Eco-Friendly Businesses Must Prioritize Employee Safety

Sustainability is becoming a major concern for many businesses. Over a third of the largest businesses in Europe have a science-based target to lower their carbon footprint.

If you are like many other companies, you are probably taking major steps to help lower your carbon footprint. However, there are a number of challenges that you are likely to encounter along the way. While you are making efforts to help the planet, you can’t ignore the importance of other ethical and legal obligations, such as taking care of your employees.

Employee Safety is a Primary Concern for Eco-Friendly Businesses

We have covered a number of key areas that companies should focus on to be more sustainable. But that doesn’t absolve them of other responsibilities such as employee safety.

Business premises are not cheap, so there is a chance that your office or unit is not necessarily in the best neighborhood around. While most people in the area will not be a problem, and many of them might even work for you, there will likely be many people that you would rather stay away from your premises.

When you have a situation like this, you need to take steps to ensure that each employee is as safe as possible, not only while they are in your office but also when coming and going. This will, of course, involve finding the right solutions to make this possible. If you are unaware of what these might be, there are some measures that will work regardless of what your business does or where it is located.

Card entry system

You can start by controlling who enters your building or even your parking lot if you have one. By installing a card entry system, you will have the final say on who comes in and which areas they access to. So, while you might want your staff to be able to go everywhere, you might prefer that any workmen or visitors do not have access to certain areas.

You might want to reinforce this with the addition of a security guard, but this is likely to act as more of a deterrent. The combination of these two measures will also increase morale among your workforce, as they will know that you are taking their safety seriously.

Stop loitering

It may be the case that the undesirable group might not be trying to gain entry to your premises but instead loiter outside, intimidating staff and visitors alike. It would be a bad idea for you or even a security guard to confront them and ask them to move on, as this could actually encourage them to behave in an even more unsocial manner.

A sonic deterrent like a mosquito alarm will emit a noise that will be especially uncomfortable to youths but will be all but inaudible to those who are older. This noise can make those loitering feel uncomfortable and, therefore, likely to move on and hang around somewhere else. This is achieved anonymously without any confrontation whatsoever.

Improve exterior with bright but eco-friendly lighting

Even with these methods in place, your employees may still injure themselves with a trip or fall in a badly lit area. Apart from the obvious legal and financial ramifications of this, you wouldn’t want this to happen anyway, so investment in better exterior lighting is a must. This way, your employees can find their way to their cars or off of your premises without fear of mishap or anyone waiting in the shadows.

It is a good idea to make sure that you use eco-friendly lighting options. We have covered some of the benefits of solar lighting, which should be bright enough to light the area without harming the planet.

In addition to this, you may want to look at the condition of the paths around your building and your parking lot. This can ensure that there are no uneven surfaces, potholes, or anything else that could cause injury. Any areas that are in need of repair should be addressed immediately, as this will also decrease the chances of somebody who works for you being injured.