How to start an environmentally sustainable company
The environment is one thing that we cannot afford to fail. Many businesses do not consider the way company choices affect the environment. It requires all new considerations. That includes the source of energy, products, materials, and machinery being used. Those must be connected to the effect they have on communities, the health of employees and consumers, and the environment as a whole. Done the right way going green can help the bottom line long-term and set an example for others to follow.
The process of launching a new business contains an endless list of efforts, systems, and processes to define. This happens before the business can see a penny of profit. There needs to be a great product or service that people want, a messsage to teach people how to use and feel about that product and service, and a way to market that message. Also, a company need to know how everything impacts the bottom line.
When building a company sustainably, it’s important to start simple so that it’s manageable. Let’s walk through some basics on how to take an environmentally responsible and conscious approach to starting a business.
3 Strategies a Company can Focus On:
Source renewable energy
Use vendors that support sustainable initiatives
Purchase carbon offsets - what are they?
The benefits of these strategies, how they work, and some resources for executing them are included below. Enjoy!
1. Source renewable energy
Renewable energy is now cheaper than non-renewable energy in numerous cases around the world. It is now possible to make renewable energy the cost effective choice with a little research. Businesses can diversify energy supply and reduce the dependence on imported fuels and fossil fuels alike. A better bottom line and better environment can come from sourcing energy in a renewable way.
US policy makers have been dragging their feet on climate change for a long time. The reluctance to take action against climate change hasn’t changed in recent years either. That's why it’s important that business-owners make it a priority.
Renewable energy helps slow down climate change. After decades of studies conducted and published, it’s no secret that fossil fuels are accelerating the issue of climate change. Renewable energy reduces the production of greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels.
Too often the focus on progressing technology and permanently improving efficiency comes without consideration of the effects on climate change. The reduction of air pollution and greenhouse gases is critical for the quality of life of future generations. It’s also very good for us today.
There are many available options to source renewable energy. If a business occupies a space that wasn’t designed with environmental systems in place, it’s not necessarily a dead end. Some renewable energy systems can be installed, like solar panels or biomass-fueled heat or power.
Perhaps an easier option is to purchase green power through renewable energy certificates (RECs). Businesses can also purchase renewable energy through a green pricing/marketing program. This provides renewable energy that’s generated by local, green power sources for a small premium. Businesses can incorporate renewable sources relatively easily and without needing to build facilities from scratch.
2. Use vendors that support sustainable initiatives
Money talks. And it’s a growing trend that consumers are supporting environmentally friendly companies. A business is actively participating in that trend when it chooses a vendor that’s also focused on environmental sustainability. By supporting those vendors, a business also diverts its money and purchases away from businesses that choose to use non-renewable, wasteful, and often environmentally harmful business practices. If all B2B transactions took environmental efforts into account before a purchase decision, then trillions of dollars would be at stake. Enough to turn the tables drastically.
Operating a sustainable business extends past localized energy. The materials and services being sourced during manufacturing and business operations are a part of the equation, too. Businesses can source from sustainable vendors.
Local tech companies are a good place to start. Outside tech, a business can look at their partners’ efforts to manufacture and operate with green power sources. Operations that are: fueled by wind or other renewable power sources; operating within a LEED-certified building; or, utilizing materials that are better for the environment - like hemp biomass over plastics.
These are all ways a business can improve its environmental impact. It can seem overwhelming to business owners and leadership. The important thing is for a company to get started and do what it can.
3. Purchase carbon offsets - what are they?
Even employee commutes must be included in the way a business adds up its level of sustainability. Otherwise it is make believe. There is an associated carbon emission for everything from turning on the lights to the jeans a person wears. Everything a business does and its employees do creates a carbon footprint.
Carbon offset purchases create a positive impact. They can counteract the everyday carbon footprint of your business and employees. These offsets fund pricey and otherwise unaffordable green projects. Those projects counteract the negative impact of the carbon emitted by a business.
The way it works is a company invests in and funds environmental projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It’s like a trade - a company may not be able to get to carbon neutral on its own. But it can use its resources to support other initiatives that are reducing carbon. When added together, the business can show that its investment in carbon offsets have brought its carbon impact to zero.
These initiatives are called carbon offset projects. They include creating wind and solar farms, gas-free transportation projects, restoring natural habitats, and planting new forests. Each of these either reduces or counteracts our collective carbon emissions. Terrapass, NativeEnergy, and the aptly named Carbon Offset Company, are companies that have offset projects a business can purchase.
Closing Thoughts
When a company includes environmental sustainability in its strategy it can do more than benefit the environment. Consumers are choosing sustainable companies more and more. In some cases, renewable energy is now less expensive. So it’s good for a company's bottom line.
Sustainable initiatives create economic development and jobs in construction, packaging, engineering, science, manufacturing, and more. When a company chooses to work with sustainable vendors and partnership businesses it sets the example for other businesses to take a stance.
Choosing sustainability for your business is not only a smart choice, it’s the right choice. Cleaner air is worth saving some money and selling more products and services.