With issues like climate change dominating the headlines, sustainability has become a top priority for consumers. This has prompted businesses the world over to reevaluate their environmental impacts. Whether it’s more sustainable software engineering or building greener office spaces, organizations are taking big steps to boost their eco credentials.
If you’ve yet to consider whether your business is having a positive impact on the environment, now is the time. Building a sustainable business is essential for staying credible in the modern world.
What steps should you take to build a greener business? Here are some simple tips to guide you on the path to sustainability.
- Look inwardly
Building a sustainable business should begin with some introspection. Think about where you would like your organization to be in terms of sustainability. Then, think about how this could be translated into a set of achievable goals. For instance, to receive at least 30% of your power from sustainable sources.
Now, take a hard look at your organization. Which areas are on track to meet your assigned goals? Where is extra work needed to keep you headed in the right direction? Identify the steps that will help you to meet your objectives. What resources will be needed to carry out these tasks?
During this process, it’s useful to create an enterprise architecture maturity model built around sustainability. You’ll likely need to introduce new innovative technology to meet your goals. A maturity model can help implemented tech align smoothly with your goals.
With a clear roadmap ahead, you’ll find that the road to sustainability is much smoother.
- Spread the word
Sustainability should be a mindset. It means more than just introducing energy-efficient lightbulbs or adding solar power. Both you and your teams need to adopt a new approach, one that puts sustainability at the heart of everything you do.
This process won’t happen overnight. It requires time, effort, and above all, willpower. Begin with a simple announcement that your organization is embracing sustainability. Explain the steps you’ll be taking and welcome employee input. And of course, make sure you highlight that sustainable initiatives won’t replace other projects designed to benefit employees, such as the introduction of new payroll software.
Take steps to spread the word and educate about green issues. This might involve putting up posters, sharing flyers, or sending emails to inform employees. Share useful tips about how they can build sustainability into their daily lives—for instance, encouraging recycling, or the use of sustainable cups.
As part of spreading the word about sustainability initiatives, it’s important to ensure email communications comply with Gmail DMARC policies to enhance security and authenticity.
Furthermore, consider leveraging technology in learning and development efforts to embed sustainability principles within your organizational culture. These courses are designed to help employees identify sustainability issues in the workplace and solutions for them. This way, you can make sure that every cog in the machine of your organization is working towards sustainability.
- Look at the working environment
How green is your office space? There are lots of easy mistakes that can harm your progress towards sustainability.
Some of these can be put down to poor employee habits. For instance, do staff remember to turn off their computers when they are no longer in use? Are lights being switched off in unoccupied rooms? A simple notice left in offices can help employees to avoid these habits.
Other issues may be more deep-rooted and require a reimagining of the office space. Think about introducing some of the following ideas within the workplace.
- Smart light bulbs that adjust lighting based on the office environment.
- Expanding your recycling program to include lightbulbs and other electronic components.
- Smart windows that can reflect or absorb heat, help you to reduce energy used for air conditioning or heating.
- A double-sided printing policy to reduce the amount of paper used.
- Introducing web chatbots for customer support so that you need fewer phone lines.
- Only ordering office supplies from sustainable suppliers.
- Reduce employee carbon emissions
With day-to-day commuting and work trips, staff can quickly accrue a large carbon footprint. If you’re serious about building a sustainable business, you need to cut down on carbon emissions. A simple solution could be to promote carpooling. Here, instead of having staff commute to work individually, teammates who live close by will travel together.
Additionally, you could have teams enlist in an online course to help them spot new ways to reduce carbon emissions on their commute. For example, by making the daily commute by walking or via bicycle.
Alternatively, you could switch to a hybrid or fully remote working model. This way, for at least some of the time, you can cut out omissions completely. Having a smaller team onsite also allows you to downsize to a smaller, more energy-efficient office.
Of course, regular long-distance commuting for meetings can be equally damaging to your carbon footprint. Consider whether a call can be hosted virtually via video conferencing software. When employees do need to travel, consider more sustainable forms of transportation. For example, a train has fewer emissions than a plane.
- Create a more sustainable supply chain
Sustainable supply chain management could be more challenging than you might think. You might think you’re sourcing materials from sustainable sources, but there may be some underlying issues you failed to spot.
For example, let’s say that your business manufactures boats. You build most of the components in-house and ensure that parts are sourced sustainably. The engine, though, comes from a third supplier. You have no visibility over their supply chain and no say over sustainability.
But what can you do to avoid this kind of situation? The answer is simple: do your research. Only work with third-party suppliers that have the same approach to sustainability. Take time to get to know a potential supplier and enquire how they source their parts. If they can’t give a clear answer, then you should probably look elsewhere.
- Introduce sustainability champions
The move to a sustainable business is much easier if you have employees supporting your cause. A sustainability champion acts as a cheerleader and promoter of your sustainability goals. It’s often better to have multiple champions within the workplace – potentially one for each department.
The role is voluntary and can be filled by anyone from senior managers to admin staff. Make sure that your champion is motivated and enthusiastic about your sustainability goals.
The scope of tasks carried out by a sustainability champion can be varied; you can define the role that you want your champions to take in the workplace. In general, though, champions might carry out some of the following tasks.
- Sharing resources – It’s the role of a champion to distribute learning materials to co-workers. They might put up posters, send emails, and even give talks on sustainability practices.
- Oversee initiatives – A champion will ensure new sustainable initiatives are being introduced smoothly. For example, they might work with IT to track the implementation of solution architecture designed to support new sustainable technologies.
- Promoting a sustainable mindset – Champions won’t just preach sustainability but also demonstrate it. They’ll be at the forefront of any eco-initiatives you introduce into the office.
- Progress report – A champion will report on how their department is working towards sustainability. Reports might take the form of a weekly email or even contributing to a blog.
- Enhance Customer Onboarding – Consider incorporating sustainability updates into customer onboarding materials or communications. This ensures that your customers are informed about your sustainability efforts from the beginning of their journey with your brand.
- Speak with team members – Champions will speak with team members regularly to gather feedback on sustainable initiatives. They’ll request feedback and share responses with leadership.
- Share your progress with customers
We know that customers now view sustainability as a top priority – as many as 82% of consumers want brands to embrace sustainable practices. So, if you are taking action, customers need to know about it!
Make sure you have a public space to document your progress towards sustainability. Consider the sources that are likely to garner the most attention. You could post regular updates on your social media accounts or via your mailing list. You could also create a sustainability blog – some types of websites are well-suited for blogging.
However you share your progress, make sure to also seek regular feedback. Let customers share ideas, and most importantly, act on popular suggestions. Demonstrating that customer voice is at the heart of your sustainability will win greater loyalty, and pull in more shoppers.
There’s no escaping the topic – as environmental issues dominate more and more headlines, sustainability will continue to be a key concern for consumers.
The road to sustainability is long and potentially full of obstacles. That’s why it’s always best to start small. There’s nothing wrong with having grand goals, but learn to walk before you can run. Cut out non-reusable plastic, for instance, before building a net zero data center.
Remember that mindset is key to building a sustainable business. Putting in new sustainable measures won’t mean much if you and your team don’t believe in them. So, step forward with confidence into a sustainable future. Just remember, change starts with small steps.
