Do you run a business? Are you an entrepreneur? Have you jumped on the green bandwagon yet? Well, you and your business stand to gain alot from incorporating some green ideas and practices, you just need to ask yourself a few questions.

Whatever kind of business you run – whether a clothing shop, a restaurant, even an online only venture – know that you CAN make it green. Start by looking at your operations, and ask yourself the following questions:

• how can we reduce, reuse, or recycle? what products are really just extra dressing (such as fancy packaging) and don’t need to be bought or used at all? (such as coffee sleeves) can you find creative ways to reuse paper in your office?
• what can be bought locally? looking at your supplier list are there local suppliers you have not thought of or looked at? is there food you can start using that is grown and sold locally?
• how can you conserve energy? is there any equipment that can be put on strip surges, instead of the wall outlets? are your computers left on all night, how about lights? why not draft up a plan for your employees to come up with ways to conserve, maybe even reward the employee with the sharpest green idea.
• can you sell more in one trip to a customer? with this idea, you are conserving in energy costs with less trips and less shipping from both suppliers and customers
• do you NOT want to set yourself apart from the competition? sure, when you go green you are saying so many things, you are saying hey, i care about the planet, hey, i care for the future sustainability of my business and hey, i care about the growing demand for eco friendly products and practices
• what eco friendly materials can i start using? from fsc certified wood for furniture shops to sustainable fibers for clothing retailers such as bamboo, hemp, canvas, organic cotton there are a number of different ways to add some green in your business
• any other ideas? there are tons more, share some of your own in the comments section below

If you stand back and take a good look, there are so many ways to go green in business, you just need to ask yourself some questions, and go from there.

Source: [Small Biz]