The world is experiencing a climate crisis in the form of heat waves, hurricanes, typhoons, and droughts. These cause untold suffering to citizens of different countries. Government bodies and conservationists are pushing for the adoption of eco-friendly practices in all sectors to curb climate change.
Consumers aren’t left behind; about 60% of them say the sustainability of a product is a key purchasing driver for them. Making your business eco-friendly is good for the planet and gives your products an upper hand in the market. Here are five easy ways to make your business more eco-friendly.
1. Assess Your Carbon Footprint
While this is not a way to make your business more sustainable, it’s the starting point of your transformation. You cannot bring about change in your company if you don’t understand which areas are contributing to environmental contamination and pollution.
Conduct a carbon print audit to evaluate your company’s emission hot spots and climate risks. Consider:
- The energy you use in your company
- Water usage
- The type of waste generated and the methods of disposal
- Packaging of products
- Business travel, staff commuting, and delivery emissions
Once you identify the carbon emission hot spots in your business, it’s easy to develop strategies to address them.
2. Save Energy or Go Green
More businesses are shifting from oil and gas-produced electricity to greener options like solar, wind, and hydropower. While this shift may be costly for your small business, you can start with energy-saving habits and lay the foundation for green energy adoption. Activities that can help save energy include:
- Upgrading company equipment to energy-efficient versions
- Maximizing natural light
- Programming thermostats correctly
- Turning off unnecessary lights
- Unplugging equipment that’s not in use
3. Embrace Second-Hand Resources
Our landfills are filled with slightly used gadgets, materials, vehicle parts, and even abandoned vehicles. Reuse and recycle office supplies and products and buy second-hand goods if you can.
For example, you can consider buying a used car to save money and prevent over-pollution of landfills. There are hundreds of second-hand cars in good condition on sale. All you need to do is search “used car near me” and explore the available options.
4. Use Eco-Friendly Packaging
The environmental degradation and pollution caused by single-use packaging is evident in our shores, waste bins, and landfills. And as non-recyclable packaging sits in landfills, businesses source more packaging to meet their needs.
Mining new materials to manufacture packaging exhausts raw materials, and the new packaging adds more waste to our already stretched landfills. Break the pollution chain by using eco-friendly packaging for your products—like plant-based and biodegradable packaging.
5. Work With Eco-Friendly Businesses
Look at the companies you work with to produce, distribute, and market your products and services. Are they eco-friendly? To advocate for a better planet, you need to collaborate with green businesses.
Collaborate with an eco-friendly marketing agency, web hosting provider, raw materials suppliers, and other businesses. Creating a sustainable planet starts with you, and this change begins in your home and business. Make the right choices and show those around you the benefits of eco-friendly living.