Journal logo

How To Make Your Business More Sustainable In 10 Simple Steps

Here are ten easy ways to make your business greener

By Alexander BelseyPublished 2 years ago 7 min read
1

In recent years, there has been an increased interest in sustainability. And while everyone can do things to be more environmentally friendly around the home, consumers are also choosing to make their purchases from companies that have green initiatives and sustainable policies.

For example, according to statistics released by www.consultancy.uk, nine out of ten customers have become greener in their shopping habits, and 1 in 3 would be happy to pay 25% more for sustainable alternatives. Plus, up to 36% of UK customers always consider sustainability factors when choosing brands.

Businesses are also becoming more aware of the pressure to become more sustainable: 75% of UK businesses have identified their role in delivering the United Nations Sustainability Development Goals (UNSDGs), according to a survey by HSBC.

As such, sustainability is not just a target to be met, but also an opportunity to cash in on the demand for sustainable practices and appeal to a new and rapidly developing market.

Effective Sustainable Marketing

Customers are interested in making the change to more sustainable alternatives: but how can your business stand out in the crowd and encourage more interest in buying green?

Certifications build trust - 75% of customers use third-party certification to check the sustainability of the product or service they are buying, according to Fairtrade Foundation's Barbara Crowther.

This certification should be partnered with branding and content that emphasises sustainability for maximum effect. Do some market research when putting together your branding; how are popular sustainability brands marketed? And how can you make your branding more appealing to the customer?

Consider the styling, colour use, and overall tone used in popular eco-friendly brands.

Hint: Most popular sustainable brands use accessible language and avoid the use of commercial jargon when communicating to an audience.

Build an emotional bond with your customers - While you may be tempted to demonstrate the sustainability of your product or services with evidence, or by highlighting specific environmentally friendly materials, you may run the risk of losing your customer’s interest if they don’t understand the subject matter, or become bored.

As such, it may be more effective to appeal to your customers using humanised case studies or anecdotes, which will make your product more relatable. For example, if you are advertising a cleaning solution, you could include the story of a customer who is concerned about the impact of cleaning chemicals on air quality due to a health condition.

Consider other factors - Sustainability is a leading concern for many UK customers, but if your product is too expensive, the quality is poor, or your branding doesn’t appeal, your company is unlikely to make a sale. As such, you should ensure that your marketing holds up, even without the consideration of sustainability. How will you appeal to customers who aren’t interested in buying green and how can you convince them to purchase your product?

Keep your target audience in mind - Your branding should focus on the human benefit of buying green, as for many customers, this is more persuasive and easier to relate to than factual sustainability statistics.

Focus on your target audience and their preferences - 75% of Gen Z report that they are more interested in buying sustainable products than large brand names, but find greater appeal in marketing which is more visual or interactive than text-based. As such, you may choose to use more infographics and videos when marketing to Gen Z.

Making The Switch: Practical Steps To A More Sustainable Business

If your company is already established, and you have a defined target market and branding style, you may be wondering what practical steps you can take to make your business more sustainable.

That’s why we’ve put together these 10 Easy Steps for a more sustainable business:

1. Make Sustainable Energy And Water Choices

Switching to green energy and water suppliers is easier than ever before, and can reduce your carbon footprint by 25% or more, according to statistics from carbonidependent.org.

Many companies also offer great savings on sustainable energy and water, making the switch not only eco-friendly, but budget-friendly too!

An increasing number of businesses are also making the switch to solar panels: this allows businesses to generate up to 100% of their own energy, and the installation costs can be offset within 12-18 years.

2. Turn It Off!

Be strict about turning all appliances off at the plug after a specific cut-off time - this includes PCs, lights, and heating. Switching off energy-guzzling machines will save your business money and reduce your carbon footprint.

3. Go Paperless (Or Reduce Your Printing)

Storing information digitally can greatly reduce your company's carbon footprint, save you money on printing costs, and keep your data more secure.

Producing 100,000 sheets of paper uses 8 trees and 2000 kWh of energy, resulting in a carbon footprint of 6,000kg including landfill costs (goodenergy.co.uk); this means paper is an inefficient and costly means of storing data.

Based on an average employee's printing habits of 8,000 A4 prints a year, this is an average cost of £5,760 per year to SMEs - and 62% of this paper ends up in the waste basket!

Where you can't avoid printed documentation, consider using 100% recycled or FSC-certified paper to reduce your carbon footprint.

4. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

To be compliant with business waste laws, your company should already be sorting and recycling your rubbish.

But you should also be reducing the amount of waste your business produces by only buying what you need, opting for more sustainable options with minimal packaging, and reusing items where possible.

5. Encourage Eco-Friendly Travel

Eco-friendly travel is a great way to reduce not only your carbon footprint, but also the footprint of your employees. Plus, it can also be a lot of fun!

Why not organise a group 'Cycle To Work’ scheme to combat environmental issues and boost your employees’ physical and mental health at the same time? Car shares can also be a great team bonding activity, and will help your employees to save money when travelling to work!

Plus, if you offer company car schemes, there are now significant financial incentives to invest in electric vehicles, as opposed to ones powered by fossil fuels.

You can also greatly reduce carbon emissions by switching to video calls instead of asking your team to come into the office for meetings.

6. Buy Sustainably

Your carbon emissions aren’t just dictated by what your business does - your suppliers contribute too!

Make sure your business only buys from sustainable suppliers, and inform your suppliers about your new environmental initiative to encourage them to promote sustainability issues in their own organisation.

7. Get Certified

Becoming certified as an environmentally conscious organisation under the International Standard On Environmental Management (ISO 14001) can help you to market your business more effectively as a sustainable company.

It may also save you money in the long run by identifying and reducing environmental costs, making improvements quicker and easier to implement, and even increasing staff engagement and minimising employee turnover!

8. Don’t Forget The Food!

70% of global biodiversity loss and a third of carbon emissions come from the food industry.

Carefully consider what food and snacks are available at your workplace: what changes can you make? For example, you could try avoiding products with palm oil, introducing more vegetarian and vegan options, and opting for organic and fair-trade options where possible.

9. Engage With The Community

Giving back to organisations and charities and the wider environment is an effective means of meeting Corporate Social Responsibility targets, helps to maintain staff wellbeing, and benefits local and global ecosystems.

Why not introduce a wildflower garden to your premises, or arrange a company Sponsored Walk for charity?

10. Set Your Targets

To be able to measure your company’s success accurately, you should be setting targets. Use an online carbon footprint calculator to find out your business’ carbon footprint, and set ambitious but achievable targets based on your emissions, energy, or water use.

You can then use these targets to further your marketing efforts by displaying them publicly on your website or marketing materials.

how to
1

About the Creator

Alexander Belsey

B2B magazine editor and digital marketer. I write about business, politics, economics, and wellbeing - sometimes all at once.

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

Alexander Belsey is not accepting comments at the moment

Want to show your support? Send them a one-off tip.

Find us on social media

Miscellaneous links

  • Explore
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Support

© 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.