Cement Your Business Sustainability With These Tips
Julie Starr • July 6, 2021
A business that embraces
sustainability
is a business that customers pay attention to. Every single business wants to survive and that means appealing to their audience. For example, people who are in charge of fast fashion businesses are often not concerned about sustainability as their practices aren’t ethical. If you want to be the type of business that people pay attention to, you need to evaluate your ethical practices. Sustainability is a concept that is more important today than it ever has been.
To be able to succeed in a modern world, a business needs to bring positivity to all of its visitors and employees. Sustainable businesses are successful because they care about their employees and they invest in their business to ensure that everything from the recycling firm they hire to the cantilevered canopy outside made of the right materials is sustainable. These actions are all positive and enable a business to build the right image for themselves. So, how can you be more sustainable as a business?
- Start from the top. If you want your business to be sustainable, you need to make sure that the message comes from the top of the business right to the bottom of it. You want to make sure that everyone involved in your business is accountable in achieving their objectives. Creating that culture of sustainability begins from the management level for the rest of the business to take it seriously.
- Allocate a budget for it. Do you want to use that new recycling company that’s doing the rounds? If so, you need to ensure that you keep it in your budget and that means you need to set aside the resources in your financial plan to include sustainability as a goal.
- Improve your existing business practices. Not everyone is an expert on sustainability from the moment they start out. It’s okay that you haven’t been wholly sustainable to this point, as when we know better, we do better. Swapping your current practices out for sustainable ones shows growth, not hypocrisy. Don’t be afraid to improve and announce where mistakes were made. Your audience will love it.
- Keep measuring your efforts. While you are putting out sustainable practices, you need to know that it’s all working well. Once you have implemented these initiatives, it’s important to keep it going and to measure whether it’s working. Encourage both your audience and your employees to give you feedback . You can then learn whether they have faced any difficulties in their implementation of specific goals. If you give employees a say in how things are done, you’ll find them more receptive to the idea of change, too.
Sustainability is not something that can be a choice for a business anymore. Social and environmentally responsible behavior is important and you have to take this seriously in the world that we live in today. Do your research about how you can make your specific business stand out well, and you can ensure that the world around you knows that it’s green!
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.
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.