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How To Grow A Sustainable Business
Julie Starr • Aug 30, 2020
For any business owner, one of your main aims is going to be making sure that your business is sustainable. It is not hard to see why more and more businesses are investing in sustainability. This includes creating sustainability reports, creating positions like chief sustainability officers, and innovation around sustainable services and products. With that in mind, continue reading to discover more about how to grow a sustainable business.
- Make sustainability a core principle – The first step is to ensure that sustainability is at the core of your business. Sustainable companies genuinely believe that pollution, unethical resource consumption, and climate change are high on the list of concerns. They also believe that they are able to contribute to the solution, rather than being a part of the problem. If sustainability is to become key to how a company operates, the leadership team must educate themselves on the meaning of sustainability and why it is imperative. This includes joining industry coalitions, attending sustainable-focused conferences, and reading articles on the topic.
- Use software to monitor your efforts – Another critical part of the process is to use a learning management system so that you can assess your operations and make the most of helpful data. This is something that a lot of businesses are doing today to get a better handle on all areas of their business and, of course, sustainability is one of these. After all, you are never going to be able to truly move your business forward and become more sustainable if you do not have a handle on how you are performing at the moment.
- Innovate – It is also important to innovate. If you are to apply a sustainable lens to all areas of your company, there needs to be an amendment to your strategies. Innovations happen because of the need to alter the business toward more sustainability. This includes marketing services and products that evoke sustainable choices from customers, strategically developing and planning services or products that create sustainable outcomes, and empowering business leaders and board members to concentrate on drive execution and sustainability.
- Repair social trust – Ever since the financial crisis that impacted the world, trust in businesses has reduced. Company leaders must work on getting back the trust of society, which includes their employees and consumers, as well as the communities they are present in. You should focus on repairing your license to operate. You can partner with civil society, workers, customers, and governments to contribute positively to the community, as well as communicating openly through your sustainable interactions with society. Doing this is going to enable you to rebuild societal trust within your company.
So there you have it: some of the different steps that you can take to grow a sustainable business. If you follow the advice that has been provided above, you will give your business a great chance of being sustainable, which means consistent profit over many years. Who wouldn’t want that?
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.
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.