Marrying Sustainable Practices & Profit

Julie Starr • Sep 21, 2022



It can often seem as though businesses have a choice between being sustainable or making a decent profit. At least, that is how it is often portrayed. The truth, however, is that you can easily and effectively marry sustainability and profit, and in fact it is easier than ever to do so. Understanding some of the essential ways in which this can happen is one of the most useful things you can do for your business, so it’s something to look into.

In this post, we are going to take a look at how you can ensure your business is as profitable as possible, even while making a point of being sustainable too. As long as you do both of these, you are going to have a better business in both of these important ways – better for you, and for the planet.

Don’t Skimp On The Marketing

Just because you are trying to be sustainable doesn’t mean you can’t put effort, time and money into your marketing – in fact, you should certainly do this if you are keen to make sure that your business has a good chance of success. In order to do this right, you have to think about the many kinds of marketing you can use for your business, and there really are a lot that you can be aware of here.

One way to ensure you are not skimping on marketing, but still being as sustainable as possible, is to use some professional digital marketing services . With the help of such services, you should find that you are able to make your business a lot more profitable without reducing your sustainability at all.

Make Sustainability Your Brand

Another thing you might want to consider is actually making sustainability an important and central part of your brand itself. Doing this benefits you and your business in a few vital ways. For one thing, it means that you are putting your business out there as a sustainable one, which in today’s climate is going to act as a really effective marketing tool essentially. It’s also going to give you a focus in terms of your sustainability, which can be really useful too and help to keep you on track with that side of things.

It’s relatively easy to make sustainability your brand. You just need to decide on some specific green aims and then ensure you are incorporating them into your brand image, logo, slogan and so on. Doing this can be great for all, so it’s definitely something you will want to think about.

Pay Attention To The Supply Chain

If you want to be sustainable, you also need to think about which other businesses you are supporting, to ensure that you are not inadvertently supporting those which are unsustainable or harming the planet actively. That means paying attention to the wider supply chain, something which a lot of business owners completely forget to do, but which is vital if you really care about this sort of thing.

You might be wondering how you can ensure that your business is still profitable this way, but the truth is that there are many ways. It’s mostly about keeping the supply chain small, which helps with the sustainable aim as well. So make sure that you are doing that.

Go Low-Tech

With so much focus on being high-tech all the time, it can be easy to forget that this is not always that important. A lot of business owners make the mistake of thinking that you have to use high-tech solutions, as they are inevitably the best. But this is just not true. There are many times when going low-tech is actually the better solution, and you don’t actually need more than that. Plus, of course, this approach is going to ensure that you are using less energy, and therefore that your business is a lot more sustainable on the whole.

Cut Internal Costs Wherever You Can

You will always want to think about cutting costs as much as possible if you are keen to have as much profit as you can. But if you are not careful, you might end up being less sustainable if you cut the costs in the wrong place. A much safer approach in general is to cut internal costs wherever possible, because these are generally going to be a lot safer to play around with, and you won’t be risking the sustainability aspect of your business as much. That is a really simple change to make today.

 

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.
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