5 Tips to Make

Your Business More

Eco-Friendly

Sustainability is such a buzz word right now, but honestly, I’m here for it. Businesses that focus on sustainability are some of our favorite to work with, and we’re constantly trying to improve our business with more eco-friendly habits.

These days, there are so many easy ways that we can make our businesses a bit more eco-friendly, and a good place to start is by doing a sustainability audit of your workplace. When auditing your business through the lens of sustainability, consider your office procedures and processes, your supply chain and the packaging you use, and take time to brainstorm ways that you can make each of these more eco-friendly.

Here’s a list to help you get started on your sustainable business journey.

Power Down At The End Of The Day

While it’s so easy to leave the light and your computers on, or forget to shut the heating and cooling off when leaving the office for the day, these are some of the simplest ways that you and your team can be a little bit more intentional about not wasting energy.

I used to work for a marketing firm, and they had a checklist of things to switch off at the end of the day taped to the back door for us to see when leaving, and be reminded of. Implement this in your business, and not only will it help the environment, but it might also save you money!

Create A Green Office Space

Creating a greener office space can easily be achieved just by being more conscious of what you’re using. Make smarter choices when buying office supplies, and whenever possible, recycle or up-cycle. Imagine, if everyone printed their business cards on recycled paper (we do!), millions of trees would be left standing each year.

There are a lot of things you can do to create a greener office, but here are a couple of ideas to get you started:

• Use chemical free cleaning products

• Buy stationery made of recycled paper, or go paperless all together

• Use recycled lightbulbs

• Keep a few mugs and dishes in your office kitchen instead of single-use plastics

• Encourage your team to bring their own reusable coffee cups to work

Offset Your Carbon Footprint

What this means is that you’re compensating your businesses emissions by donating to an offsetting project that combats climate change, and therefore balancing your business’s carbon footprint. It’s super easy to do, and will probably only take you ten minutes.

Have a quick look online to find an offsetting project that you’re passionate about, and donate to it yearly. Some projects include planting trees, or optimizing energy efficiency.

It doesn’t matter how big or small your business is, the important thing is that you’re being a part of the solution, because when millions of small businesses work together, they can have a big impact.

Be Mindful When Printing

Avoid printing unnecessary materials, and consider whether you really need to print something, or if you can use the computer instead. For example, try taking notes digitally rather than on paper, as there are tons of great note-taking apps and websites these days (my favorite is the Things App).

If you really do need to print something, do it right. Use re-fillable printer cartridges or recycle your ink cartridges to continue being environmentally conscious, and have a bin nearby so that you can recycle the paper when you’re done with it. Also, make sure you and your team understand what is, and what isn’t, recyclable so that there are no mistakes.

Audit Your Packaging

Remember, we’re all on a journey to being more sustainable, so don’t worry if there are still some plastic or non-recyclable elements in your products. The biggest thing that you can do today is start making more intentional choices.

There are so many great options today in regards to packaging that often are not much more expensive than what you’re already using, and many consumers value sustainability in business today and are willing to pay more for it. Some examples of sustainable packaging you can easily switch to is recycled filling, up-cycled boxes, green wrap, brown twine, corrugated cardboard, compostable packaging peanuts and mailers, and more.

If you still have a lot of plastic or non-recyclable packaging to use, continue using it so that it doesn’t go to waste, but next time you’re ordering your packaging materials, try out a more sustainable option!

Bonus: Give Back!

Supporting a charity is a really rewarding way to give back and support your community.

You may be thinking that your business is brand new, and you don’t have extra money to give, and that’s okay! Start small, and as your business grows, make it your mission and be intentional about giving more. At Flourish Wildly we give 10% of our yearly income to charities, as well as donating our time to one project for a non-profit each year.

Consider your own sustainable business plan and choose a charity that your business is passionate about, and that aligns with you and your business’s values and goals. You may even be able to use this in your business’s marketing strategy, encouraging your community to rally behind it.

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If you’d like to look into more ways that you can make your business more sustainable, take a look at the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Their hope is that all people, businesses, and governments will be following these 17 goals by 2030, because small actions do add up and can have a large impact.