Going Green = More Green
Going green can help your business in more ways than one. Making changes can seem overwhelming, but just small changes can make a difference. Many of these changes will also help your businesses bottom line. So what are you waiting for?
How can it save me money?
We understand that as a business owner your time is limited. However depending on the size of your business, you could save a substantial amount of money by just making a couple of small changes.
- Switch to eco-friendly lighting – LED bulbs can use up to 30% less energy and last longer than your average bulb.
- Use eco-friendly paper or go paperless – If you are using paper processes this can save money and time. If you are not ready to go paperless, you can reduce paper use by printing double sided and asking your team to take messages on scrap paper.
- Reusable Products – depending on your industry you can implement using reusable products. If you are in retail, you can offer reusable bags or if you are in an office simply offer your team a reusable bottle.
- Working from home – Allowing your team to work from home can save money heating and powering your office space. Also educating everyone to turn off their appliances before leaving the office will help cut costs too.
- Recycle your WEEE
Tax Incentives
The government are trying to become carbon neutral by 2030. This will rely on businesses making changes to help make the change. Therefore they are applying tax incentives to encourage businesses to operate in an eco-friendly way.
First Year Allowances
This means that if you buy an asset for your business that is eco-friendly you can claim 100% capital allowances within its first year. This allows you to deduct the full cost of the item from your profits before tax. Items that qualify can be; Cars with low CO2 emissions, energy saving equipment, water saving equipment, plant and machinery for gas refusing stations, new zero-emission goods vehicles and gas, biogas and hydrogen refilling equipment. To find out more about these allowances take a look at HMRC’s website.
Electric Cars
We are expecting a high increase in clients purchasing electric cars this year due to the new benefit in kind rates. The rate for the tax year 6 April 2019 – 2020 is at 16% however the benefit in kind for the tax year 6 April 2020 to 5 April 2021 is just 2%. That could be a huge saving. Take a look at our blog on the Jaguar i-pace.
Employee Retention
Employees are putting more and more value into sustainability. By making an effort to become eco-friendly you could both attract team members and keep them. It also creates a great team moral, as everyone can work together to achieve a goal.
Brand Reputation and Publicity
Brand awareness is becoming increasingly important. Publicising the changes your business is making to become eco-freindly can only be a good thing.
For example the shoe brand Toms uses the tag line ‘every purchase has a purpose’ and they give £1 away for every £3 of their profits. This idea was not only very generous, but it has helped develop and create their brand.
