Going green is pretty trendy, but in this day and age, it’s also a smart and efficient way to make your small business stand out from the rest.

Thankfully, there are a myriad of online resources that can help your business go and stay green. From making your website carbon neutral to tracking your overall carbon footprint, finding practical and easy ways to consume less energy, and getting bargain deals on environmentally-friendly office supplies, these five tips will send you in the green direction and give you just a few ideas of how easy it can be to have a greener business.

1. Calculate Your Carbon Footprint

Before you can really go green, you first need to get an idea of how much your business is effecting climate change. Thankfully, you have a number of options online to help you tackle that challenge.

Sites like The Carbon Account, COzero, and GreenIQ are all designed to give you a better idea of carbon emissions and overall environmental footprint. These sites will also provide helpful feedback to help you make changes to break energy inefficient patterns and reduce your business' impact.

2. Make Your Website Carbon Neutral

One pretty painless way to go green is to make your site as carbon-friendly as possible. With sites like CO2stats, you can eliminate the carbon footprint of your website and proudly showcase to visitors and potential customers that you've gone green.

CO2stats plans start at $4.95/month, but the premium plan, which is for sites with millions of page views, will cost you $99.95/month. Realistically, you should expect to spend $29.95/month, but that price tag will get you a service that automatically calculates and monitors your website's energy consumption, provides tips on how to make your site more energy-efficient and load faster, and uses audited renewable energy from wind and farms to neutralize the overall footprint.

3. Buy Green Office Supplies

Pretty much everything you could ever need to keep your business running has a more environmentally-friendly counterpart. From recycled copy paper, to biodegradable cups, refillable pens, printer ink, janitorial supplies, and even technology products (think laptops and printers) that make your workplace function, you can find whatever your green heart desires online.

One great place to shop green and save is the The Green Office, an office supply site dedicated to providing fresh green alternatives that fulfill your office needs, save the planet, and keep your bank account in the green as well.

4. Consider Going Solar

Chances are your small business is missing a huge energy saving opportunity by having a regular roof. That's where RoofRay can help. The site will help you calculate the solar potential of your roof using Google Maps, your monthly electric bill, and their solar estimate tool. The site then spits out an estimate of your electric bill should you opt to switch to solar. If you are serious about solar, you can even use RoofRay to request a free formal quote

5. Stay Savvy


Knowledge is half the battle, so if you're looking to go green and stay that way, you'll want to turn to sites like Sustain Lane for tips on how to save money, reviews on products, detailed environmental how-tos, and city-specific travel resources.

You can also check out green online communities like Care2 to connect with like-minded individuals, join groups, and find information. There are even sites just for Segway users and bike riders, to help inspire you to consider regular yet practical alternative transportation.