Small Business Sustainability Initiatives

While small businesses may not have extremely high emissions or waste levels, they can still have negative impacts on people and the environment.

As such, it is imperative for small business owners to also look at what moves can be made to improve their level of business sustainability via small business sustainability initaitives.

To support you through this process, this article lists five simple methods that you can use to make your business more sustainable.

5 Great Small Business Sustainability Initiatives

Offer Flexible Work Options

The daily commute of workers across the globe takes a massive toll on the environment.

However, with continuous advancements being made in the technological realm, it is easier than ever to have employees work from home whenever possible.

Allowing workers to work remotely or choosing to implement a hybrid approach where employees work from home a couple of days a week will greatly help your business reduce its carbon footprint as your workers will now be commuting on a much less frequent basis.

It should also be noted that flexible working has been seen to improve employee satisfaction, thereby having positive impacts on engagement and productivity levels.

In the cases where your employees do have to commute and work in person, you can encourage them to engage in carpooling where possible or offer staff discounts/subsidies for those taking public transportation.

Encourage active commuting

Another way to green your staff’s commute would be to encourage the use of active commuting methods.

Active commuting can include commuting by foot, on cycle, or by e-scooter and is slowly becoming a popular way to avoid traffic and find some added joy in your commute.

You can encourage these methods by purchasing company bikes and/or e-scooters and/or creating a cycle-to-work scheme offering tax benefits to employees. Such schemes have been especially beneficial in Britain where Halfords, Britain’s biggest cycle retailer, has reported a 500% jump in sales since the beginning of the COVID-19 lockdowns.

Create sustainable office spaces

In terms of what can be done in the actual office space, there are quite a few ways in which you can integrate sustainability principles and minimise negative impacts.

The first way would be to invest in environmentally friendly water and electricity technologies such as energy-saving lightbulbs and timed water taps. Moreover, you can also aim to find digital solutions for information storage and financial processes, decluttering your office space.

This process can be further supported through the avoidance of single-use plastic items by providing reusable alternatives for lunchroom items such as cutlery and plates, and by ensuring that recycling bins are made available for the instances where the use of single-use items cannot be avoided.

Finally, you can also aim to have more plants and greenery in your office as this is expected not just to capture carbon dioxide, but also to improve overall productivity and wellbeing in the workplace.

Create an ethical procurement process

The first step to doing this is to keep yourself aware of how your business partners and suppliers engage in business and treat their staff members.

Once you have ensured that the companies you work with aligning with your sustainability goals, it would be a good idea to look into how you can minimise any emissions that may be associated with the transportation of your raw materials. This can be done by trying to have your item shipped by companies that strategically plan their routes and pack their shipments/containers with sustainability in mind.

Lastly, you can always ensure that your business never purchases or produced more than it needs to, to avoid unnecessary waste generation.

Use eco-friendly packaging

Global statistics have shown that product containers and packaging make up a significant portion of the items that reach global landfills.

Considering this, your brand can make a major impact on the reduction of pollution levels by changing how you package your products. Some simple ways to make your packaging more sustainable are to swap plastic items with glass or metal options or look into using biodegradable materials such as corn starch, mycelium or seaweed.

If you cannot easily change your existing packaging, you can change how you advertise it by giving customers tips on how they can reuse the item in the future. For example, maybe your glass container can be reused as a flower vase or makeup brush holder.

As outlined in the list of small business sustainability initiatives above, there are many simple steps that your small business can take when aiming toward improved sustainability. These include offering flexible work options, encouraging active commuting, creating sustainable office spaces, creating an ethical procurement process, and using eco-friendly packaging.