Introduction

As a small business owner, you may not think you have a responsibility to be as sustainable as possible, though your customers may think otherwise. Many people are changing their lifestyles to live in a more environmentally friendly way, which also reflects the products they buy and the companies they buy from. More than half of all consumers don’t mind altering their shopping habits to reduce their carbon footprint, and nearly 75% of all consumers are willing to spend more money with sustainable brands.

So how can you make your company more sustainable?

1: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle

One of the easiest ways to go green is to follow the three Rs of sustainability: reduce, reuse, and recycle. First, reduce your usage of any and everything where you can, meaning you can switch to reusable products versus disposable products. While you’re reusing products on-site, don’t forget to offer your customers something they can reuse as well. A good example of this would be to use reusable tote bags as opposed to packaging your products in disposable material. This lets your consumers know that you are environmentally conscious by giving them something they can use again in the future.

Finally, recycle all materials that can be recycled. You can also make some of your products or accessories out of recycled material, and let your customers know if anything they purchase can be recycled once they’re finished using it, as opposed to just throwing it away. There are several IT Recycling Companies which can take care of your office disposal work.

2: Remote Work

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, remote work is becoming more and more popular, even though many people have physically gone back to work. There are several other benefits to working from home, and it’s not only because you can work in your pajamas. With people working from home, there are fewer drivers on the road and fewer drivers on the road equal fewer carbon emissions from gas-powered vehicles. You also save more water, electricity, paper, and other resources when you have fewer people working in the office.

During the pandemic, many businesses shut down and had to rely on the internet for selling their products. Buying everything online is one of the future trends in the retail industry, so it’s something to think about if your business only has a physical location. Just remember to use sustainable practices when packing and shipping your products to your customers, if that’s the route you choose to go.

3: Sustainable Products and Methods

Are the actual products you sell sustainable, or do they contribute to the destruction of the environment? If you’re trying to go green, you’ve probably already made the proper changes to achieve this, but it’s also good to take a look at some other sustainable business practices that you may not have thought about. To begin, go back to the Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle Model. Another one of the major parts of being sustainable is being energy-efficient since energy is one of the most used nonrenewable resources but also has renewable options.

4: Your Website Can Be Green, Too

Speaking of energy, did you know that websites use a ton of energy? Fortunately, there are companies that provide sustainable web-hosting services. This is something to look into if you’re considering creating a business website, but you can also look into this if you’ve already created a business website. Amazon is an example of a company that’s trying to be more sustainable businesses in the digital world. Google is another large company that has successfully reduced its carbon footprint when it comes to its data centers.

Becoming fully environmentally friendly will take some time, but it’s good to start somewhere. Even the smallest efforts will make the biggest positive impact on the environment, and won’t go unnoticed by your environmentally conscious customers. Soon enough, you’ll be able to become a completely green company.