Member Article

Tighten your business' belt and trim your waste

With Colin Grimston of Business Link

With the first month of the year already drawing to a close, and the economic downturn tightening its grip, there is no time to lose. Now is the perfect time to tighten your business’ belt and look at ways to improve efficiency and resource management.

Business Link is running a series of events across North East England to help you shape up your business practices, reduce waste and save money. The Trim Your Waste events will help you explore ways in which you can reduce costs and run your business more efficiently, providing practical tips on reducing overheads and effective resource management.

Now more than ever, it is important that businesses scrutinise their spending and look at ways in which they can save money and maximise profits. With an uncertain year ahead, even small, simple measures can make a big difference.

Business Link’s website www.businesslink.gov.uk/northeast has lots of helpful hints on how your business can cut costs. You can also assess your company’s resource efficiency using an online tool, allowing you to take practical steps to improve performance.

Becoming more energy efficient is one easy way to save money. Turning off lights in unoccupied spaces, switching off unused office equipment and only using the heating when it is needed are just some of the simple things you can do to reduce costs.

Recycling is another effective way of improving business efficiency. Waste removal can be very expensive, so wherever possible recycling can help reduce this unnecessary overhead. Purchasing recycled products can also be more cost effective. Products such as recycled paper, ink cartridges and printer toner can help save money, without having any impact on your business practices.

Perhaps the most important thing is ensuring that your staff are fully on board with your resource efficiency policy. A team effort can have a big impact and with the support of your staff, you should begin to see costs fall and profits increase.

To find out more about the Trim Your Waste workshops call Jessica Faith at Business Link on 0191 4266387 or email Jessica.faith@be-ne.co.uk. You can also visit www.businesslink.gov.uk/northeast for advice on how you can reduce your business’ waste.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .