Trending 4 Best Practices For Small Business Sustainability
Source: Mike Pertrucci
The conversation on sustainability has always revolved around everyone doing their share. From individuals to enterprises, everyone has a role to play in ensuring that there’s still a natural world to pass on to the next generation.
However, there are underlying issues that do not receive the same attention and enthusiasm. Tickle-down mechanics make it exponentially more difficult for smaller businesses to get into the sustainability trend. For example, a study across 16 countries reveals that the average cost for compliance is $425,000, mostly going into labor and capital expenditures.
Still, the disadvantage has encouraged certain businesses to find doable practices to contribute to the larger campaign. If you’re also looking to usher in a new low-carbon era for your organization, you can start with these four practices to achieve small business sustainability.
Go Paperless
Although we are already in the Digital Age, it’s quite surprising to see how people can remain resistant to change. A survey from Small Business Trends reveals that in 2019, three in every five (60%) small businesses still keep their documents in paper format.
The carbon footprint of relying on single-use paper goes beyond the trees cut and milled into paper. There’s the mostly plastic packaging used to wrap the products, and the energy required to transport it to the end-user. However, small businesses are starting to shift toward paperless documentation.
One common practice for reducing your paper consumption is by digitalizing your important records. Employee documents can be scanned and financial statements can be kept in a digital format. Since cloud storage has become affordable and accessible, you can store your important files online. Your files are kept secured and you can easily access and share them anytime, anywhere.
2. Shift to Green Energy
Green energy refers to the use of renewable energy sources with markedly lower ecological footprints. However, most small businesses still can’t adopt sustainable energy solutions because of the associated costs.
However, it continues to grow as an industry trend, even among small businesses, because of its potential for return on investment (ROI). An optimized solar panel grid, for example, can effectively drive your energy consumption costs to zero.
Even more, a net metered system can even result in additional income for your company if you generate more energy than you consume. Depending on where you are, you can also qualify for tax incentives—a part of the government’s effort to incentivize your initiative toward sustainability.
3. Team Up with Local Logistics Partners
The talk about sustainability has also shed some light on the importance of empowering local businesses and industries. As a business practice, this also needs a bit of time and resources. Note that a poorly-planned shift to local sourcing could be counterproductive, causing process disruptions or worse, adversely affecting your productivity.
By teaming up with reliable local partners, you enjoy shorter turnaround times and more predictable materials planning. Additionally, if your business relies on natural raw materials—such as small-scale manufacturing, restaurant, or service-oriented industries—you can ensure fresh and organic ingredients.
In terms of logistics, you can also enjoy greater control over your inventory. Generally, these local suppliers are more flexible in the orders they take, eliminating the need for a minimum order quantity (MOQ) in most cases.
The shift to locally-sourced materials has seen a rapid boost during the pandemic, which has greatly disrupted global supply chains. By staying local, you minimize supply risks from any unfortunate event happening elsewhere. However, the opposite also applies; local events disrupting your suppliers can also have a quick and direct effect on your business.
4. Promote a Sustainability-Focused Culture
Since people are becoming more conscious about the brands they support, sustainability has also inspired small business owners to advertise and use the movement to attract like-minded customers. However, there is a catch: sustainability marketing only works if you believe in it and actually practice it on your premises.
As a small business owner, you have to be aware that superficial attempts to join the sustainability trend can ultimately backfire against your company. This, and the negative connotation of sustainability being a costly and cumbersome effort.
However, businesses have found a number of strategies for marketing themselves as an eco-friendly brand, and even having their target market join in the effort. Some use small store signs that remind people of the brand’s efforts, and how they can help themselves, while others turn to a company culture that is socially and environmentally responsible.
Final Word
Although the road toward sustainability might be different for small businesses, the movement continues to take root thanks to the ingenuity of some visionaries. While the four trends listed above can give you an idea of how to start your own journey, it is important to find a route that is heavily based on your company’s own strengths, opportunities, and needs. By adopting a solution that is specifically tailored for your organization, you can optimize your growth from this endeavor.
