If you exude entrepreneurial passion, strive to make the world a more environmentally friendly place or just fancy a career change, then what is stopping you launching your very own eco-friendly business?

Follow these 10 simple tips to launching your own eco-friendly business:

● Recycled materials – depending on what line of work, your business is going into and what types of products you want to sell, you can use organic or recycled materials for almost anything – especially in a small start-up fashion company.

● I’m already an expert on green living – If you already feel confident in your knowledge and actions about living green, then start an eco-consulting service. Clients in every industry are desperate to reduce their footprint and increase their reputation for being green. Eco-consultants can evaluate homes, offices and new buildings and offer advice as simple as just implementing a recycling program

● Office exterior – professional landscaping may look nice, but the high maintenance isn’t great for the environment. Install astro-turf instead of grass and drought resistant plants to keep the exterior of your offices looking modern and saving you money.

● Tech savvy? – if you are a tech savvy entrepreneur, why not design a green app? An app that provides users with ideas and guidance on how to live more economically and environmentally friendly. This could incorporate anything from energy conservation to green living at home – be creative and think about the demographic you are targeting as there may be gaps in the market for educational green apps for children

● Use the cloud – use a shared data network for your IT system that will reduce your carbon footprint by nearly half! With innovative technology such as cloud hosting available to businesses the potential for saving energy here is huge. Every employee can access any document that they need from anywhere, encouraging better productivity and less paper usage

● Events – Say you are planning a celebratory event because of how much success your start up business is having, find an eco-friendly venue, use eco-friendly materials and inform guests well in advance. According to the United Nations Environment Program’s Sustainable Event Guide 2012, events that are environmentally sustainable have financial advantages as well as environmental. These events raise awareness and can inspire a local community to change their habits and become greener.

● Don’t drive, cycle or car pool – Now, I know that you won’t have to cycle to work if you’re work is your home, but raise awareness to employees about the advantages of cycling to work and carpooling. This will save them money as well as helping the environment

● Get with the times and e-mail – Paper is one of the biggest wastage that an office incurs, just email instead. It’s faster and more energy efficient.

● Recycle your gadgets – raise awareness in your office about recycling programs that are available online for your unwanted phones, laptops and MP3 players.

● Just turn it off! – I know it sounds simple but you have the potential to reduce both your energy bills and your carbon footprint just by simply turning things off. By unplugging your laptop once it’s fully charged and turn all the lights off at the end of the working day you are potentially halving your business bills