Are Sustainable Good For Your Business?
What are the benefits of being a sustainable business?
Businesses which demonstrate environmental integrity are likely to do well. This is often the side benefit which results from doing good.
Sustainable businesses prosper by creating an environment that attracts more customers. Because many of your visitors are searching for companies that care about our envirnment. This will often result in more business and higher company revenue. Caring about the environment benefits your business, your customers and your community.
If your business becomes sustainable you:
- Become more eco-efficient, reducing energy, transport and waste costs
- Become less carbon reliant, reducing the cost of resources purchased and reduce customers costs
- Become more productive, source needs more efficiently and reduce costs
- Generate loyalty and trust from stakeholders and customers
- Heighten your profile as a corporate citizen, improving your reputation
- Expand into new markets and use network to leverage your brand
- Gain a comparative advantage in the market place
- Build your eco-brand and increase viability as a business
- Ensure regulatory compliance to lessen outside pressures on profits
- Meet the increasing demand from customers to be green
How does reducing your carbon footprint help?
There are many benefits from reducing your carbon footprint and being a sustainable business.
Companies are quick to see the benefits of sustainability and that their customers are interested and supportive of products and services that are eco-friendly.
Being eco-friendly has become big business while attempting to meet the demand from consumers.
Embrace sound sustainability practices
Ensure that your business is using sound sustainability practices and are complying with current regulations which regulate the use of sustainability in your marketing claims.
Companies making environmental or ‘green’ claims should ensure that their claims are scientifically sound and appropriately substantiated.
Consumers are entitled to rely on environmental claims you make and expect these claims to be truthful.
You Need to Take Steps Toward Sustainability
Some steps you can use to reduce your business carbon footprint include:
- Reduce energy consumption
- Embrace renewable energy sources
- Adopt a sustainable procurement policy
- Reduce, re-use or recycle waste
- Modify transport arrangements
- Adopt water conservation strategies
- Encourage staff, suppliers and customers to work and live sustainably
- Conduct awareness programs for staff, suppliers and customers
- Join Sustainability International and adopt their voluntary green practices
- Establish a Sustainability Plan that focuses on practical action
What happens when sustainability becomes your priority
Many feel that employee happiness is essential for the long-term viability of a company. However, it is difficult to imagine a company finding long-term success using a strategy that places social concerns above all else.
Becoming an Ecopreneur has been addressed in recent studies. Adopting a sustainability strategy has to be done in balance with what is required to successfully and profitably operate your business. Adopting sustainable business practices, must still work with your businesses bottom line.
How to Calculate Your Carbon Footprint
If you would like to calculate your Carbon Footprint, follow the link to the free carbon footprint calculator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
