6 Ways To Improve the Sustainability of Your Business

In recent years, sustainability has become a bit of a buzzword, but that doesn’t make it any less important. Many people are starting to notice the effects of climate change and are wanting to make a conscious effort to be more sustainable. People now feel like they have a personal responsibility to be more sustainable and reduce the impact they have on the planet.

This line of thinking applies to businesses too. Many businesses are beginning to understand the effects of climate change and are looking to find a way to reduce the damage to the environment. This step into being sustainable is not always going to be an easy one. It takes time and effort to produce an effective sustainability strategy, so make sure you do not rush yourself. There is no chance that you will end up being 100% sustainable overnight, so try not to pressure yourself too much into making drastic changes. Often, small changes can help a lot, which is why we have made this article so that you can learn about changes you can make to improve the sustainability of your business.

Assess the Current Situation

One of the first things you need to do when trying to be more sustainable is to assess your current situation. There is no reasonable way for you to make changes if you do not first know what areas of your business need to be changed. So, before you come up with your sustainability strategy, it would be a good idea to go around your business and start looking at what things could be improved. The sustainability of your business is ultimately a team effort, so perhaps ask your staff to get involved and find out from them what areas they think could use some improvement. It could be beneficial to set up a staff meeting and speak with everyone in person to find out what areas of the business could be more sustainable. You have to remember that your staff are the ones who spend most of their time at the business, so they may have better insight into the changes needed than you do. Once you have an idea of what needs to be changed, then you can start putting things into action.

Train Your Staff

As mentioned above, being a sustainable business is the responsibility of everyone, so you need to make sure all your staff are trained on your sustainability strategy. Not everyone is going to be familiar with the concept of sustainability, so it is always a good idea to have a training day so that everyone can be kept up to speed. As a business leader, it is your job to put together the training, which means you need to have a good idea of what sustainability is. If you find that you struggle with putting together an effective strategy, then it could be beneficial for you to complete a sustainability management online course like those offered at The University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership. Courses like this are going to be extremely helpful for you as a business leader as they will give you insight and knowledge to help you lead a sustainable business. Not only this but having first-hand knowledge means you can train others to follow your lead.

Offer Remote Work

Another good thing you can do to improve the sustainability of your business is to offer your employees remote work. Of course, remote work is not possible for all types of businesses, but if you know that your business can effectively work in a remote environment, then this could be the perfect solution for you. Not only has remote work proven to be effective but offering remote work to your employees will mean that they no longer have to commute to work. Removing the commute means they will be reducing their carbon footprint. Driving to work every day can be super expensive and it can be damaging to the environment, so you could really be improving your sustainability by offering remote work. Even if you just offer a couple of days a week, it will still make a difference.

Make the Office Eco-Friendly

If you know that full remote work is not possible for your business, then you will need to do your best to ensure that the office is eco-friendly. An office is often full of lots of people who may not be aware of how to be more sustainable. This is why it is a good idea to make the office as eco-friendly as possible so that it makes being sustainable easy for the average person. Simple things like adding recycling bins around the office can make a huge difference. Additionally, you should teach people about water waste and how they can go about reducing the water they use. If you have the budget, it would be a good idea to invest in some eco-friendly taps, as these will prevent the user from using too much water.

Choose Green Suppliers and Partners

Within a business, you rely on your suppliers and partners to give you all the tools you need to keep running. When you are creating your sustainability strategy, it would be a good idea to go through all of your suppliers and partners and look into how sustainable they are as companies. Once you have an idea of this, you can then keep your suppliers who are green and eco-friendly and get rid of those who are not making any changes. Doing this will free up lots of space within your business for some more eco-friendly companies. It could be something as simple as switching to a company that wraps items in paper instead of plastic. Doing this one small change will make a huge impact as it will reduce your plastic waste dramatically. Not only this, but you will also be supporting an eco-friendly business, which means more people can be sustainable.

Reduce the Plastic Waste

The damage plastic has on our environment cannot be understated. Plastic pollution is a serious problem in the world right now, so much so that scientists have begun to find microplastic within the bloodstream of the human body. This level of pollution is incredible and it is clear that plastic is extremely damaging to every living thing on the planet. So, when you are making your sustainability strategy, one helpful thing you can do is to reduce the plastic waste within your business. Start thinking consciously about the plastic you produce as a company, then start to think about the ways in which you can reduce plastic waste. Simple things like adding a recycling bin or switching suppliers can both help to reduce plastic waste within your business. It may seem like a small step, but it can really make a huge difference.

Summary

The responsibility of sustainability falls on the shoulders of each and every one of us. We all should be doing our best to reduce our impact on the planet and start living as eco-friendly as we possibly can. This attitude towards sustainability should filter over into the business world, so if you are currently a business leader, then use some of these tips to help make your business more sustainable.