7 ways Eco Business is Good for Business

There are plenty of great reasons for any business to work on becoming more sustainable. For instance, your personal reasons might be your drive to help the world or to ease your conscience. On the other hand, your own admirable reasons may not be enough to change the trajectory of a business. To make sustainability a priority that will be upheld at work, it helps to have strong business-driven reasons to become more sustainable.  

Using less costs less

• Reduce what you use. Take a look at whatever you’re paying a lot of money for and figure out if you could get by with less. This could mean saving energy, using less material, or purchasing fewer products.
  (by the way, I will never recommend double-sided printing defaults to save paper. When I worked in a design firm they set this up as a default and it was THE WORST. We always wound up re-printing things because we needed to hang work on the walls.)
  
  
• Reuse instead of dispose. Invest once upfront, then watch it pay for itself in savings. Every office kitchen has plenty of opportunities to opt for reusables: from glasses and mugs to real towels and tupperware. Take it a step further by incorporating reusables into your product, service models, or manufacturing operations.
  
  
• Buy secondhand. Indulge your inner frugality by purchasing pre-owned office furniture and other big-ticket items. When you’re doing it because it’s better for the world, you might be surprised how many people get onboard with the idea. Choosing secondhand reduces resource use, emissions, and landfill waste. Go you!
  
  
• Add new revenue. Of course the best way to leverage eco innovation to boost profits is by making your eco efforts money-making endeavors. Use these eco ideation prompts to find your next big eco breakthrough.

Good people like good companies

• Recognize what people care about. People care about having a purpose & helping others. They are drawn to places where they have the chance to make a difference. People are attracted to places where there’s a culture of purpose. And they want to work with other people who care too.
  
  
• Learn how to message effectively. When you talk about sustainability as part of your business mission, be honest about where you are, be transparent about your goals and limitations, and be authentic to who you are as a company. Once you’ve got your key points down, there are loads of opportunities to take your new talking points for a spin.
  • Bring it up in interviews
  • Make a point to talk about sustainability internally
  • Use this when you give tours
  • Inspire students and graduates when you visit schools
    
    
• Engage employees. If your sustainability actions are part of what attracts people to their job, find a way to let everyone participate. Always use an opt-in system so everyone who wants to can get involved, and those who don’t can enjoy the benefits from a distance. Cross-team collaborations can serve as an added bonus by building relationships throughout your organization.
  
  
• See better results. When you do work that aligns with your values, you do better work. When your team can see how their work aligns with a bigger purpose, they will be more inspired to help your organization achieve great things.
  
  
• Rock the lifestyle. People also might be drawn to the work lifestyle associated with sustainable actions. If part of your eco efforts include telecommuting, promoting healthier commuting options (biking and walking), and a cleaner workspace, those might serve as a bit attraction to talent as well.

Healthier is more productive

• Enjoy some fresh air. Maybe one of the ways you’re saving energy (and money) is by opening some windows. This can reduce pollutants and virus load (coronavirus anyone?) in your workspace. Healthier lungs and fewer colds and illnesses sounds pretty good to me.
  
  
• Kick out toxic chemicals. Don’t spoil all that fresh air by adding fresh toxins to your workplace. A lot of typical commercial cleaning products come with a ton of unfortunate side effects. Those warning labels exist for a reason. Opt out of the self-pollution game and replace your defaults with non-toxic alternatives.
  
  
• Kick out off-gassing products. It’s not just your cleaners that might be polluting your office air. Furniture, paints, flooring, and more can all be adding their own potent pollutants to the air you breathe. A great double win for health and cost savings is to buy secondhand. Since off-gassing for many products decreases over time, pre-owned options will be less harmful. And if you need something new to outfit your space, this guide can help you find healthier options.
  
  
• Encourage healthy commuting. Almost any form of transportation that is not a car is better for the earth and the commuter. (If you’re thinking helicopters, you win. They are totally worse.) But the more likely alternatives- public transportation, biking, and walking – are a win-win for health and the climate. Even for motor-assisted options (transit or e-bike) that don’t include built-in exercise, the health benefits from reduced stress are nothing to scoff at.
  
  
• Enjoy more productivity. The cumulative benefit of all these health upgrades are happier healthier employees, which tend to be more productive employees. And of course, healthier employees also leads to fewer sick days so your work is less likely to encounter unplanned disruptions.

Customers like conviction

• Give customers a reason to choose you. Just as much as employees care about working someplace that makes a difference, your customers are drawn to this too. Give them something they care about to make them want to choose your business.
  
  
• Stand out from your competitors. Even in a space where lots of competitors are taking eco action, the way you do it differently can still set you apart from your competition. Differentiate your business by going bigger with your eco efforts, or by focusing them more narrowly. Look to your company mission to guide the right way to make your eco mission stand out.
  
  
• Speak their language. Make sure the way you talk about sustainability resonates with your target customers. Look at sustainability from the point of view of your customers, what do they care about? How does sustainability fit into their priorities?  That’s how you should be talking about it. Does it save them money? Or reduce their eco footprint? Maybe it makes their life easier? Even if climate change isn’t an idea they buy into, they may still care a lot about healthier products or fair trade. Use the right language to resonate with your customers.
  
  
• Give them a reason to stick around. Your eco efforts can create customer engagement opportunities that keep your business top of mind. Build an ecosystem that keeps them coming back, like product or packaging take-back programs, branded reusable containers they can refill for a discount, or a running tally of their personal eco impact.
  
  
• Expand your customer base. Sustainability can provide new ways to reach potential customers. Participating in green events, connecting with other green businesses, or marketing in new spaces can help you find new customer connections and grow your business.
  
  

Supercharge your mission

• Go beyond the basics. Yes, there are plenty of no-brainer opportunities for sustainability that almost any company can implement & benefit from. But to really benefit your business, you need to align your eco mission with your business or organizational mission. (yes, I mention this on my site a lot, it’s that important.)
  
  
• Find new ways to deliver your core values. If you’re having trouble connecting the dots, here are several great examples of how eco initiatives can align with business values.
  
  
• Expand your impact. Maybe right now your business is making a difference in your local community, or across the whole country. With mission-driven eco initiatives, you will be spreading the benefits of your business to the whole world.

Don’t be caught off guard

• Be expansion ready. Environmental regulation varies a lot across the U.S., and even more so across different countries. By holding yourself to a higher standard of positive impact now, you become ready to grown into new markets with less adaptation required as you go.
  
  
• Expect increased environmental protection. The overall trend for the past 50 years (essentially since the first Earth Day) has been an increase in environmental regulations. While this trend may be defied by some business and political leaders, the ongoing path of modern society is unmistakably toward protecting our planet. (And rightly so, no business thrives on an earth that can no longer support human life) Most likely – in most places – regulation of environmental impact will increase.
  
  
• Stay ahead of regulations. Be ready ahead of time for new laws & regulations by holding yourself to a stricter standard today. Whether it’s the Green New Deal or the latest climate plan, whether it’s national or local regulation, don’t be surprised by:
  • clean energy requirements
  • carbon taxing or carbon reduction targets
  • phasing out of fossil fuels
  • increased single-use plastics bans (plastic straws are already in trouble)
  • more regulation of dangerous chemicals
  • recycling & waste requirements (like vermont’s new law)
    
    
• Be more resilient. By making eco changes like choosing local suppliers, opting for reusable and renewable raw materials you can protect your business. Just as the 2020 pandemic exposed the vulnerability of relying on China for PPE, future global events and shortages will reveal how risky it is to count on global supply chains always working. Not only will choosing local businesses support your local economy, it also keeps you more accountable for supporting ethical, clean practices. It’s much harder to ignore egregious working conditions or massive environmental degradation when it’s in your own backyard.
  • If you’re already buying sustainably produced materials, your sources won’t run out
  • If you buy organic, your supply chain is less susceptible to soil depletion & monoculture crop vulnerability

Sit back and enjoy the creativity

• Choose an abundance mindset. Often people look at eco actions as exercises in self deprivation and sacrifice. I firmly believe that with the right approach – the right materials, processes, and energy sources – our society can enjoy just as much convenience, variety, and innovation as we do today. Along the way we can ditch the devastating consequences of the industrial revolution and imperialist capitalism. By looking to a greener future with a mindset of abundance, you open up a whole new world of ideas and opportunities.
  
  
• Business success is all about innovation. Your business offers something new and unique that provides value to the world.  This is what got your business started and off the ground. But if your thinking has become stuck in the ‘business as usual’ mindset, you may be blind to exciting new opportunities for services, products, cost savings, and more. Use eco innovation to springboard the next big leap for your business.
  
  
• Use these resources to get started.
  • Some fun questions to ask to get inspiration from sustainability 
  • Reframe each problem your business solves to look at people, planet, and profits
  • Find inspiration from green businesses that have disrupted their category. 

So, what are you waiting for?

It certainly takes some effort, but sustainability can pay off in lots of ways. Get started with some easy wins that can save you money, then get into more powerful ways to leverage sustainability by aligning it with your core mission and values. It doesn’t even have to take much of your time to get started.