Why You Must Embrace Green Home Technologies?

Abdul Aziz Mondol

Small Business

Published on: 22 March 2016 Last Updated on: 29 July 2024

Why You Must Embrace Green Home Technologies?

Did you know? Buildings in India account for…

33% greenhouse emissions
38% energy consumption
30% landfill waste
12% water consumption

And, every year, built-up areas in the country grow by 10% with a whopping 700% increase in energy consumption!

It’s time to re-evaluate our priorities,

It’s time to give back to nature,

And for our children, it’s time to ensure that our homes do not destroy the world.

India has been a fascinating growth story. Our story of growth is also about stress on the environment and natural resources. Fragile ecosystems and endangered species are struggling amidst the fast-expanding concrete. However, there is a silver lining in every cloud. Staying true to the traditional ethos of living in harmony with nature, Indian real estate is welcoming new technologies and innovative architecture to ensure a sustainable future. New-age financial solutions and subsidies are likely to encourage the adoption of green technologies in the construction sector.

Your contribution, however small, is significant in creating an eco-friendly living space. Going green is an important milestone for your family where you create a positive environment for growth. It saves you lots of money as you pass down the lessons of conservation to the next generation and add to their inheritance. Green constructions and architecture are the flavors of our times and builders are incorporating environment-friendly and energy-efficient features like LED lights, waste management plants, urban forestry, natural ventilation, thermos bricks and many other design elements for your conservation and well-being.

Why do you need a green home?

Money, money, money

A green building creates many financial benefits for owners and tenants. Natural materials are compatible with the environment, while solar energy, proper ventilation, rainwater harvesting, water recycling, waste management, and foliage help to cut energy consumption and save large amounts of money for you. Tenants are clearly attracted to buildings which offer a reduction in everyday costs.

Environmentally safe with GRIHA

It feels great doing your bit to safeguard the environment. Buildings are responsible for one-third of greenhouse emissions and that portion can be reduced by 35%. Demand for high-quality, eco-friendly and energy-efficient real estate is growing across India. It applies to both, residential and commercial spaces. And with our urban air becoming a pollution hazard, it is imperative that as an Indian, you seek green alternatives to safeguard health, environment, and productivity. You can choose environment-friendly homes as per GRIHA (Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment) rating. It evaluates how your home stands against accepted benchmarks of green buildings.

Better innovation

As an investor, you gain a higher yield from green buildings. The practice also spurs design and material innovation, which is important for our nation. The “green wave” has brought forth new technologies, understanding of ancient practices and ample research interest. Green buildings are using traditional material and recycling old materials to reduce our carbon footprint. Reduce, reuse and recycle: that’s the mantra sustaining your green home.

A great start-up culture

Grassroots awareness will drive greater adoption of green technologies. Rural artisans, cottage industries, and agriculture have felt a positive impact of the green drive. A new culture of entrepreneurs providing new solutions to builders is enriching the green economy.

Green buildings in India are becoming a part of the culture. You should be thrilled to know our country was ranked #3 on a list of 10 countries by the US Green Building Council (USGBC) for LEED outside the US. India today boasts of 1 billion square feet of green building area. With over 200 million square feet of commercial space and 45 million square feet of construction coming up, you can say without a doubt: The sky is our limit!

Apoorva Bharadwaj is a freelance blog writer. She has written blog posts largely catering to the real estate industry. Throughout these many years of her career as a blogger, she has kept up with changing trends in the real estate industry. She has written many blog posts on why the real estate prices are skyrocketing in major metros, how to choose the right real estate agents, about new apartments in metros, etc. At present, her latest blog work is on Jain Height’s new eco-friendly homes, luxury condominium projects for sale in Bangalore and about the right time to invest in an apartment.

Abdul Aziz Mondol

Abdul Aziz Mondol is a professional blogger who is having a colossal interest in writing blogs and other jones of calligraphies. In terms of his professional commitments, he loves to share content related to business, finance, technology, and the gaming niche.

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Custom Standup Pouches for Small Businesses

In 2018, the number of businesses that were using standup pouches increased by a high percentage. The custom printed pouches offer more to small businesses when it comes to convenience, affordability among other many other features. Gone are the days when businesses ignore the importance of proper packaging, small businesses are now investing more money into the packaging. The businesses that benefit the most from stand-up pouches are the companies dealing in food and beverage. Unlike the big companies, medium-sized and small companies can't sell a lot of merchandise in the retail stores. Due to this low sales return, many small businesses will focus more on cutting costs, and one of the sectors that suffer the most is the packaging. A small business owner will find it more affordable to use paper bags to pack their items. To add a little twist to the packaging, they will add a simple label on the packaging to brand their product. However, with time as the number of consumers grows, this form of packaging no longer seems like a feasible idea for your company. Your production quantity has to increase, and you have to adopt a new packaging strategy. Your old packaging style will be subjected to errors like wrong labeling or the paper bags getting torn and the products getting damaged. These simple mistakes within a short time start to bring losses in the production which cannot be ignored. At this juncture, most small businesses have no option but to adopt the custom stand-up pouches. What Are The Options Available With Stand-Up Pouches? Stand up pouches come with plenty of options, that a small business can utilize to make sure they deliver the best services in packaging their products. In addition to that, they come as a cost-effective option especially if you are a startup company. The standup pouches can be used in packing a wide variety of products. Compared to the ordinary paper bags, the standup pouches can withstand any form of roughness without getting damaged. The standup pouches cannot experience other challenges faced by paper bags like wrong labeling since they have the option of the company printing their label on the pouches. Label pasting or printing can be done anywhere and is also very cost-effective; you have a wide variety of printing options for your label. Depending on your production supply you can consider label pasting or label printing. The challenge with label pasting is that it is not very efficient when dealing with a large stockpile. Label printing offers a more attractive option. A small business can opt for custom printed standup pouches. The custom printed pouches are also cost-effective in the long run. What Are The Printing Options Businesses Can Consider? There are several printing options small businesses can consider. The printing options are high quality and offer flexible packaging options especially with food and beverage products. The printing of one’s product details has many advantages: it’s a useful visual marketing strategy, the printing of the brand in beautiful colors and letters increases the attractiveness of the packaging of your product, improved brand awareness, and lastly increased sales. Small businesses benefit from reduced cost in production by adapting standup pouches since the bags are very affordable. They are cheap and have low minimum run. If you compare the cost of a folded cartoon and that of standup pouches that are customized, you will find that the standup pouches are way cheaper. Since they are more reliable when it comes to protection of the product, then you don’t have to worry about your products getting damaged in storage or during transportation. The space used in storage when you sue the standup pouches is less compared to the other packaging options used by other companies. When picking your standup pouch design, it’s essential for your team to answer the following questions: 1. What kind of product is your small business producing and selling: How delicate is your product, what is the size of your product and what are the materials used in making your product? Simple facts like the perishability of product and the shelf life will play an important role in picking the best standup pouch design for your product. Each product has some logistics that must be taken into consideration when designing its packaging. 2. What is your target market? Who will be buying your product: Understanding the nature of your target market and their preferences is very important? For instance, the packaging you use when designing the packaging for men’s’ products will be fairly different than those used for those on women’s’ products. When surveying your potential clients, special things like age, sex, preferences, culture and religious boundaries have to be taken into great consideration. The ability to fully understand your customer will give you an idea of what packaging to use that they will find very attractive. If you are targeting the older generation, you will consider using larger texts in your printing, while a target market that is more affluent will want something that is classier and more luxurious. 3. How will your client buy your product: will the product be purchased in a retail store or online? Products that will be sold online don’t face the same stiff competition from similar products like the goods that are sold in a retail store. If you are products will be sold online then you don’t need to have extra space in the packaging as this will make the product to rattle a lot, or it will bend when being transported. If your products will be sold on the shelves of a boutique, then the packaging needs to eye-catching and cute. After answering these questions, you will have the opportunity to come up with different ideas on the ideal packaging to use. Product packaging is a practical tool since with the proper packaging you will be able to tell a story of your product. This means your story needs to very engaging, sensual, and awakens all the senses in a potential buyer. With the above questions fully answered your team will get a chance to come up with a packaging that will not only secure the product but also sell it to the current and potential buyers. Read Also: Building A Brand For Your Small Business 5 Ways To Reduce The Packaging Cost In Your Business

Optimize Your Small Business Revenue by Taking These Steps

Making more money as a small business isn’t as straightforward as simply selling more product. There are many different variables that go into any business’s bottom line. The trouble is, finding those variables, and knowing what to do when you’ve found them can be a huge challenge! If you’re looking for a way to optimize your small business revenue without necessarily selling more products, these tips will help you get started. Forecast Future Demand for Your Products One of the most intimidating things any business has to deal with is figuring out how much product to have in the storeroom. Although you may think having more is better than not having enough, having too much can be just as bad. Manufacturing all that product takes money, and if it doesn’t sell, you’ll be out the cash you spent to have it made. There are things you can do to predict your selling forecast as accurately as possible. They include things like: Assessing the success of your marketing campaigns Consider your sales history Knowing the costs associated with customer acquisition Spending extra time preparing before the holidays By making an informed guess at the future demand for your products, you can ensure you don’t make too much, but you can also ensure you have enough in the warehouse, so you don’t have to turn any business away. Forecast Future Trends Not only do you need to spend time figuring out the future demand for your products, but you should also have your finger on the pulse of future trends. Keeping an eye on trends will help you assess the future demand for your products, but it can also help you develop new products that will appeal to new and existing customers. Digital tools can help you do this. For example, you can subscribe to subreddits to discover trends, while Google Trends can show you real-time searches on the world's most used search engine. Don’t be afraid to develop relationships with other professionals in your industry! Although other businesses may be the competition, they can also be allies. You can refer customers to each other, and you can share interesting developments you’ve observed in the market. Dive Into Your Data Although forecasting demand and future trends can be hard, they can also be fun. That isn’t necessarily the case when it comes to diving into your data. Collecting and analyzing data can be tedious, but it is the best way to learn about the hidden details of your business. There are many ways to do your data analysis better, but one of the best tips is to make time to look at seemingly meaningless data. From combing over time-stamped sales receipts to third-party transaction logs, you never know what kind of information you'll uncover! Segment Your Customers You may think you know your customer base, but it’s rarely as simple as it appears on the surface. It’s more likely that you have multiple segments of customers from different demographics with different needs. Segmenting your customers allows you to break down a large audience, enabling you to create marketing strategies that target the pain points of those groups. You can focus your message to appeal to the right people, and test separate messages for different groups. It also ensures you optimize your marketing strategy. By targeting specific audiences with detailed messages, you can increase your ROI. Optimize New Areas of Your Business Chances are, there are some areas of your business that you have spent a lot of time on. It should go without saying that there are other areas of your business that have received very little attention at all. If you want to optimize your business’s revenue, it’s time to start looking at those underappreciated areas of your business. A few things you may want to do to optimize your business include: Update to cloud-based software programs Personalize the online experience Find ways to automate time-consuming processes Work at developing a more robust social media presence Learn about and leverage application programming interfaces (APIs) Make sure your site is optimized for mobile Offer a new way for customers to buy your products Rethink your hiring process If you want to make more money, you can always try and sell more products, but you’re leaving money on the table if that’s the only way you try and increase your revenue. There are many things you can do to optimize the money you’re already making. Read Also: How Customer Success Can Help Grow Your Business Online Marketing: Selling Your Product And Services How to Empower Your Small Business through Digital Marketing?

Standard Consulting Updating Businesses Now On ISO 9001 Changes

Whilst quality management system ISO 9001 is a set of International Standards recognized throughout the world, you could also describe it as a way of life or a mindset. Quality management is one of those things that just makes sense - in fact, much of it is exactly that, common sense! Practical, simple and very effective, it's a way of delivering the very best products and services to the customer - and implementing it really isn't rocket science! Whilst so much of this is commonsense, nonetheless, there is a set of policies, processes, and procedures needed to make it all happen. But this is a system that should be at the very heart of any organization. Whether you own a large company, a small business or you run a voluntary organization or charity, you have 'customers', and meeting their requirements should be your main goal. Well-oiled machine Standard Consulting in Brisbane sums it up perfectly when they describe ISO 9001 as a way of consolidating the many internal processes within an organization into one well-oiled machine. It leads us away from considering a business to be many different components running alongside each other, seeing it instead as a total commitment to quality as a whole. Standard Consulting's Quality Management System training packages help organizations of any size understand and adopt this concept, leading to improved performance, fewer complaints, more happy customers and a better bottom line. Crucially, it will also help organizations meet regulatory requirements and achieve ongoing improvement. Government tenders Quality Management System training helps businesses understand that their customers are not the only ones to consider. For example, a business chasing Government contracts and tenders is unlikely to make even the first cut without a QMS system in place. In our competitive world, where a tender might attracts hundreds of bids, Government departments need some sort of benchmark against which they can measure the applicants. Or perhaps you are an SMB wanting to join a major organization's supply chain. Again, it is unlikely you will be considered with a recognized system in place. Remember, that major company has to meet its own regulatory requirements and keep its customers happy, so it is crucial they work with like-minded organizations. In order to be effective, Quality Management System ISO 9001 must be embraced by everyone within an organization, from top to bottom. And decision-makers within the business need to consider it in the context of all future plans and policies. It also demands that all policies and procedures be documented, and constantly reviewed and updated, in much the same way the Standards themselves are revised and updated. Standard updates In fact, there has recently been a review, with the current version of the Standard being Quality Management System ISO 9001:2015. Three years in the making, this only goes to show how important and up-to-date these Standards are, formulated by professionals from throughout the world. Well over a million ISO 9001 certifications have been issued - a reassuring sign that businesses are really starting to take on board the importance of quality, in their goods, services and internal operations. ISO 9001 was revised to make it more in tune with how we do business these days - reflecting our global market better. Quality Assurance vs Quality Control As professionals such as Standard Consulting will tell you, it is far better to create a top-quality product in the first place - Quality Assurance - than to have to deal with returns and complaints later - Quality Control. It's a mistake to think that quality control is enough. As well as disappointing and potentially losing customers, producing faulty products that get returned is a complete waste of money for the organization. Better to get it the right first time, every time. There are, however, a few misconceptions about ISO 9001:2015, and these will be properly explained during quality management system training. For example, you'll hear some people say that the Standard is only for big organizations, or that it is only applicable to certain industries. That is not the case. Suitable for any business International Standards can be applied to any size organization, in any industry, and be just as relevant. The concept of quality products that are fit for purpose has nothing to do with the size of your business. In fact, we are seeing an increasing number of SMEs implementing these systems, because they can see how it saves them time and money and helps them secure a larger chunk of the market. Another myth is that it is only for manufacturing or retail businesses but again, this is untrue. Quality Management System ISO 9001 is used by hospitals, schools, churches, charities, police departments and more. To put it simply, every group or organization or business needs structure - and structure needs policies and procedures. Think about it - even families have structure, rules, processes, systems, and patterns. So it's fairly obvious you need the same processes and systems in business - but much bigger. To find out how your business would benefit, talk to Standard Consulting - experts in International Standards.

Why You Must Embrace Green Home Technologies?