Being Environmentally Friendly & How We Measure Up At Clear Vision…
With landfills overflowing and our oceans choked with plastic, environmental responsibility has become a more pressing concern than ever before. Britons throw away more than 43.9 million tons of waste each year, and businesses are a major contributor.
Companies of all sizes contribute to air pollution and the creation of greenhouse gases. Our environment is being destroyed at an alarming rate, and most of us are adding to the destruction more than we realise.
How We Measure Up at Clear Vision
Even an SME like us can make a difference and change the way we work to look after our planet for our communities and generations to come.
We have made a conscious effort to Switch to Reusable Office Supplies &
Practice Green Procurement. Recycling is an important part of our ethos because older materials can be reused as something new
From choosing local companies to procure our products cutting down the shipping distances. This reduces the amount of fuel used in delivery, and we try our hardest to avoid products which use excessive packaging or non-recyclable plastics. In fact, we buy in bulk and refill our spray bottles daily. Our consumables (toilet rolls, hand towels etc) tend to be either paper based or recyclable. We use eco-friendly cleaning products wherever possible, reusable cleaning cloths, mop heads and wash them on an eco friendly cycle. In comparison to a normal wash cycle, this is much gentler on towels, ensuring they perform in the best condition. It reduces water and uses less energy to heat up, saving money on our energy bills.
Reducing our carbon footprint, fuel and energy consumption
Upon analysing our routes and areas of work, we have made a conscious decision to reduce the locations that we service. By removing our presence in the Portsmouth and West Sussex areas was taken to not only concentrate on our more local customers but to reduce the amount of travelling our team was required to do and the mileage our vehicles were clocking up each day. We plan our routes meticulously to ensure we use less fuel. This might only be a small gesture, but reducing travel emissions and fuel makes a big difference.
At Clear Vision, we are extremely conscious of conserving our water, not only during the filtration process, which takes place at HQ, but also while we are out cleaning windows. By filtering our own pure water, we can ensure our waste water doesn’t disappear to the sewer but to a storm drain which in turn sends the water back into the water system. This used in conjunction with our “Water Fed Pole method of cleaning” ensures that we are providing the most cost effective and environmentally friendly window cleaning services available.
Our offices have also been given a green makeover. We have replaced our incandescent light bulbs with LED fixtures and lighting. LED lights are energy efficient because they conserve up to 80% of energy in comparison to fluorescent lights. An LED light will keep our offices warmer because it gives outstanding heat retention. They have a high conversion efficiency, resulting in minimal heat loss. The inclusion of LED lights in our office will also save us money on energy bills because they have smart controls and sensory energy management, helping us regulate the temperature.
We are conscious to switch lights off in rooms not being used and ensuring devices are powered off at the end of each day. This will help us reduce our energy and electricity bills, conserving more energy for the environment.
Recycling is one of the biggest things on our agenda purely because it’s one of the easiest changes to make. We have separate bins for general waste and recycling, recycle our printer cartridges (a frightening fact – 350 million cartridges end up in landfills each year!) and batteries. Choosing to recycle these alone can make a big difference on the environment because it conserves natural resources, for example, forests, trees, and pollution.
Final Thoughts on Becoming a Green Business
As an SME, we feel it’s important to make any small changes to make our company more environmentally friendly. In addition to reducing our carbon footprint, doing so also helps us save on our operating expenses while building trust with our customers and keeping our prices as low as possible. This will help bring us closer together with the community and ensure our office space is cleaner and a welcoming space to be in.
Taking small steps to run your home or business in an eco-friendlier manner is easy, and today is a great day to start making a difference.
