Unique Strategies To Grow Your Sustainability Business

Julie Starr • June 16, 2022



Running a sustainability business can be difficult. There are many things to consider when trying to grow your company, and it can be hard to know where to start. The following blog will discuss some unique strategies that you can use to grow your sustainability business. It will cover everything from online marketing to networking events and more.

1) Online Marketing

One of the best ways to reach new customers is through online marketing. You can use social media, search engine optimization (SEO), and email marketing to attract new leads. Make sure that your website is up-to-date and easy to navigate. Use strong calls-to-action (CTAs) to encourage people to learn more about your products or services.

For social media , create engaging content that will interest your target audience. Share blog posts, infographics, and other types of content that will help promote your brand. If you have a physical product, take pictures or videos of it in use. For SEO, research keywords that are relevant to your business and use them throughout your website and social media accounts. Email marketing can be a great way to stay in touch with current and potential customers. Send out monthly newsletters with exclusive deals and helpful tips.

2) Networking Events

Another great way to grow your sustainability business is by attending networking events. You’ll have the opportunity to meet other like-minded individuals and learn about new trends in the industry. These events can also be a great way to find new customers or partners. Attend trade shows, conferences, and other events that are relevant to your business.

When you’re at these events, be sure to dress professionally and have plenty of business cards on hand. Introduce yourself to as many people as possible and strike up conversations. Exchange contact information with those who seem interested in what you do. Follow up with them after the event so you can continue the conversation.

3) Business Lawyer

It’s essential to have a business lawyer on your side when you’re running a sustainability business. They can help you with everything from contracts to intellectual property law. A lawyer will also be able to advise you on the best way to grow your business. They can help you navigate the legal landscape and avoid any pitfalls along the way.

When choosing a Business Lawer , be sure to find someone who has experience with sustainability businesses. Ask for referrals from other entrepreneurs or look for lawyers who specialize in green businesses. Once you find a few potential options, set up consultations so you can learn more about their services and fees.

4) Green Certification

One way to make your sustainability business stand out is by getting green-certified. This certification shows that you’re committed to operating in a sustainable way. It can also help you attract new customers who are looking for eco-friendly products and services. There are a few different ways to get green-certified, so do some research to find the best option for your business.

The process of getting green-certified can vary depending on the organization you choose. But generally, you’ll need to fill out an application and provide documentation of your sustainable practices. You may also need to undergo an audit from a third-party organization. Once you’re certified, be sure to promote it on your website and social media accounts.

5) Collaborations

Collaborating with other businesses is a great way to grow your sustainability business. You can team up on marketing campaigns, product development, or even just co-hosting events. This type of partnership can help you reach a new audience and get people interested in your business. It’s also a great way to build relationships with other entrepreneurs.

When looking for collaborators, find businesses that complement what you do. For example, if you sell sustainable furniture, team up with an eco-friendly cleaning company. If you have a physical storefront, collaborate with a local farm-to-table restaurant. There are endless possibilities for collaborations, so get creative and think outside the box.

6) Employee Referral Program

A great way to grow your sustainability business is by starting an employee referral program . This type of program incentivizes your employees to refer new customers or clients to your business. You can offer a cash bonus, paid time off, or even just a gift card. The key is to make the reward worth their while.

To get started, create some guidelines for the program. Decide how much you’re willing to pay out and what type of referrals you’re looking for. Then promote the program to your employees and let them know how they can start referring people. Keep track of the results so you can see how effective it is and make adjustments as needed.

In conclusion, there are many unique strategies you can use to grow your sustainability business. By networking, collaborating, and getting green-certified, you’ll be able to stand out from the competition. You can also attract new customers and employees by starting an employee referral program.

 

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.

Smart Sensors, Smarter Supply Chains: Enhancing Traceability in Food & Beverage

By Julie Starr • June 20, 2025
In today’s competitive food and beverage (F&B) landscape, traceability is no longer a compliance checkbox—it’s a differentiator. The ability to track every step of a product’s journey, from origin to shelf, is vital for regulatory accuracy and to ensure brand integrity, supply chain agility, and consumer trust. Add smart sensors to the mix: the quiet, tireless observers revolutionizing supply chain intelligence. Traceability Has a Data Problem Despite digitization across many F&B operations, most traceability systems still rely on fragmented or manual data inputs. Batch numbers, barcodes, and handwritten logs often stand between a supplier and clarity when things go wrong. This approach struggles with latency and scale. When contamination or delays occur, root cause analysis is slow, costly, and damaging. Smart sensors shift this paradigm by embedding real-time, contextual intelligence into every stage of the supply chain . Whether monitoring humidity in transit or recording fill-level precision in bottling plants, they remove the guesswork by turning physical conditions into structured, time-stamped data. From Passive Monitoring to Active Optimization Sensors used to be reactive tools, alerting operators to anomalies. But smart sensors now play a proactive role in process control. They measure, and they interpret. For example, temperature sensors embedded in cold chain logistics can dynamically adjust cooling systems or flag threshold breaches before spoilage occurs. These advancements reduce waste and loss at a systemic level. In a production facility, smart sensors integrated with PLCs can enforce recipe compliance, verify clean-in-place processes, and detect micro-stoppages in real-time. This enables operations to pivot faster and isolate inefficiencies before they cascade downstream. Trust is Built on Transparency Consumers are paying more attention to what they eat and drink. They’re looking beyond labels, expecting visibility into how ingredients are sourced, processed, and handled. Smart sensors make this level of transparency achievable —without burdening manufacturers with excessive manual oversight. By capturing metadata throughout production and distribution, these sensors create a digital footprint that’s tamper-resistant and instantly accessible. When this data is integrated with a central platform, brands can respond confidently to audits, recalls, and quality assurance challenges with a level of precision that would be impossible through legacy systems. Intelligence Without Infrastructure Overhaul One common misconception is that adding smart sensors requires a top-down reinvention of supply chain infrastructure. In reality, companies can deploy edge sensors in a modular, scalable way. Many modern solutions offer plug-and-play functionality, allowing for fast integration with existing machinery and MES systems. This is where suppliers like alps-machine.com are reshaping expectations. Rather than pushing proprietary ecosystems, they design sensor-ready equipment with interoperability in mind. This future-proofs investment and keeps businesses nimble in the face of regulatory or market shifts. Designing for Data Longevity Sensors are only as powerful as the context they capture. A smart implementation ensures the data collected can be standardized, stored securely, and accessed meaningfully across departments. This means moving beyond local dashboards toward centralized, queryable datasets that inform everything from supplier contracts to marketing claims. As AI and predictive analytics become more accessible, these data-rich environments will unlock new capabilities—such as predicting demand spikes based on real-time freshness indicators or adjusting production schedules dynamically based on in-transit sensor feedback. Final Thoughts: Smarter Isn’t Optional Traceability isn’t solved by more paperwork—it’s solved by embedded intelligence. Smart sensors don’t just help businesses know what happened; they help prevent the wrong things from happening at all. For companies in the food and beverage sector, adopting smart sensors is less about chasing innovation and more about enabling resilience, speed, and confidence in every decision.