Green Business is Good Business

What’s the real deal with “Going Green”? And why should businesses care?

Direct Line shares three ways you can actively takesteps toward reducing your business’s carbon footprint, preserving natural resources, and also protect your bottom line. Going green isn’t just a fad, it’s great business practice!

  1. Go Paperless & Recycle: 

    Did you know that the average business consumes 3.6 tons of paper per year?If your business just recycled 1 ton of paper a year, you would save approximately 17 mature trees. If you made it a regular business practice to recycle all paper, that’s a nice little forest bank of trees. If every business made this a practice, imagine the amount of land that could be preserved. Or…. consider taking things paperless! For example, when a business sends us a fax, we receive it electronically and reduce unnecessary use of paper.  Additionally, we have a comprehensive plan where we confidentially shred any documents with identifying information, and use electronic secure records as much as possible to avoid the need for paper in the first place.

  2. Reduce Your Electricity Use & Increase Your Power: 

    Did you know that the average business consumes 1,175,000 Kilowatts per year? 

    That is enough energy to power 65 average sized homes for an entire year. In 201 – that’s enough to power 65 average sized homes for a whole year! Now get this, businesses account for at least 40% of all energy consumption in the U.S. While we have always been an advocate for the use of ambient light (skylights/windows) for natural light, when technology improved we improved with it. In 2011, Direct Line did an power consumption audit and reduced the use electricity in our business. We updated our current lighting fixtures throughout the building from the traditional fluorescent bulbs and installed improved ballasts to hold high-Philips ALTO II technology which combines low mercury with long life and energy efficiency to reduce energy consumption for lighting and lower associated CO2 emissions. As a part of this process, we reduced the number of bulbs in use in our smaller meeting spaces and installed motion sensors to automatically shut off the lights in areas not actively in use. 

  3. Reduce Your Company’s Carbon Footprint & Benefit Your Employees: 

    Did you know that employees have a significant impact on CO2 emissions? 

    Just by getting employees to work on public transit will significantly reduce your business’s carbon footprint and an the added benefits are that it leaves more parking for your customers, helps to alleviate traffic for everyone, AND saves employees the cost of transportation to get to and from work!  In 2013, Direct Line implemented the AC Transit Easy Pass program as an employee benefit for each of our employees residing within the AC Transit service area. Each employee will receive a “Clipper” card with their name and photo printed on the back. An EasyPass is pre-loaded on each card and the monthly passes continue to be renewed and loaded on their card as long as the employee is a part of the company.

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Did you know that improving efficiency and lowering operating costs can save your business hundreds of thousands of dollars per year?

When a business decides to “go green” the first and most obvious change noticed tends to be a reduction in waste. This reduction in waste automatically equals a decrease in costs. Those two things alone combine and the result is increased business efficiency! Actions like these mean you get to decrease your utility costs, supply costs, and expenses for employees while you increase your company’s bottom line. Also, studies have shown that companies with green initiatives, and better still – green products, have witnessed an increase in their profits. Even more important, it’s just a great way to be a global citizen, and show the world you care.

Direct Line cares.

We are the perfect extension of your business.

Contact us today to learn more about our services, at 888-365-2424.