You might be surprised to know that small businesses have a major environmental impact.
And since there’s a global environmental crisis, consumers are becoming more and more aware of what they’re buying and what they should buy.
In fact, 1 in 3 customers prefers eco-friendly businesses. So, if you’re worried about your business’s impact on this planet’s sustainability, here are some ways to be more careful.
1. See where the sourced materials are coming from
Before you start making modifications to your office space, you have to check the external environment.
See where all your sourced materials come from and whether that place follows strong ethical and environmental protocols.
In manufacturing, most employees waste gallons of water or drain them unethically into nearby water bodies.
If your sourced materials come from a place like this, then it’s time to find an alternative. Moreover, they should also pay their employees fairly and look after their well-being.
2. Incorporate sustainability into your mission
Any good company will thoroughly follow its mission statement. If you’re ready to become more sustainable, then incorporate sustainability today. Make it your first priority and ask your employees to do the same.
For starters, you can set a checklist or a list of your goals that will help your company achieve ethical sustainability.
Core values will help your team to get more organized and help them to think creatively to reach solutions to environmental problems.
When you write a green-based mission statement for your company, include all board members.
3. Go for eco-friendly packages
If you switch to eco-friendly packaging, your company can reduce your brand’s pollution levels by a great margin.
Instead of using non-biodegradable materials like plastic, go with paper bags. If you pack your items in plastic containers, it’s time to swap them with materials like cornstarch, wood pulp, or seaweed.
Even if it’s absolutely necessary to use plastic in your packages, make sure that you stick to only one kind of plastic instead of going for polymers.
Try to make them look fun and quirky so your customers reuse them instead of throwing them in the landfill.
4. Make changes in your office
When it comes to your office building, there are so many different ways to make things sustainable.
For example, if you distribute paper-based business cards to clients in your office, you can go for a different approach and use one online business card instead.
These cards are fitted with a magnetic chip that the receiver can simply tap against their smartphones.
Not only will this save you from the hassle of reprinting stacks of cards, but there will be much less wastage.
Or you can stock up on all the unused materials in your office and donate them instead of discarding them.
5. Use green shipping methods
If you’re packing a small item, there’s no point in putting it in a box twice or thrice its size. Instead, choose containers appropriately so that you can cut down on wastage.
Going green with the shipping methods will significantly reduce your carbon footprint and make your company more sustainable.
You should also cut down on the norm of packing a small item in a box and then repacking the box in a bigger box and so on.
Instead, use a single sturdy packaging material. Consolidate your orders whenever possible and ship out your items in bulk to reduce emissions from shipping vehicles.
6. Encourage remote work
Not all businesses can support remote work, but it’s best to encourage employees to work from home if yours can.
Not only will they get to work in the comfort of their own space, but they won’t have to come to the office daily, reducing the number of cars or vehicles on the road.
Encouraging remote work can instantly lessen your electricity bill because you won’t have to keep all areas of the office lit up.
A significant part of your office space will not use air conditioners or heaters, making your brand more eco-friendly.
Over to you…
Going green and sustainable might seem difficult for most business owners, but if you start by taking small steps at a time, your brand will inspire so many other brands in the future!