4 Easy Eco-Changes Small Businesses Can Make Today

Increasing sustainability in your business can have many benefits. Over 70% of consumers say they prefer to partner with a brand with sustainable practices, meaning you can potentially boost business by making small eco changes. Being more sustainable means you can reduce your waste output, save money, and appeal to current consumer trends all at the same time.

But what does it mean to become sustainable? Many businesses are jumping on the eco-trend, with larger organisations committed to becoming carbon-neutral by a set date. This means they are reducing their carbon footprint and facing any emissions they relate to beneficial environmental changes.

As a small business, there are many ways you can embrace sustainability and improve your operations at the same time.

Recycling

If you aren’t already recycling, then you need to be. Identify all the different materials you use in your daily operations and look at your recycling options. This could be e waste recycling to avoid your old electronics going to landfill and sitting there not breaking down, recycling all paper and plastics where possible and recycling old trainers or boxes to reuse them to save buying or making new ones. At the very least, you must make this a standard in your business in any way you can.

Choose Green Partners

An easy way to boost your green credentials and support changes is to partner with green brands or initiatives to help you build on their commitment and ensure that you are making the right changes. Always ask your partners what their eco credentials and commitments to sustainability are to learn more about what they do and how you can meet these goals, too. If your partners are already working more sustainably, they will benefit you and offer more eco-friendly options for the business. This should also be the case when you are considering becoming a franchise of a particular company. Eco-friendly businesses are all the rage with customers right now and you should definitely consider a partnership that supports the environment. Keeping current customers of the franchise and getting new ones will be easier this way.

Save Energy

With rising energy costs, it goes without saying that most businesses will be looking to save energy right now and pursuing this can save you money and reduce your consumption of resources, too. If you can choose more sustainable energy options, such as wind or solar power, to increase your efforts, simply reducing your energy consumption is a great place to start. Make sure all lights and equipment are turned off when not in use and don’t need to be powered. Switch to motion sensor lighting for added effect and use the windows to control heating and cooling over turning heating sources on. Lower the thermostat where possible by a couple of degrees to use less heating when it is in use.

Employee Consumption

An often overlooked aspect is the carbon footprint of employees. This includes the time and energy they use to get to and from work, the power of their devices when working, and the items they consume during the working day. A good idea can be to encourage more remote working to cut down on transport costs and pollution generated from their commute if you want to enjoy ride sharing, cycling to work, walking or using public transport where possible. The same goes for travelling to meetings. Do they need to be face-to-face settings, or can they be a video call to reduce the time spent travelling and fuel required to make the trap?

These small actions add up, and being clever about your decisions regarding your working day can significantly impact you over time.

This is a partnered post.