There’s a lot you have to know as a business owner, and at the base there’s a lot of numbers for you to crunch. It’s something you have to be ready to handle, but don’t worry, there’s a lot of advice out there for you to run by. But in terms of sustainability, especially when it comes to the corporate world, do you know what you can do?
Are you someone looking to start a business? What kind of business do you want to run? Is your company going to be something you’ll look back on with absolute pride? Well, if you’re running a sustainable business, and have a plan in the works that’ll make you as close to environmentally friendly as possible, you’re always going to be proud of what you’ve actually managed to achieve. Both in your personal mind and in the public eye.
There’s a lot of raving over the ability of businesses to do so much more for the environment than they seem to be at the moment, so this is a surefire way to win some loyal customers. And with all that in mind, here’s some of the main points of sustainability a business can introduce to make sure they’re always doing their bit of the future. It’ll guarantee you’ll survive that long too.
Come Up with a Strategy
If you’re going to be sustainable, and not just keep at it for a couple of years before you really hit the payload, you’re going to need to form a proper plan of attack. You’ve got a goal for the environment around you that involves your business, and you’re going to need to strategise accordingly to make sure you’re an indispensable part of it.
Sustainability, in the corporate world, is itself defined by having a three pronged plan in place: number one is usually to preserve the environment, number two is support employees and the community around them, and number three is to always promote growth and the profit that can come from that. You are running a business after all, and money is the number thing that keeps you operating for tomorrow.
So make sure you keep those ideas in mind whilst you’re forming your business plan, and the model that you’re going to base your daily operations off of. Each business plan is personalised by the person founding a company, so there isn’t really a template to work off of. Be savvy and do your research: sites like this can always help you out in your need to hit the markers investors are looking for.
Think with Climate Change in Mind
Climate change can be cited as the number one reason as to why businesses need to be more sustainable; there’s a lot of greenhouse gases and pollution stemming off of factories that many of the bigger companies use, and their electricity bills are off the chain. So it’s clear the smaller businesses that get started everyday need to be the pioneering forefront for clean business, and there’s some easy ways to do so.
Simple methods such as using energy saving light bulbs and opening windows instead of air conditioning inside of an office can go a long way to persevering energy and cutting down on your bills each month. Similarly, having an solar panels on the roof of your business could power it as much as you need to, and you’d never notice a difference between harnessing the power of the sun and more traditional energy sources that are more harmful to the planet. Except that your carbon footprint will be much smaller, your bills will be a lot lower, and you won’t have to deal with any backlash over your wasteful consumption from the people you need to buy from you.
You’re also going to need to think about where you take your waste for disposal, as a lot of it can be harmful when you’re running a corporate engine. Putting a good policy in place, one that takes into account neutralisation and how you can reuse waste for compost, that has to be abided by no matter what, can mean your waste is always disposed of in an allocated and safe place that’ll never lead to harmful effects for the environment around it. Oil spills damaging marine and avian life, and gasses affecting nearby animal habitats can be a thing of past when you pledge to put a plan like this in place.
Recycle as Much as Possible
If you’ve got a recycling plan in place, you’re going to have plenty of resources to put back into the environment for better and healthier use. That is something we’ve been doing for twenty or thirty years now, and that means it’s going to be extremely easy to implement and keep to. You can simply separate out paper and plastic from any other materials, or you can take your entire waste for the month down to the recycling plant to reduce any costs associated in handling it.
You can make it easy for the customer to do as well, if you’re running some kind of hospitality business that generates a lot of waste via a lobby or cafeteria. If you’ve got clearly signposted bins for them to put their drinks cups and straws into, and then tell them to tip anything else into the general bin, you’re going to have half your work done for you.
Farm for Your Own Resources
If you’ve got a business that depends on agriculture to get by, then make sure you’re doing everything you can to keep those farming practices sustainable and healthy for everyone involved. No unnecessarily long hours for farmers, no slacking conditions for the animals to be kept in, and no waste of natural resources just because too much has been produced.
And when you’ve got plenty of solutions in place to collect up all the natural resources you can, and then distribute them out evenly and where needed, you’re never going to have to depend on someone else for the products to put out in your business. Things like slimline water tanks can easily power a whole farm, seeing as they catch any falling rainwater in tanks made out of materials meant to preserve clean water for general and domestic use.
You yourself can also get involved with any of these efforts down on the farmstead, instead of letting the farmers you collaborate with take all the heat. You can learn all kinds of efficient practices and what really goes on behind the scene in your business, instead of simply sitting behind a desk and crunching those numbers that your resource plant sends to you whenever you require them. When you can get involved, you know your business is plenty sustainable, and you’ve got plenty of opportunity to personally oversee those matters.
Don’t Forget the People Element
It’s not all about the environment around us. If you’ve got a sustainable business, you’re going to be doing everything you can to take your employees far. You’re going to allow them to grow and thrive under your tutelage, and you’ll always be interested in giving out equal opportunities. So now’s the chance for you to train up a whole generation of workers to be the best they can be, and hand careers out to those who truly deserve them.
First of all, if all of your business practices are ethical, to the best of your knowledge, you’re going to have plenty of people looking to build a career come to your door asking for a job. If they have a CV and an interest, let them in and give them an interview. You’re going to want to have the right questions available, letting them know about all the elements that make your business as sustainable as it is, so make sure you’re always interviewing to see if someone is just as responsible as you are.
Sustainability also means you hand out the best benefit packages to anyone on your payroll. Paid time off, fair holidays, health insurance etc. All of these make for an incredibly happy worker. And when you’ve got a happy and healthy employee on your hands, they’re going to perform a lot better than someone working minimum wage with no job security to their name. Set yourself apart from the rest by offering the best training and interest in your employees; they’ll pay you back tenfold.
Ready to Get Corporately Sustainable?
It’s a lot easier to implement than it’s often made out to be, so make sure you’re doing your research and know your options before taking on any deals from waste or energy providing companies. This is your business, you run it how you want, and that means taking control and initiative whenever the opportunity arises to keep your business wheels turning for the future.