Hopefully by now you’ve got your recycling program figured out. What next? In retail, as in any other part of life, it’s a lot easier to call for everyone else to change than it is to change yourself. But every store owner in the country can make a significant difference in the world with a few changes made right in his or her own shop. As a recent MIT study found, only nine percent of small businesses have so far embraced sustainability as a core value, citing challenges like landlords and budgets. But an environmentally-minded initiative doesn’t need to break the bank.
A righteous bid to help out with mother nature? Sure. But there’s also plenty of business sense in these simple tips.
1. Energy-efficient lighting. This one’s a no-brainer and something that homeowners have been figuring out for years. Trade in those incandescent or old fluorescent light bulbs for LED or CFL lights and your shop immediately cuts down on waste and increases its energy efficiency.
2. Ditch harsh cleaning supplies. There are plenty of natural or non-toxic products to find next time you’re restocking your supply closet, and homemade water-and-vinegar combinations are simple alternatives.
3. Lots of plants. Don’t skimp on plant life in your shop if you can help it – our green friends help a lot to improve air quality.
4. Hold the plastic bags and receipts. As more communities begin to place bans on them, the era of plastic bags may be nearing its end. Offer paper or recycled bags instead, and consider making your receipts optional. Emailing receipts is more and more common (especially with mobile-friendly POS systems) and it allows you to add new addresses to future marketing efforts.
5. Recycle Ink Cartridges. Ink cartridges are relatively nasty little gadgets, environmentally-speaking. Learn about your manufacturer’s recycling program – many have rebates or other incentives that you can use against future supplies.
6. Used fixtures. One of our favorite retailers, Drum Center of Portsmouth, managed impressive displays using existing racks (check out their gigantic wall of snare drums) and by repurposing discarded doors as shelving units elsewhere in the shop. Resourceful retailers save a lot of money this way and also hit a recycling home run.
7. About that POS… Old-school point-of-sale machines can be huge gobblers of electricity, so it might make sense to switch to more efficient smartphone or tablet-based systems like Square. Reps can ring up customers anywhere in the store without being plugged into the wall all day long.
8. Lighting Timers. Unoccupied office space or bathrooms are slow but steady parasites on electricity when they stay lit all day long. A simple timer ensures that doesn’t happen.
9. Solar Energy. This one actually requires a serious investment, but consultants and contractors are becoming more accessible all the time. Twin Town Guitars in Minneapolis installed a roof-full of solar panels in 2012 and hasn’t looked back.
10. Get funded. While you’re at it, check out grant opportunities: energy-reduction grants are available for businesses through the U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. Department of Energy, and more sources that are just a web search away. Many local government programs and energy companies would be thrilled to see hometown small businesses adopting conservative energy measures.
Looking Back on 2025: A Year of Controlled Chaos (Emphasis on “Controlled”)