As individuals most of us make resolutions around this time of the year in an effort to improve our lives. But what about companies? There are definite resolutions that business and companies can make to improve their business and how the company is run. One of those resolutions is to make your business greener in 2011. And if you are a small business, you’ll be surprised how easy it is to go green.

Turn it off

If you aren’t using something in the office, turn it off. Also make sure that everything is turned off before you leave the office for the night. There is no need to leave your computer, printer, lights and other office equipment on. To make it easier to get into the habit of powering down at the end of the day, buy a power bar for each office. At the end of the night, each employee will be able to turn things off with a simple switch of the power bar.

In the lunch room make sure that toasters, kettles and other things are turned off or unplugged when not in use. The same thing goes with lights in washrooms, conference rooms and offices not in use.

Recycle

Even if we are used to recycling and separating garbage at home, in the office it can become easy to simply toss everything in the trash. Set up recycling containers next to every trash can in the office. For individual work stations, make sure that each person has two small garbage cans: one for garbage and one for recyclables.

Print less

Not every document that comes to you through email needs to be printed. Thinking long and hard before printing a document can save you money and help the tree population. If printing a lot of documents is an office wide issue, think about switching over to a digital document only system.  This will completely eliminate the need for employees to print documents.

Digital signature

If you switch over to a digital document only system, how will you handle documents that require a signature?  With digital signatures, you can get all documents signed directly on line. You simply email the document to the client and they sign it on line. There is no need for expensive and complicated software or hardware. Different companies offer this tool and it can help you save a lot on the cost of paper.

Buy green products

When it comes to replenishing office supplies, going with green products, like pens or paper made from recycled materials is a great way to reduce your company’s eco-footprint. As green living becomes more and more popular, more companies are offering green products.  From the lights you use to the paper towel you buy, you always have the option to choose a green product that isn’t as harmful to the environment.

Office carpools

Help set up office carpools to eliminate the number of employees who travel back and forth to work by themselves.  Besides helping your workers to find others that they can commute with, offer incentives for carpoolers such as weekly gas gift cards. This is a great way to reduce the amount of pollution that your employees create as they travel to and from work.

Sometimes when you think about turning your small business into a greener company, it can be overwhelming. But you can make small changes that still have a huge impact on your company’s eco-footprint. Start out with the above steps and then work your way up to big initiatives. In the end, it all counts.

Joshua Bitton represents EchoSign, the leader of the 2nd generation of electronic signature solutions – 100% web-based, fully digital signature solutions that do not require digital signature pads, digital certificates or scanning software.