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We’re strong advocates for the environment. Next to your information’s security, it’s our primary concern, and we’ve built a business around how we can make responsible, green choices in our day-to-day operations. We aren’t the only ones. Large sectors of the corporate world are adopting eco-friendly strategies to create sustainable businesses, including many of the corporations that call the GTA home. Going green at the office (or anywhere else you call work) is a simple yet effective way of making a difference. And it’s easy, too! By making tiny adjustments to your routine, you can create an efficient office that’s environmentally friendly, economical, and secure.

If this is your first foray into green business practices, the road ahead of you can be daunting. It’s especially discouraging when you read about huge corporations making complex renovations to their operations and buildings. Some, like Patagonia, the outdoor equipment clothing company, were founded on these principles, while others, like Bank of America, have adopted policy changes only recently in order to improve their levels of sustainability. While your commitment may rival these and and other eco-friendly business, you budget may not.

Luckily, making green choices doesn’t have to come with a huge price tag. In fact, by adopting sustainable business practices, you’ll save money in the long run. And you won’t be alone making these changeovers. Both the federal and provincial governments provide financial assistance to those businesses that retrofit their offices with energy efficient fixtures and appliances. You can go online to see which tax incentives, rebates, and even loans are available for your green overhaul. For those looking to reduce their use of water, the Government of Ontario provides incentives to help offset the cost of installing efficient drainage systems. For those looking to update their electronics, the Government of Canada offers the Power Saving Blitz program.

There are also tax breaks and rebates that can be used to make smaller changes in the office. With the government’s help, you can convert wasteful light sources to energy efficient compact fluorescent lights (CFL) or light-emitting diode (LED) lighting. It’s as simple as unscrewing one bulb for another. With a little more work, you can install occupancy sensors onto every light switch. This feature will automatically turn off the light source when it can’t detect movement in the room. With these set up, never again will you accidentally leave the lights on over the weekend.

A truly paperless society may be a ways off, but we can get closer to the ideal with the choices we make today. Count down on needless waste by adjusting your company’s platform so that it uses digital records and communications instead of their wasteful paper counterparts. Attachments and memos can be distributed with only a click of a button, making it easier to share ideas between colleagues.

For those documents that must have a physical copy, be sure to use post-consumer waste (PCW) products and packaging. These paper products are manufactured using recycled material that would otherwise be sent to a landfill, which reduces our reliance on newly felled trees in order to create paper. Be wary of how you dispose of these documents when you’re done, too. Most companies now know not to throw the majority of their paper in garbage bins. We’re huge proponents of the 3Rs, and you can never have too many recycling bins in the office and common areas of your organization.

In addition to our shredding service, we provide recycling receptacles for the various businesses that operate in the GTA. From locked bins and consoles to canvas bags and tent cards, we have a variety of containers to store ‘to be recycled’ material. All of our receptacles have been especially designed to store confidential material, so you can feel good about recycling even the most classified financial statements or client records. These containers remain locked until we pick them and shred their contents. We then transport the destroyed material to a secure recycling facility.

Together, we can make a big impact on the environment. For every metric tonne of paper that is shredded and then recycled, 17 trees, over 26,000 litres of water, and 4100khW are saved. As you search tax incentives to retrofit your office, don’t forget to give us a call. Our commercial shredding services can help you make the change to a greener business. These simple changes to your corporate routine can reduce waste, improve energy efficiency, and decrease your negative eco-footprint.