We’ve all heard it, the famous ‘S’ word of the past few decades. From infiltrating our science lessons at school to shouting at us from our cereal boxes, sustainability is the hot topic of our generation. But what does it mean, and why is it up to you to do something about it?
Sustainability, by definition, is the ability to be maintained at a certain rate or level. We often hear it in the context of current environmental issues, such as climate change, and contributing factors to global warming like fossil fuel usage. But aside from what you would learn in a year 9 textbook, sustainability, or lack thereof, is the driving force behind our economy that makes our world go round.
Our economy is built on growth, whether it be profit, company acquisitions, or clientele. This trickles down to a consumer society, where we continuously intake a lot of produce, and create a lot of wastage in the process. But why is this so important? When we share a planet with finite resources, it becomes incredibly difficult to sustain exponential growth. This can affect us in a number of ways, from price increases due to limited resource availability, and in more extreme cases, shortages in everyday necessities. In order to preserve what we have, and to allow future generations and ourselves to continue to prosper, we need to move towards more sustainable methods both within our businesses, and our homes.
What Companies Can Do
In a tremendous amount of mainstream media, the responsibility to act sustainability is put on us as individuals. Although there is a lot we can do to help - and we will get to that later, a lot of our issues can be solved at the root: the companies that provide service to our everyday lives. A 2019 report found that over 70% of industrial emissions were a product of just 100 energy companies, and so it’s important for those of us within the business world to really examine our practices, and how we can utilise our roles to improve the environmental impact our companies have. There are many ways we can get started with this.
Evaluating Internal Processes
Start at the beginning. What you sell and how you produce it. If there is a physical product involved, is there plastic packaging that could be replaced with a biodegradable or recyclable alternative? Can air miles be reduced by using road transport or more local warehouses? If the selling point of the business is a service,
Examining External Contributors
When contracting other companies to provide materials or services for you, if you are aiming for an environmentally conscious company, it’s important you also evaluate any contributors processes too. Is the material they are providing you from a sustainable source? Are they taking steps towards ensuring they have minimal waste? Looking at what partner companies are doing can also help you with ideas for improving your own processes.
Staying In The Educational Loop
New innovations towards sustainability are being publicised all the time. Keeping up to date with the latest news and reports can help you more accurately measure how your company is doing, and present new opportunities for improving. An extremely effective way of doing this is working with an environmental charity. Getting outside expertise and some fresh advice can be invaluable in a company’s sustainability journey.
Aside from the rewarding feeling of helping your company move towards better practices, a huge benefit of improving your business’ sustainability is it equates to a better public image. A Forbes article from 2018 reported that 88% of customers will be more loyal to a company that supports social or environmental issues. A great way to showcase your efforts is to apply to become a certified B Corp. B Corporations are businesses that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose. Very much like getting your social media channels verified, it provides an outside stamp of approval that really legitimises your efforts for consumers to see.
What We As Individuals Can Do
Being conscious of your choices is almost inevitable in today’s world, there is an ever growing amount of information for us to draw on. As the saying goes, ‘change starts from within’. We can’t all be Greta Thunberg, and we might not have the resources to promote conservation like David Attenborough, but we can look inwardly at the daily choices we make, after all, there is always room for improvement!
Eating Less Environmentally Costly Foods
It’s no secret that what we put on our plates has a much wider impact than just our taste buds. Reducing the amount of meat and dairy products we consume is thought to be the single biggest impact an individual can make through changes in their own lifestyle. Due to the amount of land, food, and water needed to keep livestock, whether local or from across the planet, keeping animals off the table is a huge environmental plus.
Reducing Single Use Plastics
From turtles with plastic straws stuck up their noses, to birds trapped in shopping bags, you may feel like you’ve seen everything there is to see about single use plastics. But avoiding them is definitely one of the more simple switches we can make towards living more sustainably. There is now a range of shampoo and conditioner bars, and even toothpaste tablets you can try, to eliminate the need for those pesky single use containers. If none of those work for you, there are more and more places offering refills on all your favourite haircare, skincare, and even cleaning products. When you do end up with single use products, the classic R’s will always come in handy: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle.
Choosing Companies That Make Good Choices
The money you spend has power, so put it in the right places. Choosing companies that actively implement progressive environmental policies not only helps raise those companies up, but puts pressure on those that aren’t climate conscious to change.
Thinking About Investing?
No matter in what capacity you invest your money, whether it’s in an exciting new company, or more simply, the products and technology you have in your own home, you can make environmentally positive choices, and support companies making a difference.
While there is an infinite list of things we can do, both on an individual and business level, starting the conversation, and most importantly the education, is a huge step in the right direction.
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