You must have heard multiple times about eco-friendliness in your industry, and probably you know the basic concepts of it, but until now, you avoided embracing a green perspective because you think your business is going well as it is.
The truth is the opposite.
Caring about the environment is the best way to create a future-oriented vision for your company, save money, improve your reputation, and boost sales. In this article, we help you understand the importance of going green and identify the practices you should avoid to cause no harm to the environment.
Signs your Business is Far From Eco-friendly
By recognising the signs that indicate your business is not complying with sustainability policies, you can gain a clear overview of the impact of your company on the environment and make you rethink your operational practices.
So, these are some warning signs that tell you are running a harmful company:
- You avoid any sustainable initiative
- You prioritise profit over values
- You throw away the goods you are not satisfied with
- You overuse daily transportation methods
- You have a single general waste bin in your office
- You receive bad reviews from eco-conscious customers
- You have high expenses on energy and water
- You don’t talk about sustainability with your employees
- You don’t understand why everyone is adopting green initiatives
If some of these affirmations are relatable and you want to make a change, these are 6 practices you should avoid for your business:
1. Minimising The Importance of Sustainability
Let’s start by saying that embracing sustainability is a promise to our planet for a better future. It’s not just a trend; people are embracing a new practice that could help the next generations live in a healthier world.
So, one thing you should avoid is to minimise the importance of eco-friendliness and be aware that your company, no matter the size, can have manufacturing processes and regular practices that are leaving a negative footprint on our planet, slowing down the fight against climate change .
2. Using Only Natural Resources for Manufacturing
Some natural resources can be replenished naturally by the soil, while others, like oil, natural gas, coal, and nuclear energy, are non-renewable, which means they can’t be replaced, resulting in the scarcity of these essential elements.
Manufacturing processes that take advantage of limited resources negatively impact the atmosphere (see the next paragraph); that’s why the best strategy you should adopt is to create a green supply chain where you try using more renewable resources like biomass and prolong the life cycle of your products.
3. Having Significant Gas Emissions
Industrial processes often release gases into the atmosphere that are the main cause of climate change. Industrial companies usually rely on fossil fuels, which have a limited supply that, when burned, release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which is the leading cause of global warming.
Gas emissions can be produced by manufacturing processes and transportation as well. However, alternative resources like solar energy and wind are unlimited, and you can use them to go green.
Moreover, you should limit transportation, considering that multiple shipments can be transported in one truckload and use green fuels like biodiesel, ethanol, propane and electricity for the rechargeable vehicles. with a lower environmental impact. Besides being a thoughtful way to win the hearts of new customers, these practices can also help you save lots of money on bills.
4. Producing Too Much Waste
Overproduction and overprocessing during manufacturing happen when you produce too many items that won’t be sold and spend too much time using machinery and tools to deliver a product or service. These practices can result in a high amount of waste that is often unnecessary, as you can recycle the failed products and give them other purposes and avoid producing gases that impact the environment.
Still, not everything can be saved, but instead of throwing things away, make sure to recycle them. For instance, one of the most used materials in manufacturing processes are cardboards, so consider purchasing a cardboard press to manage your waste efficiently by minimising its volume up to 90%. Also, it’s crucial to establish a recycling program, providing your employees with sorting bins to embrace practices that, as easy as they might be, have a huge positive outcome for the planet.
5. Greenwashing
Avoid presenting your products as eco-friendly just to stick to the trend and increase your reputation. If you are not actually adopting green initiatives, the fake claim of having a sustainable business (greenwashing) can result in the loss of clients and long-term reputational damage or even legal consequences.
Embracing eco-friendliness is a responsibility that also comes with a set of values relatable to the eco-conscious audience. So, by misleading the public into believing you are running an environmentally friendly business without providing concrete numbers for gas emissions, recycling initiatives, and proof of a green supply chain, you can lose your client’s trust with no return.
6. Not Instructing your Employees on Sustainability
An eco-friendly company requires teamwork. You are not alone in the process of saving the planet, so it’s crucial to instruct your employees on sustainability.
If you take the first step towards an eco-conscious journey, your workers will follow you on the path. So, consider establishing meetings to point out the importance of the policies you are willing to adopt and let your employees know about the benefits of the new practices compared to the harmful ones you have had until now.
Be open to their ideas and try finding together the best strategies that can lead you to a green label.
The Bottom Line
We hope this article helps you understand how going green can be an essential step towards a healthier planet. Moreover, besides being ethical, eco-friendliness can also boost your sales significantly, as many people prioritise green values over quality and price.
So even if you think you have the best services on the market, the outcomes of your industrial processes can make your hard work in vain if you don’t embrace a green perspective over profit.