7 Avenues To Business Sustainability Beyond Covid-19

Julie Starr • August 20, 2020



From nuclear wars to pandemics, and pollution, humanity’s existence has been threatened several times. Today we are faced with a test; the COVID-19 pandemic, which has infected over twenty million people globally and claimed hundreds of thousands of lives since reportedly breaking out last year. One of the areas that have been affected by this crisis is the business world, and many businesses are evaluating their business models to determine how well it will hold during an emergency. However, most organizations don’t have a more profound comprehension of sustainability . 

What is a sustainable business?

From an extensive point of view, sustainable business has its activities based on environmental, financial, and societal concerns.  Yet, this way towards sustainability isn’t that simple for most companies. Hence, the need to put together these seven avenues to business sustainability post-pandemic era to empower the future of companies and the community. 

How to develop a sustainable business?

  • Make a smart, incorporated open approach

Building a sound open approach to conservation issues is certainly mind-boggling. The uncertainty regarding how governments failed to act on issues that challenge the business community adds to the already existing planning burden on companies. Businesses can only overcome this with a solid and consistent cohesive policy to adopt modern standards and technologies, and so train their employees for sustainability. But this most importantly cannot be done without having a clear understanding of government directions on related issues. Therefore, it is important to build a national dialogue on responsible consumption and construct a national discourse on accountable utilization.

  • Build influential structures that promote sustainability

Building an organizational structure that supports sustainability is no simple task. Setting up objectives for the business will assist you with advancing toward the future. However, this could be challenged should there be issues like bad or under-staffing, bad organizational structure, poor communication channels, or something different altogether. You will need to have an organized command center throughout the various business units and departments. It has been noted that one key challenge in maintaining a business is the inability to communicate the vision of business sustainability effectively. An example is re-appropriating, which gives organizations access to assist in finishing assignments on schedule and arrive at their anticipated objectives. On the off chance that you have more work than laborers, re-appropriating is probably the ideal approach to ensure the job is finished effectively and productively.

  • Establish sustainability as a core principle

A study in 2007 suggested that business heads or chief executive officers are rotating rapidly through jobs with an average of six years in the US. This poses a challenge to a business requirement for a sound sustainable policy, which involves long-term investment. Practical organizations truly accept that environmental change, exploitative resource utilization, and contamination are high among concerns for which they can assist in finding lasting solutions. Should the leadership of businesses realize the importance of sustainability and its relevance, there will be a concerted effort to appreciate it. Researching on the subject, attending workshops and conferences focused on the sustainable and joining industry alliances towards global goals attainment will be a decent start. 

  • Adopt the culture of outsourcing 

It is an obvious fact that organizations are continually searching for new, improved approaches to decrease expenses and better meet progressively high client needs. Pressures from the competition diminished processing durations, and an increase in customer demands have implied that several companies are switching to outsourcing to keep up. Outsourcing accrues numerous benefits to businesses. Notable among them include improved productivity and efficiency, vast flexibility and cost-saving. The latter supports the fact that every organization seeks to reduce its overhead cost to improve its financial standings. Outsourcing does not just take away the cost of investing in machinery and tools but reduces the cost of hiring and training of staff as already existing field experts will complete the work. It also reduces the number of staff on a company’s payroll. Accounting, for example, is an aspect of the business you can outsource and companies requiring accounting services can visit https://xmigrowth.com/accounting/ for all their accounting needs. 

  • Build an innovative environment to support business sustainability 

The application of a sustainability lens to every aspect of the business requires a certain level of change in strategies. The need for sustainable business growth will call for several adjustments in certain areas which includes;

  • Planning and developing products or services that yield sustainable outcomes
  • Investing in business managers and CEOs to focus on sustainability-driven executions, to ensure leadership strategies conform with global goals and standards
  • Promoting products and services that induce sustainable choices from customers
  • Incorporate a strategy to repair social trust

There has been disintegrated trust in business following the global financial crisis. Therefore, there must be a conscious effort by business heads to regain the trust of its employees, customers, and society at large. Companies must put in place measures to repair the social license to operate in their communities. The social license basically refers to the unspoken readiness of members in a business community or region to allow a company to operate. Besides openly communicating their sustainable interaction with the society, there must be an effort to partner with the civil society, governments, communities, customers, and its own workers towards reestablishing their trust in the business. 

  • Approach competitors as collaborators

A strong collaborative effort is a way to quicken sustainability within a business and the wider industry as a whole. Organizations can do everything imaginable to improve their natural and social effects inside their own activities. However, the large advances are made when organizations adjust the activities of providers, merchants, and every other individual from their worth chains. At the point where one key participant in a division turns out to be sustainability-centered, it drives others inside that segment to go with the same pattern.

This type of rivalry is energized by organizations, not just in light of the positive effect on the environment but also drives them to maintain their sustainability-based advancements.

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.