Reducing The Carbon Footprint Of Your Business Using Technology

The term ‘carbon footprint’ has been in use for some time now, as a handy if reductive way of addressing our contributions to carbon emissions – both personally and in terms of businesses and enterprises. It should come as no surprise that businesses and industries carry a great deal of the weight in terms of national carbon emissions, and that their responsibility to address climate change is far greater than that of the individual.

As a manager or business owner yourself, it would then fall on you to chart a course towards a more sustainable future as a business by reducing the size of this carbon footprint. Not only are there ethical factors at place, but also legal imperatives – to say nothing of consumer demand and the PR positives that can come from directly addressing pollutive practices. But what are some ways in which the modern tech-forward business can adequately address its carbon footprint?

Renewable Energy Sources

One of the major routes by which larger businesses can seek to reduce their carbon footprint is through pivoting away from pollutive energy sources altogether. Renewable sources like solar and wind have been available for decades, and continue to grow as effective alternatives to fossil fuels. This change could be as simple as signing up with an eco-conscious energy supplier that guarantees supply of renewable energy to the grid; alternatively, a business could assemble its own solar arrays to produce its own energy off-grid.

Heating Systems

Energy sources are just one part of the equation, though. Energy efficiency is another vital consideration, particularly with regard to building heating systems. Older heating systems are inefficient at heating water, resulting in energy lost and undue pollution. An efficient combi boiler could be revelatory for the smaller office in terms of carbon emissions. Larger offices and administrative centres, meanwhile, might benefit from newer iterations of air source heat pump technology – which run on electricity as opposed to natural gas.

IoT

IoT, or the Internet of Things, describes a not-so-new form of technology wherein ‘smart’ systems can speak to one another via an internet connection. On the consumer side, the IoT has been somewhat defined by gimmicks: refrigerators that can access social media, and wireless speakers that can play music on command.

However, for businesses IoT devices can be revolutionary in terms of energy efficiency. Interconnected systems can automate the switching on and off of lights, heating systems and even equipment. This allows for the most efficient possible usage of said equipment.

Cloud Computing

Cloud computing is another technological innovation which has been a fixture in modern life. Consumers use cloud computing on a daily basis to store personal files such as photos, in the form of products like iCloud and Dropbox.

Businesses can use cloud computing to host large tranches of their own data, and even live information such as websites and active databases, off-site. This means less energy expended on in-house server arrays. When combined with an eco-conscious cloud computing service, this could dramatically reduce emissions.