Sustainability and climate change have been hot-button topics for years now, and this isn’t likely to change anytime soon. For as long as the planet is endangered by climate change, people will be talking about how to combat it.
Ideally, this is something that everyone should be trying to achieve in their lives, but in all honesty, there’s only so much that your everyday consumer can achieve. Even if you do everything you can to live a more sustainable life, it will have a limited impact on the world as a whole. This isn’t to say that it isn’t worth it. After all, even the limited impact is still an impact, and the more people who try, the more difference they will make.
But the biggest changes will come from larger organizations, like corporations and companies. These are contributing the most to climate change, so it makes sense that they can do the most to fix it.
Why It Matters for Companies and Businesses
The most obvious reason to strive for sustainability is because the future of the planet and the human race depends on it. But this isn’t necessarily a compelling reason for a lot of companies and corporations.
Money makes the business world go round, so it’s necessary to bring money into the equation of sustainability.
First, sustainability isn’t just about the planet. It’s also about the resources on the planet. If a company is more sustainable, it can actually save money in production and processes, as it wastes fewer resources and less money. Often, a more sustainable process is a cheaper process.
Another incentive is that, while companies and corporations might not have the environment as their top priority, people do.
Sustainability can earn a company grants, tax breaks, and other benefits depending on certain governmental programs. Not only this, but it can also earn a good reputation.
Some companies market their products and their business based on being environmentally friendly and sustainable. Their target audience cares about this, so are often willing to pay more in order to support a company that shares their values. This might offset some of the added costs of some environmentally friendly practices, and can even help these companies reach new heights.
Using Sustainable Technology
It could be argued that technology is what led to the climate change crisis in the first place. After all, the industrial revolution is when humans first started to have a real impact on the planet, and not in a good way. This has only compounded as industrialism has increased.
However, going completely low-tech isn’t necessarily the answer. Instead, improving current technologies and developing new technologies can be a solution that works for everyone.
Technology can become more efficient, which means it requires less energy and is less of a drain on resources. Technology is also being developed to repair the damage caused by humans in the past or to find new, more sustainable ways to generate and store electricity.
Green Power
One way that everyone, consumers and businesses alike, can become more sustainable is to switch to green power. Renewable energy, such as solar or wind power, is clean, efficient, and will never run out, unlike fossil fuels.
This kind of electricity is increasingly accessible, and individuals and companies can even use private sources of energy that guarantee clean electricity.
Reducing Waste
As mentioned before, reducing waste has the added benefit of potentially reducing costs while also reducing a company’s impact on the environment. There are a number of ways that this can be achieved.
For example, reducing energy and water consumption is one of the best ways to lower running costs while helping the planet. This can be as simple as ensuring that everything is switched off and powered down while nobody is working.
Smart devices that control the lights and temperature are a great way to automate this process, and you can even set them to get the office up and running just before people first arrive at work. You lose zero productivity, while potentially saving a lot of money.
This can also refer to materials used in manufacturing. If you streamline the manufacturing process to use recyclable materials and to ensure that there isn’t too much wasted excess, you save money and resources. You may even be able to reuse some waste, and if not, it’s important to recycle as much as possible.
Of course, there will always be a measure of waste. Oil and other hazardous materials shouldn’t be disposed of without care, so companies benefit from waste oil collection and other waste management solutions that deal with this waste safely and sustainably.
