The #GreenWave, a time for reflection

The days after an election are times for reflection. I am so proud of the Irish, I have always loved this country, but now I can also say I love it’s modern society. A society that is inclusive and caring of all, it’s people and it’s place.

The media and social platforms keep talking about the #GreenWave, but I am not sure I agree with that term. To me, a wave is something that comes and goes, a force of nature that picks and then retreats. That is exactly the opposite of what we need, what we need is a complete change in mindset. A completely different way to look at our own lives, our jobs, our businesses and our government policies.

I wrote a blog about this a couple of weeks back, the perception out there is that running a  "Green Business" means spending a huge amount of money. Investing in solar panels, geothermal heating systems and a bunch of new technology not everyone can afford. And yes, investing in new technologies will of course reduce your Carbon Footprint, don’t get me wrong, I firmly believe that the stage we all need to get to, is to run our businesses and lives through renewal energy options, waste minimisation and water reduction. However...there are other things you and I can do to reduce our Energy, Water and Waste production in our lives and in our businesses.

I have been working with Hospitality businesses for over 3 years now, and it never fails, the starting point of every business owner I have met is the perception that Greening their business is going to cost them a fortune, and as you can imagine, that brings apprehension and a reluctance to change.

I too felt like that before I started my own Green Journey 7 years ago. The good news is that I can guarantee you that Greening your business is:

• Easier than you think
• Not only it is not expensive, it actually will SAVE YOU MONEY!
• It is what society and therefor your customers look for and champion these days, so it makes business sense to dedicate some time to explore your options.

Running your business in a Greener way starts by taking control of your business resources. The electricity, gas, oil, waste & water needed to run your business is a controllable cost, but yet, we often forget to manage those resources.

Why is that? When I studied Hotel management I was told how to keep control of my budget, how to forecast my wages, how to reduce staff costs… but I was never told that as a Hotel manager, I would have to also manage the building my business sits in. The running costs of a building can be huge, imagine if you could save 20% of all of your Energy bills in less than 3 months?

As a challenge, if you want to find out what your own savings could be, add up all of your Energy bills from last year, electricity, gas and oil. Even just out of curiosity! You will get a clear view of the running cost of the Energy needed to run your business.

Managing your resources will not only reduce your Carbon output but it will also allow you to manage those costs, reduce them and SAVE MONEY.

When we measure and we monitor we can Manage,

and when we manage, we can reduce.

I am a firm believer that loads of business adopting small Carbon reduction measures, paying attention to their utility bills, reducing them as much as possible, can have a huge impact in the Hospitality industry and the Environment. But the mindset needs to change Business owners need to be open to change, because now, it is not just a few asking, the elections of May 24^th have sent a clear message of what Irish society wants.

#50ShadesGreener

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Raquel