Climate change is a hot topic in almost every industry. Today’s consumers prefer to buy from eco-friendly brands, as 78 percent of shoppers say that a sustainable lifestyle is important to them.
Running an eco-friendly business is great for employee engagement, too. Folks want to work for a business that takes its commitment to climate change seriously. 68 percent of prospective employees even say they’d be more likely to apply for a job if the firm was eco-friendly.
However, becoming an eco-friendly entrepreneur can be challenging. You have to balance profits with what’s good for the planet and should find ways to streamline operations without compromising sustainability. Fortunately, there is plenty of support today for firms that choose to take an eco-friendly approach to business growth.
Involving your employees
Making sustainable changes at your firm should increase employee engagement and motivation. However, you should communicate with your staff before you start to roll out sustainability initiatives. Some staff may feel reluctant to engage with policies they don’t understand while others can offer some useful suggestions.
When drawing up your sustainable business model, invite your employees to suggest solutions to local issues. For example, if there’s a pollution problem in your area, your staff may want to hold street clean-ups and eco-friendly fundraisers.
Championing a local social cause can drive innovation and increase creativity, too. Weaving good into your business model shows staff that you care about the planet just as much as profits. This will help you attract climate-conscious, talented applicants when you run your next recruitment drive and may incentivize your best employees to stay.
Using tech to your advantage
Reducing carbon emissions and waste is easy in theory but challenging in practice. Fortunately, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel when trying to achieve sustainable business growth.
Consider using high-tech sustainability reporting tools to streamline the process. Today, 90 percent of American businesses use a sustainability report, as a clear breakdown helps you set achievable goals. You can even use artificial intelligence that updates in real time to better understand your performance. This is key to long-term growth, as a detailed report will help you spot carbon sinks.
Sustainability tracking tools are key to the long-term success of your eco-friendly business. However, you may want to invest in some eye-catching low-carbon tech. For example, if you use vans to deliver your goods, consider switching over to a fleet of electric vehicles (EVs). This will reflect well on your brand and prove that you’re leading the business into a low-carbon future.
Sustainable schemes
As an eco-friendly entrepreneur, sustainability should be central to all of your operations. However, some sustainable initiatives can prove costly and may not be affordable if you’re leading a new start-up.
Get the ball rolling by identifying sustainable low-hanging fruit. For example, if your employees commute to work, consider incentivizing a carpooling scheme at your business. Carpooling is good for the financial health of your firm and can help you cut down on carbon use. Folks will appreciate the opportunity to save some gas money and your company may be able to take advantage of funding via the Clean Air Act.
Consider investing some of your profits into eco-friendly research. Industry leaders like BMW and Airbus routinely fund sustainable projects as they know that breakthroughs will benefit their brands. You may not be able to fund quantum computer research, but you may be able to support sustainability by redirecting some profits to your local university.
Investing in sustainable schemes is highly rewarding for your employees, too. For example, if you send some funds to a local university, you may find that more climate-conscious graduates apply for positions at your business. This will reflect well on your brand and may help you attract well-educated, highly engaged employees.
Future-proofing
Climate change is advancing at an alarming pace. As an eco-friendly entrepreneur, it’s your job to ensure that your business is ready to face anything that the world has to offer. You can future-proof your small business by:
- Streamlining: Reducing waste and emissions isn’t just good for the environment, it can save you money, too. Streamline your operations to cut down on costly waste and improve operational efficiency.
- Personalization: Personalizing your approach to sales makes a big difference to today’s consumers. Personalization can make your firm more eco-friendly, too, as you won’t waste time or energy on efforts that don’t directly relate to your actual customers.
- Social responsibility: Review your current social responsibility policy to ensure that you’re in lock-step with consumer expectations. This will protect your brand and help you discover new forms of eco-friendly entrepreneurship.
Future-proofing your firm won’t stop climate change. However, it will mean that you’ll still be around to support your community and serve your customers. Future-proofing is inherently sustainable, too, as personalizing your materials and streamlining your operations will reduce waste and increase innovation in your company.
Conclusion
Eco-friendly entrepreneurship can make a meaningful difference in the fight against climate change. Taking a climate-conscious approach is highly rewarding for employees, too. Even if you’re working with limited funds, you can build employee engagement with initiatives like carpooling, community clean-ups, and sustainability tracking.
Beau Peters is a creative professional with a lifetime of experience in service and care. As a manager, he’s learned a slew of tricks of the trade that he enjoys sharing with others who have the same passion and dedication that he brings to his work. When he is not writing, he enjoys reading and trying new things.
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