3 Ways Businesses Struggle To Incorporate Sustainability

Julie Starr • June 17, 2021



What is your definition of a sustainable business ? Your definition will be different from an environmental activist or a business executive. When we address the idea of sustainability, we must recognize that the term “sustainability” can be interpreted in so many different ways. We can use our sustainability lens and put our own spin on things. This means there can be a lack of accountability, especially for those businesses that claim to be sustainable, but cannot provide the proper evidence. What are the main reasons it is hard to be a sustainable business?

A Lack of Defining Its Value

Sustainability is open to interpretation. But this means we’ve got to shift business practices to be environmentally friendly, but we must define its value for us. A sustainable business can undertake a box-ticking exercise, and work with the right components, whether this is the right IT support company or deal with suppliers who have the appropriate perspective of ethics, the reality is that we’ve got to determine how valuable it is. We can do this by calculating the savings from purchasing renewable energy, for example, but we also must realize that it is an upfront cost. So rather than determining its value through figures and numbers, we’ve got to decide how being sustainable will benefit us. We all know that it’s beneficial to the planet, but when we have a solid definition, much like we would when conducting our business plan, we are venturing into it with our eyes open.

Not Comprehending the Impacts of Consuming Less

To be sustainable, we have to encourage customers to consume a lot less of everything. This is what we are told by environmental experts, and this can be anathema to business models. However, it’s important to remember that you can find the balance. You can conduct your business with a minimalist attitude but also advocate for sustainability practices you believe in. We cannot guarantee our customers will purchase less, but this is why we need to attract customers who are interested in the message. When they listen to the message, we have done everything we can.

Not Understanding the Impact of Collective Action

We can be sustainable in an environmental and ethical sense, but we can also realize that it is an overwhelming challenge that we may not be ready for. Because the biggest problem with using natural resources is that if we do not use them, somebody else will, which means that so many businesses develop a mindset to deplete important resources. Because if they don’t use them to get ahead, their business suffers. But this is why you can get around the problem by working with nonprofits, and spearhead schemes that can stay on the right side of sustainability. There are countless examples in the world in the food industry where companies are actively working to reduce the use of single-use plastics, and only use recyclable materials. The fact is your heart may be in the right place, but if you really want to become a sustainable business, you need to be aware that it can be a massive challenge.

Earth Day is a Moment. Sustainability is a Journey.

By Julie Starr • April 7, 2025
Every April 22nd, Earth Day reminds us of our shared responsibility to care for the planet. It’s a powerful moment for reflection, recognition, and renewed commitment to environmental stewardship. But for companies like Taiga, Earth Day is not just a day—it's a checkpoint in a journey that spans all 365 days of the year. Beyond the Day: The Power of Year-Round Storytelling While Earth Day is an excellent opportunity to spotlight your company's environmental efforts, the true impact lies in consistent, transparent communication about your sustainability strategy. Customers, investors, employees, and partners are increasingly interested in how companies plan, act, and improve over time. To build trust and inspire action, companies should: Share clear targets: What are your goals for emissions reduction, circularity, or biodiversity? Make them specific and time-bound. Report results honestly: Celebrate wins and be candid about setbacks. Progress, not perfection, is the story. Connect efforts to impact: Highlight how your initiatives benefit ecosystems, communities, or supply chains. Leveraging Earth Day as a Strategic Moment Think of Earth Day as a milestone that anchors your broader communications. Some ideas: Launch or preview new initiatives that reinforce your long-term strategy. Tell human stories: Showcase employees, community members, or suppliers contributing to sustainability. Host interactive events: Webinars, volunteer days, or innovation showcases invite people into the journey. Publish a sustainability snapshot: A visual, engaging recap of the past year's progress. Engaging Stakeholders Year-Round To keep the momentum going beyond April: Create a sustainability content calendar to share updates, behind-the-scenes looks, and educational content. Invite feedback: Use surveys or listening sessions to understand stakeholder priorities and ideas. Collaborate: Partner with NGOs, academics, or startups aligned with your mission. Recognize champions: Celebrate employees and partners who go above and beyond. Bringing It Together: A Continuous Narrative Earth Day is a valuable opportunity to raise awareness, but lasting impact comes from building a continuous narrative. At Taiga, we see sustainability not as a series of campaigns but as a shared journey with our stakeholders . When we connect the dots between moments like Earth Day and the year-round work behind the scenes, we not only deepen engagement—we accelerate change. So this Earth Day, let’s celebrate progress and recommit to transparency, collaboration, and bold action. The planet needs more than promises. It needs a plan. And it needs all of us.

Greener Clicks: How to Reduce Your Environmental Impact with Sustainable Digital Marketing

By Julie Starr • March 31, 2025
In the race to decarbonize our world, one area often overlooked is digital marketing. While it might seem inherently clean compared to print or physical campaigns, our online activities have a real and measurable environmental footprint. From servers powering your website to emails filling up inboxes, every click, stream, and scroll contributes to carbon emissions. At Taiga Company, we believe digital strategies can be powerful and low-impact. Here’s how to get started. Optimize for a Low-Carbon Web Why it matters: Websites and digital ads are hosted on servers that consume electricity, often powered by fossil fuels. Every time a user loads your site or ad, it uses energy. How to reduce your impact: Host green: Choose web hosts that use renewable energy or offset emissions. Clean up your code: Streamlined, efficient code reduces load times and energy use. Compress and reduce images: Smaller files mean faster pages and fewer emissions. Limit heavy media: Videos and animations are carbon-intensive; use them mindfully. A faster, leaner website isn’t just better for the planet—it also boosts SEO and user experience. Email Marketing with Intention Why it matters: Every email sent, received, and stored requires energy. Multiply that by millions of sends, and the impact adds up. How to reduce your impact: Clean your lists: Remove inactive subscribers to avoid waste. Segment wisely: Only send emails to those who will truly benefit. Use plain-text when possible: It’s lower in data and often more accessible. Reduce frequency: Send fewer, higher-quality emails with genuine value. Intentional emailing reduces not only emissions but also improves deliverability and engagement. Sustainable SEO and Content Strategy Why it matters: Search engines crawl, index, and serve up billions of web pages daily. Thoughtless content and bloated sites add to the load. How to reduce your impact: Create evergreen content: Focus on high-quality pages that stay relevant longer. Streamline your site structure: Fewer clicks to find content = less energy use. Use minimal plugins and scripts: Especially ones that load on every page. Green your CMS: Some content management systems are more resource-efficient than others. Sustainable SEO isn’t just eco-friendly—it’s good strategy. Fewer, better pieces often perform better than content mills. Rethink Marketing Automation Why it matters: Automated emails, ads, and data syncing can create a lot of digital clutter. That clutter eats up storage and energy. How to reduce your impact: Audit regularly: Retire old workflows and outdated automations. Optimize syncing: Reduce how often and how much data is transferred. Segment with purpose: Better targeting means fewer wasted sends. Use expiration dates: Don’t let outdated content or assets live forever. Efficient automation can reduce emissions and improve performance. Digital marketing isn’t going away—and it shouldn’t. It offers powerful tools for connection, education, and growth. But like all tools, it can be used more sustainably. At Taiga Company, we’re committed to helping organizations lower their environmental impact without sacrificing reach or results. Sustainable digital marketing is not only possible; it’s essential. Ready to make your marketing aligned with your company's corporate sustainability plan? Let’s start the conversation.
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