The Basics of Greening Your Business

Some of the better plant choices for indoor use as office air cleaners include:

• Areca Palm

• Boston Fern

• Cast Iron Plant

• Dracena

• English Ivy

• Golden Pothos

• Hoya

• Peace Lily

• Philodendron

• Snake Plants

• Spider Plants

• Weeping Fig

The number of plants to buy will be in part based on the décor of your office and the size of your space. According to researchers, you should have at least one potted plant for every 100 square feet of floor space. Therefore, if your office space is 30 by 50 feet, or 1,500 square feet, you should have at least 15 plants.

#38 Consider Reusable Bags Over Plastic or Paper

Of course, the argument is made that paper bags can be recycled. The argument for plastic bags is that they too can be recycled or reused as lunch bags, for garbage, etc. While there are plenty of arguments for either side being more environmentally friendly, the truth is that discarded bags, paper or plastic, are never a boon for ecology. The processes of making both paper and plastic bags are detrimental to the environment.

So, what can you do? As a retailer, you can help change the habits of your customers. For starters, you can utilize plastic bags that are compostable or paper bags that are made largely from postconsumer paper.

However, you can go one step farther and promote reusable cloth or canvas bags for carry-out items. If you can afford to give them away, do it. If not, sell them at a nominal cost. Customers can then bring them back each time they shop at your store, and as a bonus receive a coupon, discount or some other incentive to make reusing bags an ongoing part of their shopping ritual.