Did you know that by making your business more sustainable you can lower your environmental impact and reduce your operating costs? Read on for top energy, waste, and water tips to make your business more sustainable in 2024 and save on bills.
1. Understand your energy consumption with the energy calculator
Knowing what is contributing to your bill is the first step lowering your energy costs. Compare your energy usage to your industry's average using the Brisbane Sustainability Agency energy calculator.
The calculator provides practical tips and advice to make no-cost behaviour changes or smart investments to help you reduce your energy consumption and lower your bills.
2. Start a recycling program in your workplace
Paper, bottles, and boxes fill general waste bins quickly and service costs can be a significant business outlay. Implementing a recycling program in your workplace can improve your sustainability, redirect waste from landfill, and lower your costs.
Start with recycling cardboard, paper, glass, aluminum, and plastic. Small glass and plastic bottles can be recycled through container exchange programs to raise funds for your business or charity. Initiatives like Recan (commercial) and Returnit (community groups) make this process easy by managing collection of your containers and refunds.
You can save on bills by selling or giving away your unwanted resources and waste through ASPIRE, an online marketplace for Brisbane businesses to sell, exchange and trade waste materials. An ASPIRE registration is free for businesses of up to 100 employees within the Brisbane Local Government Area (LGA). Larger businesses are eligible for a discount.
Let your staff know what you are doing and why you are doing it. Keep educating your team throughout your recycling journey. Use our ready-made signage to let your employees know what can be recycled. To make this process as easy as possible, keep recycling bins in convenient, common areas to encourage people to do the right thing.
3. Make smart investments by installing water-saving nozzles
Water usage can be reduced significantly just by installing the right type of nozzle. Nozzles don't just reduce the amount of water that flow through your tap, they can also distribute the water wider or increase the pressure.
Low-flow taps for hand basins are effective in saving water by mixing air into the water flow. Install low-flow taps or aerators to reduce tap-water use from a standard 15-18 litres per minute down to as little as 2 litres per minute.
For hospitality businesses, kitchen chisel spray nozzles are effective water savers potentially reducing your water usage by 70%. The nozzles use a strong spray that is designed to remove stains and food scraps so that you need to use the tap for less time.
For more sustainable business tips that can also help you save on bills, visit Brisbane's Sustainable Business Hub.
**This blog was updated in January 2024.**