How to Make Your Business More Sustainable
The pressure for businesses to become more sustainable has never been greater. As the threat of the climate emergency worsens, consumers are increasingly prioritizing businesses that have a sustainable focus. With the consumer prioritization of sustainability only set to increase in the coming years, there has never been a better time to make your business more sustainable.
Make Your Packaging More Sustainable
One way in which businesses can become more sustainable is to use eco-friendly packaging. According to EPA, packaging and containers are responsible for over 23% of the waste in American landfills, so making your packaging more sustainable can have a big impact.
There are a few ways in which you can make your packaging more sustainable. As recyclingbalers.com explains, you should make sure that your packaging only uses one material. This is because using more than one type of material, such as different types of plastics, can mean that it is no longer recyclable.
You should also try to switch from plastics to biodegradable packaging whenever possible. For example, switching to packaging made from wood pulp, seaweed or corn starch will reduce your environmental impact as these substances are all biodegradable.
Go Paperless
Pledging to go paperless is another great way that businesses can become more sustainable. As the name suggests, going paperless involves stopping printing out and using paper whenever possible. Going paperless requires everyone in the office to work together to reduce paper consumption. It might take a little bit of time but it is not too difficult to get all staff in the habit of sending documents rather than printing out hard copies.
You should also extend your paperless pledge to external relations. For example, instead of printing out customer receipts, you should email the check to the customer. If you explain that you are providing virtual receipts to reduce your environmental impact most customers will not have an issue with this.
Make Your Workplace More Sustainable
There are a number of small changes that you can make to improve the sustainability of your workplace, these include:
- Switching to LED light bulbs
- Introducing plants to improve indoor air quality
- Adjusting the thermostat
- Increasing the number of recycling bins
- Using a green cleaning service
- Reducing access to single-use plastics
Although they might only seem like small changes to make, over time, making your office more sustainable can have quite a big impact on the overall carbon footprint of your company.
Make a Pledge
Making a pledge is a great way to hold your business accountable for your environmental actions. Taking a pledge can take many different forms depending on the individual needs and circumstances of your business. For example, you could pledge to donate a certain amount of money to an environmental cause, after a certain amount of sales has been met. You could set up a fundraiser for more eco-conscious initiatives within your community. Or you could set your business an aim that you have to meet within a certain amount of time, such as donating money or products to a cause.
Making a pledge is a great way for a business to hold itself accountable for its effects on the environment. Not only will a pledge act as a motivating force it will also show consumers how serious you are about becoming more sustainable.
