Three Ways That Going Green Can Generate Cash Flow For Your Business

If you are a small business or start-up, one of the main concerns is having enough cash on hand to pay your staff, contractors, and vendors and to deliver on your products and services.

Cash flow is vital to any business, and it is more so to a smaller businesses.

And if you are a small business owner or operator, you know that optimizing your cash flow is key to ensuring that your business is able to survive in the long-term.

Going green or environmental sustainability projects can help businesses – and non-profits – optimize their cash flow in at least the following three ways:

1. Reduce expenses

Many low-cost going green projects focus on generating operational savings, and if you are looking to save money and reduce expenses, this is a great place to start.  Below are some examples of potential areas where cost savings can be gained:

• Reduce paper – Paper overuse can lead to added storage space costs, lost documents, wasted forms, and inefficiencies. Up to 45% of office-printouts end up in the trash by the end of the day they are printed, so it makes sense to reduce paper use by printing double-sided and printing only critical documents.

• Turn on sleep mode - If just ten employees activated the power management function or sleep mode on their monitors and the CPU boxes of their computers, they would save nearly $500 in energy costs per year.

• Turn off lights – Turning off the lights can result in savings, depending on the size of the space, the type of lights that are being used, and the length off time the lights are off. Energy.gov has a short article on how to determine when to turn off lights that is worth the read.

• Adjust the temperature – Turning the thermostat back 7 to 10 degrees for 8 hours, when the space is unoccupied, can lead to annual energy savings of up to 10% according to the US Department of Energy. If you lease your space, you can speak with the property manager about getting some of those savings via a green lease.

2. Grow customer loyalty – and repeat business

Whether you are in retail, accounting, hospitality, or another industry, repeat business is the key for predictable cash flow and profit. Many studies, such as this one by Cone Communications, have shown that customers are increasingly spending their dollars with companies that are aligned with their values and are less likely to do business with companies that are seen as irresponsible. These customers are likely to be loyal repeat customers and to spread the word about your business if you show that you share the same values. Millennials and Gen Zers are two generations that stand out in terms of choosing to spend their dollars with companies that visibly demonstrate their ethics and show that they are committed to the planet and community.

3. Strengthen your marketing

Strengthening your marketing reduces your cost per lead. Going green has been shown to enhance brand perception and build trust with your customers. Educating your customer – or clients, if you are a B2B business – about the green steps you are taking will help attract new clients and strengthen the relationship with your existing ones.

This, of course, assumes that you have implemented a few going green or sustainability projects. Being accused of greenwashing, which is saying you’re doing something green but not doing it, will have the opposite effect on your brand perception.

If you aren’t sure where to get started with going green, be sure to get the FREE download: The Beginner’s Guide to Creatively Grow Sales by Going Green, which lists over 50 low-cost projects and resources to get started.