3 Proven Sustainability Practices for Small Businesses

Successful Sustainability: One Step at a Time

Why should only the largest corporations, like Coca-Cola and Toms, get all the credit and accolades for trying to do their part to help the environment?

It may feel like a monumental task to become a ‘green’ company, but small businesses can certainly be a part of this burgeoning movement of corporate social responsibility (CSR). This is true even if your business doesn’t have quite the resources of name-brand behemoths.

Small businesses—as well as larger companies that haven’t yet made the shift to environmentally-conscious practices—can start with little steps. But even little steps can have a huge impact.

As stakeholders, potential job applicants, and the general consumer have become more aware of environmental issues, big corporations have started to invest in sustainability programs across the board.

Admittedly, bigger entities do have the money and time to spend on these noble efforts, like reducing (or completely cutting out) waste, diminishing carbon dioxide emissions, encouraging green supply chains, and recycling.

But here are three tips for a more sustainable business which you can follow for little to no monetary investment:

1. From the Tree to the Cloud

Paper accounts for 27% of all municipal solid waste, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This is more than of any other type of municipal waste.

Businesses that are unmindful of paper waste reduction contribute a great deal to that staggering percentage. One estimate has shown that the average employee will go through 10,000 sheets of paper annually. If not recycled, this can add up to a tremendous amount of waste for any company, no matter the size. Recycling and sustainability go hand in hand, and recycling paper can help reduce the strain on treatment facilities and landfills.

Making recycling bins accessible around your office is one way of dealing with paper waste, but the only sure-fire way to be sure you will never have to deal with paper waste again—and to become more sustainable in the process—is by using digital storage.

Today, both cloud storage subscriptions and external hard-drives have become better, faster, larger in capacity, and cheaper. Google’s cloud platform, Google Drive, allows for 15 to 30 gigabytes of free storage. It also offers 1 terabyte of cloud storage for ten dollars a month.

Google Drive, and other cloud storage platforms, allow you to access, edit, and print your documents from any device, anywhere in the world. Or, if you prefer to have complete control over your documents, an inexpensive 1 terabyte external hard-drive can hold up to 500 million pages of paper.

Not only can digital storage drastically reduce your paper waste, but it will also help with organization (everything is in one place) and can be useful for team projects, where many members might be working on a single document or image. Also, if your company is in the retail sector, it may be a good idea to think about using electronic receipts for your company.

2. Audit Your Power Usage

From a survey by EIA.gov, in 2013 the generation of electricity was the cause of 38% of all CO2 emissions in the U.S. Reducing your business’s energy consumption can also save money.

No-cost solutions, like turning off lights in unoccupied rooms and choosing low-wattage, energy-efficient light bulbs instead of regular fluorescent lights, will lessen your carbon footprint and improve your overall sustainability.

Investing in occupancy or vacancy sensors and temperature controls can also offer savings on your monthly energy bill and help your entire office become more sustainable.

3. Send A Consistent, Top-Down Message

If employees see the CEO or owner of a business start—and stick to—a sustainability program, that message will be transmitted down to managers and employees alike.

This program could be as small as encouraging carpooling and implementing a recycling program, or as detailed as designating an official sustainability team member to help coordinate all green efforts at your company, including building a green supply chain.

But by not living the message yourself and incentivizing your team to live it with you, you risk the appearance of ‘greenwashing’, which means presenting a false image of being environmentally-friendly.

By following these three easy tips, you can help your small business become more sustainable in a short amount of time. The effects of a sustainable future for your company just may amaze you.

If you would like assistance in implementing your green program, give us a call today at 800-936-2311.

Photo credit: Richard Eriksson via compfight