. Since employees can forget rules without reminders and new customers won’t know your rules during their first visit, if applicable, you might also hang posters that feature messages that motivate everyone to recycle and explain why it’s so important and your basic rules.

Donate and Update Regularly

Lastly, you can produce less landfill waste if you donate or update items that you can’t recycle through material recyclers. For example, many businesses throw out old office equipment and furniture. Instead, consider donating these items to a school, library, or other non-profit organization in need or to a thrift store that accepts donations. If you want to save money on replacements, you might give these items a second look before donating them. You might discover that you can update or upcycle them in new and unique ways. For example, if some of your office chairs are merely old-looking from upholstery that has wear, tears, or stains, you might invest in reupholstering them. If an old folding table has damaged legs with a reasonably decent fiberboard top, you might simply replace the legs or upcycle the top to make a low coffee table that rests on bricks or concrete blocks.

As evidenced by these simple steps, if every business owner promotes sustainability, it is possible to reduce wastefulness and improve the state of the environment. In addition to these ideas, you might also consider partnering with responsible vendors who care about sustainability so that you’re not accidentally investing in companies acting in ways that cancel out the overall savings that occur from your efforts. You might even consider joining with other responsible companies in your industry to spread awareness about eco-friendly practices so that even more businesses and individuals are doing their part to protect the environment.