• Use recycled and recyclable materials; increase the durability of products and minimize packaging waste (reduce, reuse and recycle).
• Train staff so that they look for additional ways to reduce the companies environmental footprint.
• Offset carbon emissions with equivalent carbon-fixing initiatives, such as tree planting and use of green personal means of transportation.
• Join a local green business club that can help local firms access conservation grants and expertise for reducing waste, water use and energy.
• Prefer using video-conferencing to meet a potential supplier or customer rather than physically travelling to meetings.
• Establish an environmental management system with objectives and procedures for evaluating progress, minimizing negative impacts and transferring good practices.
• Establish policies to improve the health and safety of all employees and make the policies known to employees.
• Involve employees in business decisions that affect them and will improve positive office environment.
• Provide training opportunities and mentoring to maximize promotion within the organization.
• Be open to distant working, flextime, home office and other work-life balance policies.
• Share training and human resources programs with other local small businesses.
• Encourage a healthy workplace (e.g. implement a smoking ban or drug and alcohol abuse support program) with regular physical activities.
• Provide exercise facilities or offer subsidized membership at a local gym.
• Make sure that all staff know that there are explicit policies against discrimination in hiring, salary, promotion, training or termination of any employee on the basis of gender, race, age, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation or religion.
• Do not tolerate behaviour in the workplace that insult employees on the basis of gender, race, age, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation or religion.
• Pay comparable wages for comparable work.
• Support organizations that promote fair trade and human rights compliance in the area.
• Encourage employee volunteering in the community and with financial contributions and help sport and charity organizations.
