Everyone can do their bit to help the environment. Businesses all over the world are making pledges to be carbon-neutral and to run more sustainably. While a lot of the businesses currently in the spotlight are large corporations, it doesn’t mean that your business can’t be more sustainable too.
There are a lot of benefits to running a more sustainable business. It’s appealing to potential customers and clients, and it can save you money on your operating costs. You will also have a positive story to tell about your business, knowing you’re doing your bit to help the environment.
Get ready to run your business more sustainably with these 8 tips.
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1. Recycle everything you can
Recycling is one of the most basic things you can do to help the environment. Recycling will help you think twice about waste, ensuring you cut down on the amount of general waste produced by your business.
Beyond your typical paper and plastic recycling, there are a lot of ways you can recycle just about anything, including schemes for dealing with unwanted tech and equipment. Dedicate more time to disposing of waste responsibly so that you can run a more sustainable business.
2. Go paperless
Going paperless is another effective way of cutting down your waste. With so many apps to help you plan and take notes digitally, you can have less and less need for paper. While some paper may be hard to avoid, you can make a lot of progress if you aim to go as paperless as possible
Think of ways you can use tech to keep your business paperless too. Having an app to process sales, email receipts, etc., will make it much easier to cut down on your paper use. Explore how having your own business app could benefit you for a simple solution to improve your business.
3. Use recycled materials
Choosing products a little more wisely can help you reduce your business’ waste, and make you think more carefully about the products you buy.
Any printed materials you produce can be done using recycled materials, providing you with you a lot of choice, while still benefiting your household. Check out recycled business cards to see if you can make an impact with your branding. You can also use recycled materials for brochures and other printed materials as and when you need them.
4. Travel less
With technology the way it is today, you could drastically reduce the amount you travel for your business. By conducting meetings virtually, you won’t have to travel to connect with people anywhere in the world.
If, however, your business involves an element of travel, you’ll need to explore options for a vehicle with reduced emissions, or one that is either an electric or hybrid. You will be able to drive a greener car that helps the environment, but you’ll also save money on your typical travel costs.
5. Cut back on your energy use
Are you guilty of using too much energy? You could be wasting a lot of energy every day, which is costing you and the environment. The good news is that there are a lot of easy ways to reduce energy use for your business, including:
- Making sure all lights and appliances are turned off when not in use.
- Invest in energy-efficient lights and put them on an appropriate cycle to stop them being on throughout the night.
- Find appliances and devices that are low energy to help you cut your bills.
- Could you use solar power to help you use cleaner energy?
- Make sure all employees play their part in reducing your business’s energy bills.
6. Source locally
There are a lot of benefits that come with sourcing locally-produced materials. When you choose a local supplier, you’re cutting your carbon footprint. You’re also helping to support your local community!
Explore the products local suppliers offer and do what you can to support them. Using local suppliers will help you make some great connections and could even lead to some additional work for your business.
7. Choose green packaging and shipping options
2021 has been labelled as ‘the year of packaging.’ The global pandemic meant people were ordering a lot more to their homes, with the potential for a lot of waste if items aren’t recycled properly.
Adopting greener packaging is a great start to help you provide a more sustainable service to your customers. Packaging should be easy to recycle, but that doesn’t mean it can’t look great.
With your packaging in place, you can focus on how you’re going to ship products to your customers. There are some incredible green shipping options you can use to help you provide a reliable and fast service, which is something your customers will really appreciate.
8. Help with good causes
As well as the efforts made at work and in the office, you can look for other opportunities for your business to get involved in helping the environment. Your local area should have a register of different causes that your business can help out with. From monetary donations to donating your time, it can all make a big difference in helping the environment.
Many businesses choose to have days when all employees will volunteer to help on a project – this can also be a good way to get out of the office and help employees develop their skills outside their job roles. Your employees will also appreciate the opportunity to help out and support some good causes.
Making an effort to be more sustainable can pay off in a number of ways. With more and more businesses making sustainability pledges, you don’t want to be left behind by being one of the last. Finding ways to cut down on your energy spending will help you out in the long run – you’ll save money, and you’ll be in a great position should there be further developments in the future. Make your future greener by making some small changes to your operations and think more sustainably going forward