8 Small Ways to Improve Sustainability in Business

When we think of business success, sustainability is something that tends to fly under the radar. But now that the term is way beyond buzzword status, the concept has a real ability to improve a company’s bottom line – including yours.

The great thing is that you don’t have to make huge changes to your business to start being sustainable. Below, we’ll look at 8 simple ways you and your employees can be greener in the workplace – and elsewhere.

Setting sustainability goals

Like anything else in business, all your efforts stand a better chance of succeeding if you have tangible goals to work towards. They’ll also help you decide what you want to achieve through them too – whether it’s simply helping the environment or improving brand reputation.

Making sustainability a part of your overarching objectives makes perfect sense, then. Not only will it maintain focus on your way to achieving them, but they’ll also act as a means of encouraging all your employees to practice more sustainable behaviours in the workplace.

8 ways to improve sustainability in business

Don’t know where to start with sustainability? Give these simple changes a try…

Reducing waste

Maybe the easiest way to start improving sustainability is through reducing your waste. Whether it’s recycling paper (or purchasing recycled paper), using refurbished technology instead of buying new, or re-using containers for food storage, all of these methods can help the environment. Recycled paper, in particular, uses less energy, water and carbon compared to non-recycled paper.

And if you have any unwanted technology, you can send them to companies who specialise in properly recycling old hardware as well as disposing of any other old products correctly so that toxic waste doesn’t enter the environment.

Having a recycling policy

You can easily educate employees and encourage them to make better choices when disposing of rubbish by creating a recycling policy. You’ll also be ensuring that any waste that can be recycled doesn’t end up in a landfill instead.  

Ensuring energy efficiency

A great way to help the environment and save money is by reducing the amount of energy you use in your workplace. Most UK energy suppliers can fit you with a smart meter so you can monitor consumption and make if you’re looking to limit yours.

And limiting your energy is a simple case of changing a few things. Switch off the lights of any rooms that aren’t being used, use energy-efficient light bulbs, put your heating on a timer and insulating the building so you aren’t relying on your heating and air con as much.

Updating your website to be more sustainable

Yes, even your business’ website can be made more eco-friendly. With the average website producing 1.76g of CO2 per page view, the internet impacts the environment massively. And the more complex it is, the more it’ll produce.

The good news is that you can limit how much CO2 it produces by making some key changes – without affecting its performance or user experience. And we can help with that too; our new Eco Audit product investigates the parts of your website that are most harmful, and then sets about making them more eco friendly. You’ll find more info on how to sign up to it at the end of this article.

Donating to charity

Your workplace probably has its fair share of supplies it no longer uses. Instead of letting it create clutter, think about donating to organisations that provide school supplies to lower-income students, for example. Or if you printer cartridges you don’t need any more, there are loads of organisations who can recycle them for you. After your office parties, instead of throwing away leftover food, donate the non-perishables to a local food bank instead.

Whatever you donate, helping the local community is well worth doing – plus you’ll once again be reducing waste by preventing rubbish from going to landfill or travelling to waste disposal facilities that are a long way away.

Switching to more eco-friendly products

If your workplace uses single-use items, then remember this: they’re one of the biggest threats to sustainability and the environment. So, you probably want to consider switching to reusable alternatives to plastic straws, utensils, plastic bottles and other disposable items. Even the cleaning products you use can be switched out for safer alternatives, too.

Producing more sustainable products

If your business creates its own products then you can make a big difference – and flaunt your sustainability credentials – by making your production processes more eco-friendly too.

• Start with sourcing sustainably from manufacturers that you know operate ethically and environmentally. It’s also a good idea to source locally from small businesses – this way you’ll be supporting your local economy.
• Look for suppliers and materials that are certified fair trade i.e. they pay the producers in developing countries at or above market rate for the goods they produce.
• Make the products themselves recyclable, renewable or biodegradable, with materials that reduce the impact on the environment by contaminating water or depleting the ozone layer.
• Don’t forget about the packaging too. Materials likes wood pulp and seaweed can replace single-use containers, while reusable materials in the form of canvas bags are not only stylish, but can be re-used again and again.

Making small changes first

As these approaches show, you don’t have to make grand changes to your businesses to start being more sustainable, so don’t be afraid to begin changing the small things first. Nobody’s expecting sweeping change from the get-go. Plus, by focusing small, you’ll be making actionable changes that your employees can easily follow.

Get your free sustainable website assessment

Want to reduce the amount of carbon your website creates? Let us take a look at it, and make the changes for you – you’ll get Eco-Friendly Web Alliance accreditation once we’ve optimised its performance, too.

Sign up for a free assessment here.

Our team of web developers, UX designers and SEO experts can optimise your website to help with its customer experience – and the Earth as a whole. To find out how, give us a call on 0345 459 0558 and let’s get talking.