Making your business more sustainable

There's no denying that today's customer expects more sustainability from the firms and organisations with whom they do business.

According to KPMG research, larger companies devote greater resources to ESG (environmental, social, and governance) initiatives. However, according to a YouGov and World Kinect Energy Services study, 40% of SMEs (small and medium enterprises) have no plan in place to become more sustainable, with 30% having no intention of doing so at all. This is due in part to the pandemic's costs and consequences.

This is a problem as research also shows that consumers are very eager to spend money on non-toxic, environmentally friendly items in order to preserve their family and the planet's future. According to Looka’s study, they found that 68% of millennials purchased a product with an environmental benefit in the last 12 months.

Failing to implement sustainable methods may prove to be detrimental to your business, and so in today's piece, we have highlighted a few strategies and ideas that you can use right now to have a sustainable effect on your company.

Offer flexible arrangements

Flexibility in commute and working hours might assist to make a business more sustainable. Perkbox and Mintago co-founder Chieu Cao states,

“Offering remote work opportunities means that there will be fewer people commuting and fewer cars, improving the quality of the air. Fewer people in the office also means business savings, as the space required will become smaller.”

Becoming a Thought Leader

Cao asserts that “Social media is a powerful tool to build a following and generate growth. Webinars and publications are still very important in presenting the right message and creating the opportunities businesses need to grow.”

Being proactive and loud about environmental issues can attract like-minded individuals and businesses to collaborate with you and social media platforms can be used to your advantage in this context.

Avoid ‘Green Washing’

Honesty is key. We advise you to be transparent with your consumers as deceiving your target audience can severely affect the overall brand and it may cost a lot more to gain back the trust you once had with your loyal audience.

In order to avoid this, always be specific about how sustainable your product is and do not mislead your audience with extensive language choices and jargon. It is also recommended to insert facts and credentials in order to reinforce your sustainability claims.

Reduce, reuse, recycle

The greatest method to avoid landfills is to avoid sending garbage there in the first place.

The sequence in which the Rs are written is crucial. First and foremost, businesses should make every effort to cut their use whenever possible. They can use actual glass and ceramic alternatives instead of disposable cups, plates, and cutlery (not to mention coffee pods).

When feasible, repurpose goods. They can do another round in the warehouse instead of tossing out fundamentally sound boxes. Employees in the office should be encouraged to print on both sides of the page.

Choose more energy-efficient methods and upgrades

Energy efficiency not only helps companies lower their carbon footprints, but also helps them save money on their energy bills.

Many easy things may be done, such as using energy-efficient appliances, switching to LED lighting, automating lights with sensors, installing smart thermostats, using natural light, and providing employees with laptops rather than desktop PCs.

Select ‘Green-hosting’ services

Websites use energy as well. The servers that store a website's data are always on, using a lot of energy.

Companies, fortunately, have the option of choosing where their data is housed. Eco-conscious businesses are increasingly offsetting their energy consumption in order to become carbon neutral.

This has proven to work as Google claimed their company has made significant efforts to decarbonize its data centres, claiming that its cloud services emit no net carbon emissions. Amazon, the world's largest cloud computing provider, has pledged to accomplish the same goal by 2040 using wind and solar farms.

Use sustainable products

The materials that businesses buy to keep their offices running smoothly — whether printer paper, cleaning supplies, or to-go containers — may be harmful to the environment owing to the manufacturing processes.

Office managers may search for labels that specify it is created from post- or pre-consumer waste on all those widely used paper goods, such as rolls of toilet paper and reams of printer paper. Recycled items like this help to keep the economy circular and decrease waste.

Persona Finance offers essential remote accounting services. For more information on what we can do for you and your business, please contact Persona Finance at [enquiries@personafinance.co.uk].