A2X Consulting

Let’s just begin by saying that most apps you can use for business are eco-friendly right from the get-go because they don’t require you to use paper, thus denuding more forested land. So any time you open your calendar, day planner, or project manager, remember that you’re not contributing to deforestation and give yourself a little pat on the back. Of course, there’s a lot more you can do to greenify your professional life, and here are a few good apps to help you get the job done.

1. my facecard. First impressions are important, and if you want to make yours a little greener on behalf of your business, download this freebie that lets you hand out your business card in a digital format. There are several things to love about this. First, you’ll never be without a business card when you need one; all you have to do is customize your business (or personal) card with your photo, contact info (including social networking), and design and when you want to exchange cards, you simply select the “bump” feature and then literally bump phones with anyone else who has the app (in other words, get your phone in proximity to your would-be contact’s device). Think of it as the digital equivalent of a handshake. In a neat design choice, the cards you collect will be stored on a wall that looks like the card case in your wallet.
2. Treehugger. You might be somewhat dubious about the prospect of utilizing this green news app for your business, but the fact that the information stream is categorized will help you to filter out unwanted items in favor of eco-friendly news that pertains to your business interests. Along those lines there is a green business category, and depending on your occupation, you may also choose to peruse other categories like health, science, or design, just for example.
3. PaperKarma. This is one app that can be extremely useful in both your personal and your professional life. In both cases you may find yourself inundated by unwanted junk mail. PaperKarma makes this annoying phenomenon a thing of the past and it’s totally easy to use in either the home or the office setting. All you do is download the free app and start snapping pics of the mail you no longer want to receive. Once you select “unsubscribe” the app will do the rest, ensuring that your name (or the name of your business) is removed from the mailing list. You’ll help to cut down on unnecessary paper waste while lowering your level of annoyance a notch or two.
4. iRecycle. Most businesses see recycling as the first step towards adopting an environmentally friendly operation, but you may not be aware of everything in the office setting that can be recycled. This app will give you about a million and a half suggestions on the matter, along with pertinent information about which items can be recycled in your area (and how to go about properly addressing those that can’t).
5. Fuze Meeting. This one is free to download, but if you want the best options you’ll have to pay a hefty price for membership (as much as $69.99). Luckily, there are a few nice features in the free version (that may be suitable for some businesses) and a lot of functionality to recommend the paid subscription, including multi-party HD video conferencing and the ability to incorporate docs, images, PowerPoint presentations, and even live, streaming video during conferences. While you can certainly download Gimp, OpenOffice, and a number of other useful open source programs to benefit your business, this green app will save you the time and expense of traveling the globe for conferences (not to mention the greenhouse gas emissions), making it well worth the initial cost.