3 Ways Small Businesses Can Contribute To Environmental Protection

So how do you get started with contributing to sustainability in your business? 

There are many ways of developing a sustainable business strategy to boost your bottom line, and reach your long-term goals. However, you may not know what they are. Consider that a sustainable business may use a range of materials, behaviours, and operations in order to implement the strategy, and protect the environment. Some of the most common practices of an internal sustainable business strategy include:

• Purchasing recycled office materials
• Encouraging individual office recycling
• Reducing conventional energy consumption
• Utilizing smart appliances, thermostats, or lights
• Cutting back on travel, and fuel costs
• Rewarding sustainable office behaviors including carpooling, and bicycling to work
• Use renewable materials and reducing waste whenever possible 
• Purchasing eco-friendly products where possible

Developing your own sustainable business solution is the first essential step in creating a successful, environmentally friendly company. Sustainable businesses that care about their customers do better at pleasing them, and meeting their needs than companies following a conventional plan. Once you have developed a sustainability business plan all of the company’s efforts to follow the strategy will support your overall goals, while solidifying the company foundation.

Becoming a more sustainable company might start at the top, but it has to be integral to the culture of the whole company so every employee cares and takes part. A sustainable company tries to minimize negative effects of all business practices on the environment. 

Any business may recycle, use eco-friendly materials, and recycled products, create social initiatives, or use other sustainable business solutions. There are many factors that affect the sustainability practices a company exercises in one day, a week, or even a year. If you have an interest in creating sustainable performance practices within your company as an owner, or employee there are ways to achieve your goal. It is best to start with the first step: performing a basic analysis of your current business practices. 

• Ask about employee behaviour
• Look for ways to create more sustainability
• Find ways to consider the environment in every department
• Review invoices, and purchasing receipts for sustainable suppliers
• Talk to other business owners
• Read up on environmental topics for sustainable businesses
• Analyze your commitment to sustainability 

Once you have a good understanding of where you are now, you can better communicate with your team how you can all get on board with your sustainability strategy! Make sure to create personal incentives, make it easy for individuals to get involved and have a clear map of the future for the company as a whole. 

Sustainability depends on the everyday decisions that you make in your small business. If you are confident that you can make a commitment to sustainable business management, check your supply chain. If you become aware of anything that goes against your decision to use environmentally friendly practices, change your supplier. Your suppliers should always protect the environment with sustainable materials, goods, processing, and distribution. If you have a human resources (HR) department request regular checks to make sure sustainable protocols are being followed. 

At SpillFix we are passionate about the environment, so running a sustainable business is of utmost importance to us. Our amazing granular absorbent SpillFix uses one simple ingredient – coir from coconut husks – to create a spill absorbent that’s better for people, better for business, and better for the planet. If you deal with spills in your business and want a sustainable solution that is also the best in the industry – choose SpillFix. 

For all businesses – big or small, sustainability in the workplace is a good move. In fact, you will start noticing the benefits immediately, and you can continue to watch them manifest throughout your journey. It can be difficult to stay motivated when it feels challenging to make change, however stay positive! It’s worth it. 

Not unlike other protocols within the organization, environmentally friendly sustainable business initiatives require that you take action. A business can say “We are a sustainable company,” but it takes time for a company to actually manifest something meaningful. If you want to say your company is sustainable, and actually mean it – prioritize workable everyday programs. Then track, and measure the performance of your sustainability programs with detailed reports you can compare over time. This is how you can turn hopeful visions of sustainable business into a tangible reality.