116 www.gogreen-project.eu Reducing overhead costs • Overhead costs are on-going business expenses that, although not directly associated with the creation of a product or a service, still apply a cost to the final product. • Commonly paid overhead costs that a company pays include: rent; utilities; insurance; and office equipment. • As overheads can fluctuate in price, it is important for organizations to be continuously mindful of the long-term knock-on impact these costs can have on the company’s ability to make money. • To help to reduce overhead costs, why not consider: ✔ Leasing office buildings, co-working spaces or office equipment rather than owning them; ✔ Hire staff on a freelancing basis if they are not directly involved in the creation of the product or service; ✔ Offer employees the opportunity to work remotely to reduce the utility bills of the physical office; ✔ Swap from diesel vehicles to hybrid cars; ✔ Making a policy within the office to disallow staff from using paper resources. ✔ Implement reuse and recycle measures Lean manufacturing and production opportunities • Lean manufacturing, or Just-in-Time manufacturing, is a philosophy that enables a company to ‘do more with more and less with less’ (Source: Simon and Schuster, 1996). • Lean promotes sustainability, always delivering value to the customer. • As people are the most valuable tools that a company has, lean supports organizations to maximize customer value while minimizing waste. • Lean supports businesses to provide high quality, low cost and short lead times. Implementing Standardization Policies • Organizations that offer standardized products and services can reap cost saving rewards through maintaining certain levels of consistency in the product offering. • Often seen with products and services offered by franchises, standardization provides a basis for the benchmarking of quality and uniformity. • Standardization can be completed on a local, national or global level, through a wide range of measures, including; ✔ Ensuring all technology that is manufactured has the same inputs such as phone chargers, plug socket and USB ports; ✔ Ensuring that all food and beverage products taste the same, irrespective of the kitchen used to create the products.
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