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. 

5 Everyday Items That Can Quietly Boost Your Brand

By Julie Starr • July 17, 2025
The best branding doesn’t always come from big campaigns or expensive graphics. Sometimes it’s the smaller stuff that leaves the biggest impression. Things people actually use, touch, or carry with them. That’s where your brand can quietly make its mark without needing to shout about it. If you’re only focusing on social media and business cards, you’re leaving a lot on the table. Here are five overlooked ways to get your name out there that feel natural, useful, and more personal. Thank-you slips If you’re already sending out orders, there’s no reason not to include a short thank-you slip. You can easily get these made through any decent online print shop , and they’re usually pretty cheap to run off in small batches. Just a simple note that says thanks, maybe with a reminder to follow you online or a cheeky discount code for next time. It’s quick, thoughtful, and makes the whole order feel more finished. Customers notice that kind of detail, especially when everything else they buy online comes with zero personality. You don’t need a complicated design either. Just something clean with your logo, a message that sounds like you, and maybe a social handle. The point is to give them a reason to come back or remember your name without it feeling forced. Branded zip pouches If you sell physical products, offer services, or run events, small zip pouches are surprisingly effective. Think of the kind you’d use for stationery, receipts, or travel bits. You can get your brand printed on the side and hand them out with purchases or include them in welcome packs. People keep them because they’re actually useful. They get tossed in handbags, school bags, or glove boxes and your logo just keeps turning up. Cleaning cloths for glasses or screens This one works brilliantly if you’re in tech, health, beauty, or anything involving screens or eyewear. A simple microfibre cloth with your branding on it can go a long way. Everyone needs one. Whether they use it for glasses, a phone screen, or their laptop, it’s something they hang onto. It’s not the kind of thing people throw away, and that means your name sticks around too. Receipt envelopes You might already use little envelopes to hand over receipts or business cards. Branding those envelopes is a small change that makes a big difference. Instead of someone getting a scruffy bit of paper in a plain sleeve, they’re handed something that feels a bit more finished. You can even add a message inside. Doesn’t need to be anything dramatic. A simple “thanks for visiting” or “see you next time” is enough to add a personal touch. Wet wipes or mini hand gels If your business is in hospitality, food, or anything hands-on, branded wet wipes or pocket-sized hand gels are surprisingly popular. People actually use them, especially at festivals, food stalls, pop-ups, or kids’ events. They end up in handbags or cars and stick around longer than you think. They don’t scream “marketing” either. They’re practical, and when done right, they make your business feel thoughtful. That’s what good branding does, it shows you’ve thought ahead.

How Student-Led ‘Energy Audits’ Are Cutting School Costs (and Lighting the Way Forward)

By Julie Starr • July 14, 2025
What happens when students stop waiting for adults to fix things and start conducting their own energy audits? Money gets saved. The lights get switched off. Data gets analyzed. And a quiet revolution in sustainability begins—inside schools that once overlooked their own inefficiencies. Across the globe, student-led energy audits are proving that change doesn't always need to come from a policy shift or a major capital budget. Sometimes, it begins with a clipboard, a spreadsheet, and a group of curious minds asking: Why are the hallway lights on at noon when sunlight floods the building? The Energy Detectives These audits aren’t science fair projects. They’re rigorous investigations, often done in collaboration with facilities staff, local environmental nonprofits, or even engineering mentors. Students go from classroom to classroom measuring electricity usage, checking for phantom loads , and identifying where heat is escaping in winter or air conditioning is leaking in summer. One high school in Ontario saved over $12,000 a year after its Grade 11 physics students ran an energy audit and suggested simple changes—LED upgrades, motion sensors in bathrooms, and smarter heating schedules. They didn’t just propose ideas. They pitched them with spreadsheets, thermal images, and payback timelines. It worked. Learning That Pays Off—Literally Unlike textbook learning, these audits blend real-world math, environmental science, economics, and persuasive communication. Students aren’t just learning about sustainability. They’re doing it. And the savings add up. From dimming overlit hallways to reprogramming HVAC systems that run all weekend for empty buildings, students are surfacing blind spots that administrators often overlook. In some districts, their findings are influencing energy policy. Elsewhere, the audits have inspired school boards to hire sustainability coordinators—often alumni of the student programs themselves. There’s something poetic about a school funding new books or laptops from money saved by students who found out the vending machines didn’t need to be plugged in 24/7. Why This Matters More Than Ever With education budgets tightening and utility costs rising, every dollar saved is a dollar that can go back into classrooms. And here’s where it gets interesting from a family finance perspective, too. If you’re a parent setting aside money for post-secondary savings, every bit of school efficiency helps. Fewer energy costs might mean more programming, better STEM facilities, or even bursaries. That raises a broader point: when families save for their children’s future, they often look into RESPs (Registered Education Savings Plans). And many wonder—is a RESP deduction available on my taxes? While contributions themselves aren’t deductible, the gains grow tax-free, and students often pay little to no tax when they withdraw the funds during school. A Movement Worth Replicating These audits aren’t just an exercise in environmentalism. They’re leadership labs. Students learn how to spot inefficiencies, speak up in board meetings, and make a business case for change. They don’t just flip switches—they shift mindsets. And they carry these habits into adulthood. The result? A generation growing up not only with climate anxiety, but also with tools to tackle it.