There is still too much of an idea that taking steps on the road to ecology and environmental sustainability is costly for companies. Although there are sometimes high initial costs, in the medium and long term the amounts spent are beneficial and worth the investment. Even so, there are costs that simply don't exist or disappear, making your order more competitive and with lower management costs.
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So let's begin:
Recycling
There are many ways to recycle. You can invest - as we did - in bins, or you can simply place bags / boxes in each work section where your employees can sort their rubbish.
At Maudlin Merchandise we separate plastic and cardboard and have managed to reduce our waste by almost 80 per cent. As we are an industry, we generate a lot of rubbish, so such a high percentage reduction also means huge savings in collection costs for the city. When it comes to recycling, there are several companies that collect it for free and others that even pay by weight.
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Banning water bottles
This was a step we took in 2019. Until then, we spent hundreds of euros on bottles of water for the company, a cost that was rising every year as more employees joined. These bottles also generated rubbish (although they were recycled, they weren't considered normal plastic) and sometimes you didn't even drink the whole bottle, wasting water and resources.
The company decided to stop buying single-use bottles and to switch to reusable bottles and a water filter jug. This was one of our best steps towards ecology and one that had little financial impact on the company.
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Reduce water consumption
Water is going to be one of the most precious commodities in the coming decades and when we think about ecology we also have to think about saving water. Although we have started using filtered tap water for the company's water consumption, we have still managed to reduce water consumption to values close to those of 2015. How? Through 3 measures.
- dual flush systems in toilets (considerably reduces water per flush)
- Placing 1.5 litre bottles in the toilet tank
- reducing the flow of water in washbasins (we don't need a giant jet of water to wash our hands) by using flow reducers and even slightly cutting the force of the water reaching the washbasin
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Install photovoltaic panels
Installing photovoltaic panels is the biggest investment you'll find here, but it's also the best investment any company or warehouse can make, not only financially but also ecologically. It has a relatively high initial cost (which continues to fall considerably every year) but over the next few decades it will have lower and lower electricity costs. Our installation had an expected payback or ROI of 6 years. As we consume all the energy we produce, we expect to recoup our investment in just over four years, saving hundreds of euros in electricity every month.
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Producing ecological workwear
Many companies need work uniforms. Today there are ecological alternatives for your uniforms. Whether you're looking for restaurant uniforms or industrial uniforms, B&C or Kariban's ecological clothing is sure to meet your needs.
B&C recently launched the industry's most eco-friendly line, with T-shirts made from 80 per cent organic cotton and 20 per cent recycled polyester. The price? Fantastic! The new T-shirts in 100 per cent organic cotton are also very attractive and at an unbelievable price.

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There are many more steps we can take to reduce our footprint while becoming more sustainable and ecological. We once wrote an article for the Poupa e Ganha blog in which we talked about some more of these steps.