April 22nd marked the 53rd celebration of Earth Day, and while getting your business up and running in a single day is practically impossible, paying homage to this great cause is still possible.
Many businesses around the globe operate in a way that’s far from sustainable, and if you care for this planet, you should be doing your part in trying to preserve it for future generations.
Healthy and sustainable practices can be implemented everywhere, from the manufacturing process to the way you market your business to other people, and the more you can do the better.
From eco-friendly packaging to sustainably sourced materials, your options are practically endless, and it’ll be up to you to find what could make a change while also retaining the profitability of your business.
Keep reading to learn more about what you can do to help save the planet while also running a successful business.
Why going green is a thing
Regardless of whether you’re running a coffee shop or a real estate team, eco-friendly practices can exist in every business sphere out there, all you’ve got to do is find the right ones for your business.
The main reason to jump on this trend is the fact that eco-friendly businesses have been growing in popularity in recent years, and 90% of customers have stated that they’d gladly make the switch over to an eco-friendly brand if given the chance to do so.
Every individual’s effort can make a huge change in the grand scheme of things, and by running a business that allows people to join you in supporting this cause, you’re (figuratively) killing two birds with one stone.
By incorporating some of these ideas into the message your business tries to deliver, you can align yourself with your clientele more easily, increasing revenue while contributing to a good cause.
Give up on single-use items
150 million tons of plastic waste that end up in our oceans every year is created by single-use items, which is practically 4 billion individuals worth in weight.
Thankfully, every single-use item out there, or most of them at least, has a reusable counterpart, and if your business can provide this for the customers, you’re already doing something right.
Many restaurants and cafes rely heavily on single-use plastic cups, plates, spoons, and the like for their customers, but for the most part, all the plastic cutlery gets tossed out without even being used, and there’s no reason to pack it in a plastic bag if you’ve got access to paper.
Even though we claim to be recycling plastic, that’s far from the truth, as the process implemented in most plastic recycling plants is just barely effective enough for it to be called recycling, meaning that a majority of plastic is still produced from fossil fuels, rather than recycled plastic.
Sustainable materials
When something is “sustainably sourced“, that means that obtaining the material doesn’t impact the environment in a negative way.
This doesn’t only apply to materials though, as even energy can be sustainably sourced, referring to wind turbine-powered businesses and businesses that utilize renewable energy sources to keep operations running.
By doing this, you’re reducing your own carbon footprint while also giving your customers an incentive to follow in your footsteps, as it’s been proven that people are much more likely to jump on a trend when their favorite brand is promoting it.
Of course, this may require serious amounts of research on your part, and you’ll want to take your time with picking the right way to do this, as you could risk your business going under due to the large costs of switching over to sustainable energy sources.
Make donations
Most businesses end up having inventory that eventually gets tossed due to being unusable or clogging up space in their storage facility.
Because of this, millions of tons of unnecessary waste are created, with no good reason either, as those materials could’ve been donated to those who needed them more, reducing the impact the production industry has on the environment.
On top of this, any electronics that aren’t disposed of properly will eventually begin polluting the area they’re located in, releasing toxic chemicals such as mercury, arsenic, and lead into the environment around them.
This has a severely negative impact on the wildlife inhabiting the area and could ruin an entire ecosystem if enough waste is disposed of improperly.
Final word
Running a business can be tough, and doing it in a way that’s both profitable and sustainable is even harder.
That being said, we should all be doing our part in protecting this planet, no matter the costs, and as long as your business can keep generating revenue, eco-friendly practices will remain on the table.
Who knows, maybe going green is the one thing your company needs to gain even more popularity, and even if this fails, you’ll know you did the right thing.