The Eco-Entrepreneur’s Playbook: 10 Steps to Building a Successful Sustainable Business

The concept of sustainable businesses has taken off in recent years, with businesses adopting operation strategies that focus on long-term sustainable impacts.

The idea is to successfully lower a business’s environmental impact and operating budgets simultaneously. There are many steps that a business can follow to build a successful sustainable business.

Businesses can start by calculating their carbon emissions to determine how big their carbon footprint is. The next step is to set goals and create a sustainable business strategy that fits the business and its needs.

Finally, the necessary changes must be implemented and maintained, almost like an eco-entrepreneur playbook for sustainable business and green business initiatives.

1. Energy Usage

There are a lot of ways that businesses can become more energy efficient. They include switching traditional light bulbs with LED bulbs and switching off lights and appliances when they aren’t needed. Installing smart metres and smart technology also saves a lot of energy. Old appliances and equipment can be upgraded to eco-friendly versions.

Businesses can also invest in renewable energy methods instead of fossil fuel energy, which has a lot of carbon emissions. Renewable energy sources can be used to generate clean and green energy by using solar panels, wind turbines, geothermal steam, and various other methods. There are many business utility companies that can help you to find the best fit for your business, like the green energy solutions from Utility Bidder.

2. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Reduce the amount of waste that your business produces by investing in items that can be reused multiple times. These include paper, boxes, and other office equipment. Bring your lunch to work in an eco-friendly container that you can reuse every day.

Not only will this save the environment but also your pocket, seeing as you won’t need to go out and buy food which would probably come in a container that will become waste. Try to reduce your business’s waste completely. If something can’t be reused or reduced, try to recycle it. Introduce a recycling program in your business and get everyone involved.

3. Supply Chain

Make use of sustainable products and packaging throughout your business’s supply chain process. The green sources for materials needed to create products and packaging. The energy used during the entire process should be efficient and cost-effective.

Packaging should be done with biodegradable materials, and warehouses used to store products and packages should be environmentally friendly. The delivery process should also be sustainable by using transportation methods that are environmentally friendly and reliable.

4. Local Community

Your business should have a good relationship with the local community and its businesses. Try and use as many local suppliers as you can. This will not only boost the local economy but also reduce delivery costs. Enter partnerships with small local businesses to become centred in the community.

Seek green investors in your local community while also becoming an investor yourself. Employ local people in your business. This will have a positive effect on the local economy while also building important relationships. These employees also won’t have that far to travel to work which reduces transportation costs and emissions.

5. Travel and Transportation

Encourage your employees to make use of public transportation instead of driving their own cars to and from work. If they don’t want to use public transportation, a carpool group can be created to minimise the effect on the environment.

Employees can also bike and walk to and from work, depending on the distance. Business transportation like delivery should also be done in a more sustainable way. Try to make sure that business trucks never drive without any cargo since you’ll be paying for an empty load. Try to make use of electric or hybrid vehicles instead of traditional ones.

6. Marketing

Don’t advertise your business on television, in a newspaper, or by using pamphlets. It is so much more sustainable and cheaper to make use of online resources to market your business. Digital marketing methods are also more efficient and easier to use.

Learning the basics and doing the marketing by yourself, or making use of employees with training, is better than using advertising companies that cost you a lot of money. You can market your business by making use of social media and other online platforms to distribute information for free and to a wider audience.

7. Involve Employees

Make sure to involve your employees in all sustainability initiatives at your business. This will ensure that everyone is on the same page and can contribute in their own way. Educate employees about why sustainability is important and why your business is taking part in various ventures.

Create a Green Team consisting of a select few employees that make sure sustainable initiatives are implemented and maintained. You can put a reward system in place to motivate people to be extra sustainable in everything they do at work and at home.

8. Plants in Office Spaces

Placing plants in office spaces is not only aesthetically pleasing but also good for the environment. During the day, these plants will reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the office while producing oxygen.

The greenery also brings a little bit of the outside into the office, which can increase productivity. It is also good for everyone’s physical and mental well-being. Plants in the office also serve as a reminder of what the sustainability of the business is trying to save.

9. Carbon Offsetting and Green Non-Profit Organisations

Once you know how big your business’s carbon footprint is, you can look for organisations that plant trees and restore forests to help you offset your business’s carbon emissions. This is not a foolproof sustainability method, though. You can also do your part for the environment by finding a non-profit organisation that suits your business and getting involved with it.

10. Become a B Corp

You can try to get your business certified as a B Corporation. Your business must meet the highest requirements regarding social and environmental performance, public transparency, legal accountability, and balancing profit and purpose.

Your business needs to have high performance, accountability, and transparency regarding employee benefits, non-profit initiatives, input materials, and its supply chain. Being B Corp certified inspires trust with suppliers, investors, partners, customers, and employees. It says that you are serious about being sustainable.

Conclusion

We looked at what it means to be a sustainable business while explaining various steps to success for eco-entrepreneurs. These steps include energy usage, reducing, reusing, recycling, supply chain, local community, travel and transportation, marketing, employee involvement, plants in office spaces, carbon offsetting and green non-profit organisations, and becoming a B Corp and should help every business owner with incorporating green living more within their corporate structure.