How Sustainability Is Changing the Way We Do Business

July 15, 2020

Being a modern-day leader has become a multifaceted role, one that doesn’t just imply you own and run a successful business, but one that also insists upon living up to certain standards and values. Considering the climate crisis our planet is struggling with, it’s only natural that we expect our leaders to take a stand against pollution and wastefulness. The primary way to do so is by actually leading by example. The business sector has taken an enormous slice of the global responsibility to reduce global warming and other environmental issues.

If you are a business owner yourself, you understand that your brand needs to embody those green values every step of the way. Green initiatives of all sorts need to become part of your regular business strategy, and you need to allocate your funds towards relevant environmental organizations. Here are a few core ways companies are changing the ways they operate daily to accommodate more eco-friendly solutions.

Introduce recycling, reusing, and reducing

This simple triple-R principle is often reserved for households, where an individual holds the responsibility for implementing such a mindset. However, if you want your business to truly become a reflection of smart, sustainable practices, this is a mindset that you and your employees need to embrace. Even though such daily actions may seem like they don’t have much relevance in the grand scheme of environmental things, every little bit counts.

For example, turning to digital instead of paper for contracts, accounting, and other common exchanges is a great way to eliminate paper use. Create a roof garden to grow vegetables, fruits, and herbs your employees can use at the office. Install recycling stations, but consider composting as well if your employees tend to eat at the office, too. Instead of giving out single-use plastic cups, invest in reusable water bottles your employees can use at the office as well as at home. Make the triple-R principle work for you by coming up with your business-specific ways to implement it and increase your sustainability efforts.

Switch to renewable energy sources

Investing in clean energy is no longer as expensive as it once was, making it a much sounder investment for companies of all sizes, and a simple, effective way to reduce carbon emissions and contribute to environmental protection. In fast-growing business hubs such as Hong Kong, where even residents are turning to solar energy as a way to lead more sustainable lives, companies are following their lead and starting their own initiatives to implement clean energy sources.

For starters, you need to invest in the right, durable equipment that will allow you to leverage clean solar energy for the long haul. In addition to solar panels, you need to utilize a dependable SMA inverter for those panels to properly convert energy for your office space. Such a move will not just allow you to go towards a clean energy source, but also reduce your operational costs significantly, thus paying off your investment in solar equipment faster than you expect.

Educate your employees

Your employees are the ones to bring your sustainability efforts to the next level with their own behavior. After all, they are meant to live in line with your brand’s values, so it’s only natural to work with people who share your vision, including the one of preserving the environment. Make sustainability efforts part of your onboarding process.

Train and educate your teams on the latest changes you’re making in an attempt to become a greener business. Let them contribute with their own ideas, and of course, help them implement smarter practices and behavioral patterns at the office, too. Make sustainability part of your business culture and a core practice for creating a more efficient office space built on green choices and nature-friendly behavior.

Measure and adapt on the go

Much like you’d do with all of your other business aspirations and goals, it’s not enough to implement a strategy – you also need to monitor and measure its effectiveness as it unfolds, and find creative, innovative ways to adapt your approach to get better results. Nobody expects any single business to solve such a major, global issue, but your contribution is measurable and it can always be better.

Rely on a range of digital tools that can help you introduce specific KPIs for your sustainability initiatives. Then, use AI-driven algorithms to reach unbiased and error-free analytics, so that you can fuel your future strategy with these results. For example, you can monitor your carbon footprint on a multitude of levels, and find dedicated strategies to reduce it and aim for being carbon neutral. You can look for ways to completely banish plastic in your business, reduce waste, and implement smarter recycling solutions. The bottom line is, ongoing performance tracking is vital for sustainability success.

Sustainability is unlike any other goal in your organization. The principles of sustainability will not bend to your business ideas, so you need to bend your business strategy to meet the needs of sustainability. In this noble pursuit, make sure to use the listed tactics to not just talk about global green problems, but to actually contribute to their resolution with your own internal practices.