Shred-it Encourages Small and Medium Sized Businesses to Shred their Ecological Foot Print with 5 Easy Tips from Sustainability Leader B Corp
New York, NY., May 29, 2014 – In anticipation of World Environment Day celebrations around the world, North America’s largest information destruction company, Shred-it, together with B Corp, is reminding small and medium sized businesses that there are easy and effective ways to reduce their environmental footprint, including recycling paper products.
The average North American office worker generates approximately two pounds of paper and paperboard products every day, which accounts for 90 per cent of their total waste1. Shred-it has examind the lifecycle of paper products within the average business and determined that shredding is not only more secure, but it can have benefits in terms of recycling. With traditional recycling programs, those paper products go through upwards of 10 touch points before being fully destroyed, placing each piece of confidential data at risk. Shredding documents reduces touch points down to six, allowing small and medium-sized businesses to dispose of their waste in a secure manner while still reducing environmental impact.
“It may seem simple, but if every small and medium sized business took the time to properly recycle and shred the paper they use, they could have a strong impact on their environmental footprint,” said Bruce Andrew, EVP of Shred-it. “Millions of North Americans are employed by small and medium sized businesses and many don’t know that shredding is not only critical to keeping confidential documents safe, but that it also fulfills an organizations commitment to recycling, as all shredded paper is recycled. At Shred-it, we want to remind businesses that there are easy steps they can take to be environmentally sustainable.”
To guide organizations in further reducing their environmental footprint, Shred-it has leveraged the expertise of B Lab, a leading advocate for environmental sustainability practices among small and medium sized businesses, to share how small businesses can get started on building a business that is reduces its environmental impact.
“Over 17,000 small businesses are realizing that the first step to improve your impact is by assesing where your company is in the sustainability journey,” said Hardik Savalia of B Lab. “Most companies don’t have the people or resources to implement expensive sustainability programs, but luckily there are easier ways to get started. For example, you can get started on this journey by assessing and comparing your impact using the B Impact Assessment, which is a free, easy-to-use online tool.”
SMBs can take action to become more sustainable with practical initiatives at zero to little cost. B Lab suggests the following ways organizations can reduce environmental impact:
- Conduct an audit of your organization’s current environmental influence.
- Provide incentive programs for employees to carpool, use public transportation or environmentally conscious modes of transportation, such as walking or riding a bike. These programs can include reimbursement for public transit passes or assistance in creating office carpool groups.
- Align your organization with suppliers and distributors that employ positive environmental practices.
- Share the results of your green initiatives to stimulate a culture of sustainability among your employees and to keep them motivated.
- Reduce energy use by turning off machines, electronics and lights when they are not in use. Create an after-hours and weekend heating setting on your thermostat to conserve energy when employees are not at the office.
Consumers increasingly want to see that the businesses they’re engaging with practice social and environmental accountability and transparency. However, it is also critical that green initiatives don’t compromise the security of customers and clients. By partnering with businesses focused on sustainability and security, organizations can support the environment as a corporate citizen without compromising their commitment to stakeholders.
About Shred-it
Shred-it is a world-leading information security company providing information destruction services that ensure the security and integrity of our clients' private information. The company operates in 140 markets throughout 18 countries worldwide, servicing more than 300,000 global, national and local businesses. For more information, please visit www.shredit.com.
About B Corp
B Lab is a nonprofit that serves a global movement of entrepreneurs using the power of business to solve social and environmental problems. B Lab serves these entrepreneurs through three interrelated initiatives that provide them the legal infrastructure and help them attract the customers, talent, and capital to scale. For more information please visit: www.bcorporation.net
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