Whether you are running your own clothing company or a bakery, it is a matter of personal and social responsibility to ensure that the planet does not pay the price for your entrepreneurship. This means that you must ensure that you have strong environmental policies in place in order to minimise your impact on the world around you.
Fortunately, there are many benefits associated with ‘going green’ in the business world, beyond it being the right thing to do. For example, it is a great way to get consumers, who are becoming more eco-conscious year on year, on your side. It can also improve your bottom line, as 55% of shoppers are willing to pay more for eco-friendly brands.
With that in mind, here are some top tips that you can use to run an eco-friendly business:
Avoid greenwashing. Greenwashing is a process through which brands and companies market themselves as being eco-friendly or eco-conscious, without actually putting the work in to make lasting change. While this may seem like a great way to promote your business, it means nothing if you are not actually holding up on your promises.
Manage waste effectively. Effective waste management is also key to running a green business, as it can reduce (or eliminate) the amount of waste sent to landfills each year. As the world of waste management can be somewhat complex, especially when disposing of business waste, you may find this CurbWaste glossary to be useful. This way, you can familarize yourself with the correct terminology and approaches to handling your waste on-site.
Go paperless. American Businesses produce 21 million tons of paper waste each year. This is a figure that could be reduced almost entirely should businesses choose to go paperless. Furthermore, thanks to constantly evolving technology, making this shift toward digitization has never been easier. Not only that, but going paperless can save you a great deal of money on printing, paper and other office supplies, helping to improve your bottom line.
Work with eco-conscious suppliers. Partnering with eco-conscious suppliers will also make it a little easier to run an eco-friendly business. This is because you’ll know that any supplies you use when developing and manufacturing products, or offering your services to clients, are ethically and sustainably sourced. This, in turn, minimizes the impact that your company has on the environment.
Switch to renewable energy. Whether you are working from home or running a brick-and-mortar business, working with a renewable energy supplier is another great way to ensure your business is eco-friendly. Again, this can also be a useful cost-saving measure in the long run, as it often reduces your bills while improving your energy efficiency.
On a similar note, you should also make sure that you invest in energy-saving technology throughout your business. This could include energy-efficient lightbulbs and installing timers or motion sensors for your lighting.
Allow your team to work remotely. Allowing your team to work remotely can also be good for the planet. For example, it means that they do not have to commute to work each day, reducing their carbon footprint (and that of your business). If this is not possible, you should encourage them to use public transport, or to walk or cycle to work where possible to aid your green efforts (of course, you should be sure to lead by example in this regard and commute in a similar way yourself). You could incentivise this method of commuting by offering to cover or subsidise the cost of weekly or seasonal travel tickets. This way, they will feel more inclined to explore this option.
Make sure that you recycle on-site. Recycling on-site will also help to give your eco-friendly efforts a boost. Fortunately, this is also relatively easy to do; you simply need to set up a designated recycling area on site. Remember to sort recyclables into separate categories (glass, plastics, and paper) to simplify the process and avoid potential contamination. Signage can also be useful in this regard, as it reduces the chances of an employee or customer inadvertently putting waste into the wrong bin.
Get your employees on board. Planning on running an eco-friendly business and actually doing it are two different things. For the latter to take place, you need to ensure that your entire team is onboard. Otherwise, you’re outlining nothing more than ideals, as opposed to taking action. As such, you should discuss your environmental policies in great detail with your employees, so that they will better understand the steps you will be taking as a team (and why they are so important).
Make products after orders are placed. You can, once again, make your business a little more eco-friendly by trying to limit waste and overproduction. This can be achieved by making/developing products after an order has been placed, or in anticipation of a busier period, as opposed to constantly churning out more and more products.
Again, this can be a cost-saving measure that helps to protect your business, as it means that you’re not going to be left with a stock cupboard of products that you are unable to shift in the future.
Final Thoughts
There are many benefits tied to running an eco-friendly business. For example, 92% of consumers prefer brands that are societally conscious and eco-friendly, which means that making this switch can be a great way to add to your client base and improve your overall reputation. Beyond this, it also means that you are playing your part in protecting the planet and preserving essential resources. For this reason alone, this endevor is well worth the money you invest in it, even if it is not something that you see an immediate ROI from. Fortunately, there are many different ways in which you can make sure that you’re running an eco-friendly business, from managing and disposing of waste in the best possible way to avoiding falling victim to overproduction.
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