5 Ways To Guarantee Sustainability In Your Business

Julie Starr • May 22, 2020



One of the most important concepts that has been introduced to businesses is the concept of sustainability . It’s more relevant now than it has ever been in business, and it involves ensuring that the demands of social, environmental, and financial factors are achieved. Your business is just like any other in the sense that it doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Everything that you choose to do for your business will impact your staff and your clients, but it will also impact the environment. To be a success in the business world, you need to be able to see that you are only making changes that are sustainable and positive for those around you.

Every business goes through changes during its lifecycle, and you need to be sure that you are making the right ones. You need to be successful in your sustainable efforts, and that means conducting your operations in a way that ensures that you have the least negative impact on the environment. It’s one of the reasons that every industry has turned to technology. For example, the healthcare digital transformation has been huge, and it’s such that most healthcare businesses now have a better impact on the environment while being more efficient at the same time. When you do this as a business, you increase your revenues and you make your shareholders feel good to be associated with you.

As a sustainable business, you’re going to feel less pressure by environmental groups as you will already be doing your bit for the planet. You will also be able to make it easy for your business to survive in the current climate. So, if you want to guarantee your business as a sustainable one, check out these five tips:

Start At The Top

If you want to introduce sustainability to your business, it has to start at the very top of the chain . You cannot get your employees on board with your new plans if your management team is resistant. You need to go from department to department and implement change and make sure that your leaders are the first to champion the change. If you want to introduce digital technology to your business, you need to ensure that you have the support of those in charge.  This will make a difference to the success of your operation. The culture of sustainability comes from those who support the idea of a better business, and if your employees aren’t on board, the whole house of cards will tumble.

Watch Your Resources To Engage Your Employees

Your business needs to achieve sustainability and if you want this to happen, you need to engage your employees so that you know that they are going to help you to accomplish your goals. Getting people on board with sustainability goals will help you to get your message across, so it’s a smart idea to initiate your projects so that everyone is on board with the ideas you have. Engagement is key for this to work, and that means funneling your resources into training. You want to know that you are educating people on waste reduction and prioritizing your actions for environmental initiatives, too.

Look At Your Current Processes

If you want to be sustainable, you should look at your current processes in your business and improve them. Look at how they currently work and tweak what you know works for your business so that it suits your new sustainable outlook. How are your current resources used ? Could you do better with that? Know your current protocols and adjust them to suit your new business initiatives – you won’t regret the effort that you make to do better. You can swap out your machinery used at work for sustainable and ethical options that you procure, too.

How’s Your Supply Chain?

Did you know that you could achieve sustainability goals through your current supply chain process? It’s not all about improving the social and environmental effects of your business. It’s so much more than that! You can use your supply chain to do better, and you can modify it with the changing environment, too. Your business can develop a policy that specifically focuses on obtaining of materials from sources that are more sustainable. You can streamline your processes better to achieve a positive environmental impact, too.

Review Over & Over

Lastly, you want to watch your new, sustainable initiatives to know that they are working. You should continually track these and as the results become evident over time, you can tweak them as needed. You cannot know that your new efforts are working unless you track them. 

Simple Steps To Make Your Office Space More Eco-Friendly

By Julie Starr • 07 Oct, 2024
Becoming more eco-friendly and running a greener business is a responsibility that business owners really need to think more about. The good news is that if you spend a lot of time in your office, there are plenty of ways to make it more eco-friendly without having to overhaul everything and start again (which isn’t just disruptive, but expensive too). So, if you’re ready to get started, here are some simple steps to make your office space more eco-friendly; read on to find out more. Use Energy-Efficient Lighting This idea is a simple one that you can do no matter what else might be on your list of tasks - it’s quick, easy, and really makes a difference; change your light bulbs to something more energy efficient. If you’re still using traditional fluorescent bulbs, it’s time to upgrade to LED which doesn’t just last longer, but also uses a lot less energy. They’re easy to install and they’ll help you cut down on your office’s energy usage almost instantly. If possible, you should make the most of natural light too, so think about rearranging your workspace to let in more sunlight, which saves energy and can boost your mood - it’s a win-win that you can do right away. Prioritize Air Quality The air you breathe matters, and keeping it clean can do wonders for your health and the planet. One way to improve air quality is by adding plants to your workspace because plants are natural air purifiers, and as a bonus, they’ll make your office feel more inviting. Another great idea is to make sure your office’s HVAC system is working efficiently, and having air duct cleaning done by professionals is an easy step you can take to improve air quality and ensure your heating and cooling systems aren’t wasting energy. Clean air ducts mean cleaner air, less strain on your system, and even lower energy bills, so it’s a simple but really effective thing to do. Switch To Reusable Products If your office is still stocking up on single-use plastic items, it’s time for a change - swap your disposable cups, utensils, and plates for reusable ones and you’ll be surprised at how much waste to eliminate. And what about encouraging people to bring their own mugs and water bottles to work? Give them tea, coffee, and water to refill everything with, and you’ll be doing your bit to help the planet and have less waste to deal with as well. And don’t stop with these things either - there are loads of reusable products that could be useful in your office. You could have refillable pens and ink cartridges for your printer, for example. Go Paperless Speaking of your printer, is that an office machine you actually need? If you were to go digital and aim for a paperless office , you might be able to do away with the printer, which means less money spent on ink and paper, and less energy used altogether. You should be able to set up a system where documents can be shared online and stored electronically, and there are plenty of tools around to help you do exactly that (and much more). If you don’t need to print something and you don’t need a physical copy of a document, don’t make one - just use the digital version instead and you’ll be a lot more eco-friendly.

3 Most Unsustainable Industries & What They're Doing To Be More Eco-Conscious

By Julie Starr • 04 Oct, 2024
Sustainability often gets pushed on the common person. Joe Public is told to be more sustainable with their daily habits as the government pushes for more eco-friendly measures. This is all well and good - but does it really matter when 71% of greenhouse gas emissions come from just 100 companies around the world? Small business owners are desperate to prove their sustainability, but what are bigger companies in some of the most polluting industries doing to help? We’ve taken three of the least sustainable sectors on the planet and explored the unique ways they’re trying to cut down on emissions and be more eco-friendly. Mining Any industry revolving around drilling underground will not be very environmentally friendly! Mining causes a lot of pollution, but its unsustainability often comes from the way it damages local environments and ecosystems. So, what is this industry doing to change things? It’s largely focusing on more responsible mining practices to reduce waste and mitigate the impact on local environments. This is done through mining dust suppression systems to prevent airborne pollution, reforesting mining sites when they’re no longer in use, and recycling as many materials as possible. Is it perfect? No, but it’s a step in the right direction. Fossil Fuels Shock horror; the fossil fuels industry is the most damaging to our environment. Finding ways to change the scope of this sector is the key to ensuring a better future for all. Some companies in this industry are trying to do this through carbon capture and storage. This is a technique where CO2 emissions are captured before they’re released into the atmosphere and stored underground. Realistically, the main thing fossil fuel companies should be doing is pushing for more renewable energy sources. Many are doing this - though reports suggest they’re not investing as much as they should. If fossil fuel companies dumped more money into developing biofuels and other renewable sources, pollution from this industry would drop dramatically. Fashion The most unbelievable stat to take from this post is that the fashion industry is responsible for 10% of our global carbon footprint . That’s remarkable (and worrying), considering how most of us don’t view it as a “dangerous” industry. Fast fashion is the main problem; poorly-made goods are pumped out at a rapid rate, and consumers constantly buy new things. Fashion companies are trying their best to resolve this. Most big brands will now have sustainable lines using recyclable materials. Consumers also hold the key to solving this problem: stop buying new clothes all the time and wear yours for longer. Or buy pre-owned clothes to slow down the fashion production line. Companies can still do more as well: they are trying to adopt more eco-friendly production processes that use less water and energy. The moral of this post is that everyone can do their bit to fight for a more sustainable future. Keep this in mind for your small business . It doesn’t matter what industry you’re in; there will always be ways to promote eco-friendly practices.
Share by: