As climates grow warmer and your heavily air-conditioned office spaces grow colder, we here at Virtual CFO Solutions would like to remind you why becoming even partially cloud-based, or hiring a cloud-based company, could benefit not only you but the planet itself.
What makes cloud-based companies sustainable?
Because our employees are working 100% remotely this eliminates almost all commuting that most people do on a daily basis. In the U.S. alone vehicles are responsible for 75% of carbon monoxide pollution and 27% of their greenhouse gases. This is important because in this day and age climate change is affecting all of us whether we’re aware of it or not. In addition, by being virtual we’re cutting down on one of the biggest causes of climate change which is energy consumption. This is only possible for us because by working from home we’re responsible for our own levels of consumption. These can be simple things from turning off excessive lighting and heating to using environmentally friendly technologies.
As a company, we’re still working towards implementing protocols to make this practice seamless, but anything counts, even if it seems like it could have just a minimal impact.
What if driving is unavoidable?
Although cutting driving out of your weekday routine cuts down a significant amount of fuel emissions to the environment, it’s important to recognize whether this is a realistic decision. For some companies going completely cloud-based isn’t possible. There is, however, an alternative solution. In Manitoba, biodiesel has actually been recognized as the most effective greenhouse gas reduction technology. For example, a local restaurant in Victoria uses biodiesel made of recycled oil from their restaurant to fuel the company’s cargo vans.
How can you lower your energy consumption, and why is this important?
Lowering a company’s energy consumption not only cuts costs but also reduces their carbon footprint. Even small and medium businesses consume over 13% of the world’s energy. This doesn’t seem like a lot now, but by 2035 the world’s energy consumption is expected to increase from 38% to 50%.
- Integrate an energy management system, a company can monitor your energy consumption and begin to examine how you can begin to lower your expenses making it easy to identify where to focus your efforts into creating an environmentally stable business.
- Switch to LED lights,
- Invest in rooftop solar panels and/or windows
- Commute less and work from home
- Ride a bike or walk to work
- Have some employees only come into work part-time so they can work from home partially
These are only a small portion of the ways you can improve your business’s environmental sustainability, and reduce its carbon footprint. At Virtual CFO Solutions, we not only want you to succeed in growing your business but also to reach your goals in the most ecological and economically sound ways possible.
If you are interested in working with an efficient online company or want to become one yourself, please get in touch with our team so we can help you get started.
