Good day in this article we are going to discuss ethics specifically enviromental ethics. What people's normal reaction are to this problem we find ourselves in and how we can turn their attitude around for the positive. We will discuss how we educate members of staff and how with their help not only can we reduce the impact of the companies enviromental stamp but also how it helps to secure their employment by ways of saving money.

We will discuss this from my previous employment where I was Enviromental Manager for a commercial printing company.

As a whole we are all aware of how our business effects the enviroment. Unfortunately though there seems to be an attitude of "What good can my business do against the whole enviromental problem?" This is a very valid point.

What can one business do to help protect the enviroment. The answer to that question is one business doing their best to help the enviroment is absolutley nothing!

However the problem is not just one business to help but many business's working together help to reduce the impact. In my experience companies can win new contracts with other business's who will only work with companies who hold enviromental accreditations. This alone is one benefit for the company as if you have the accreditation and your nearest competitor does not, who will win the contract?

Involving all members of staff on the new policies that will be in place at work is imperitive. This goes from educating the juniors right up to the Managing Director of the company.

The best way to keep a record of all your activities and achievements is to create spread sheets with weekly recordings of the required information. This information will range from electricity to rubbish.

To keep staff involved in the environmental policy and motivated I have found that the best way is honesty is the best policy. Explain that if they follow the new policy requirements their jobs will be more secure as not only is it the Environmental Managers responsibility to keep the environmental policy up to date but also to implement the policies whilst saving money. Not costing the company money. This also holds true with upper management and directors for they of course enjoy healthier profits.

Below I have included some tips on how I saved money for the company I worked for:-

• Lights: I researched how much money was being spent on our strip lighting and how much electricity was being burnt. By switching off a third of our lights, our company saved over £5,000 per year. This of course was well received by directors and made the staff feel more secure in their employment.
• Rubbish: There is a very true saying that I am sure everybody can relate to. One man's rubbish another man's gold. So true. I researched on the internet who could be interested in the rubbish that our factory produced. This was mainly wood from printer pallets and metal plates from the printing presses. The wood was shared amongst many ranging from DIY enthusiasts to drivers who could return the pallets for a small cash reward from their companies. I would post the wood up to online notice boards such as Craigs List with a simple FREE WOOD PALLETS gave the address out and hey presto pretty soon gone.
• Switch Off: Along with the lights I researched how much money and electricity could be saved by switching off at the plug all the non-essential products at night. This included the computers, printers, fax's, kettles etc etc. Once again saving thousands.

In this article we have covered how environmental ethics can save the business money. This in turn keeps the staff feeling more secure in their jobs and upper management happier because of the profits involved . We discussed how as a company you could win new contracts as some companies only deal with companies who have environmental accreditations. Lastly I revealed the biggest three tips on how I saved money.

Once again thanks for reading my article and any questions just fire away.

All the best Jason who simply rocks at writing.