Developing a Sustainability Strategy to Futureproof Your Business
In today’s world, there is a great emphasis on socially and ethically made products. Companies that prove they have a social conscience fare better than those that don’t. Using the sustainability tag as a marketing ploy won’t get you very far with potential customers, they won’t accept surface-level commitments as signs of a sustainable brand. To really future-proof your business, you must go beyond headline-grabbing announcements and win trust, you must actively walk the walk, as well as talk the talk. Here are a few tips to get you started on your sustainability journey.
Remote Working
Remote working has become a popular topic since COVID-19, this is due to most businesses adopting the work-from-home approach to protect their employees. However, business owners are slowly realising the many benefits remote working has to offer. One of these benefits is the positive impact it has on the environment. If employees are no longer required to commute to work, the fuel emitted by the company will be much lower, thus reducing the company’s overall carbon footprint. As well as this, remote working reduces the amount of waste produced by the company. With no one occupying offices, there is less paper and the general waste being accumulated and ultimately thrown out on a daily basis. Following the move to online working, most companies have become paper free.
Sustainable Suppliers
Depending on what sector your business is in, the way in which your supplier has sourced your materials may not have been the most ethical or sustainable. In order to ensure your business stays on the right track sustainably, you should research your suppliers and see if they are following the same moral values you hold your own company to. Questions you need to be asking may be:
- How old are the people producing these materials?
- Are they being overworked/underpaid?
- Are they harvesting as ethically as they can?
- Are they trying to maintain the biodiversity in areas affected by harvesting?
- Do the factories have a negative effect on the air pollution in the area?
- Could I source this closer in order to reduce emissions caused by transporting goods?
Travel Management
Similarly, to the remote working step, travel management mainly refers to the reduction of travel to attend work-related events such as business meetings or seminars. Avoiding unnecessary travel and limiting the combined amount of travel your company does is a really good way to practice your environmental and sustainable awareness. Using tools such as online conferencing software to keep your business connected to these events will also help save the company money.
Workforce Incentives
Encouraging your employees to make more sustainable decisions in their day-to-day lives is a good way to make your business more sustainably aware. Incentives such as the bike-to-work scheme and commuter scheme can help to improve both the employee’s and the company’s sustainability. The bike-to-work scheme also helps with the individual’s own health and can even be economically beneficial to the company as there usually is a correlation between good health and the amount of sick leave day’s taken.
Alternative Energy
Depending on the type of business your organisation is, you could be able to switch to a greener energy source. Purchasing electric company cars or vans might be a small but significant step if your employees are on the road a lot. Another way to implement a greener, the more sustainable workplace could be to install solar panels where possible. It is also proven that alternative energy can be cheaper, thus saving the company some money too.
