Small businesses need to do their bit to try and reduce the negative effect they have on the environment.
At the start of 2021, there were around 5.5 million small businesses in the UK. If all small businesses in the nation made a concerted effort to behave more sustainably, they could do a much better job of helping protect the planet. We have come up with this piece on what small businesses in the UK can do to reduce their impact on climate change. Continue reading to learn more.
Get Workers To Commute To Work Using Sustainable Transport.
A large portion of global CO2 emissions come from privately owned cars, motorcycles, trucks, and lorries. Try and encourage your staff to travel to work using sustainable methods of transport, such as public transport (trains, buses, trams, metros), car sharing, cycling, or even travelling to work on foot. As a sustainable employer, you should make an effort to encourage your employees to live a sustainable lifestyle by opting to use sustainable methods of transport as well.
Make Commitments To Net-Zero Emissions.
You need to make bold commitments to sustainability in order to prove you are a business intent on doing your best to look after the future of the planet. Net-zero emissions involve adding no more greenhouse gases to the Earth’s atmosphere than you are taking from it. A big part of delivering on your commitments to sustainability as a small business is educating your employees appropriately. Why not get your staff to take part in online short courses, like the Business and Climate Change: Towards Net Zero Emissions online short course provided by the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership? Your employees can learn about environmental sustainability issues such as building a business model that is resilient to, and profitable in, the low carbon, resource-efficient economy of the twenty-first century from well-structured online courses.
Promote Sustainable Practices In The Office Space
In order for small businesses in the UK to reduce their impact on climate change and help protect the environment, the office spaces that staff work in need to be sanctuaries abundant with sustainable practices. Insulating office walls, supporting recycling, re-using packaging, composting, eliminating single-use plastics are some of the ways you can promote sustainable practices in your company’s office workspace environment. To make things extra clear, you may want to put signs up around the office encouraging employees to be mindful about doing things such as switching the lights off when leaving a room. Every little bit helps when it comes to lowering the detrimental impact your small business has on the phenomenon of climate change. You can make small, yet significant changes by switching up your office space behaviours a little.
Make Sustainability Part Of Your Company Culture.
You should discuss your company culture and core values on your website, job advertisements, and any written content about your business. Your company culture outlines what you stand for and care about as an organisation. In 2022, you ought to make sustainability and caring about environmental issues an integral part of your company culture.
During the onboarding process, inform new recruits about your company culture. Make it clear from the get-go that you’re a firm that cares immensely about protecting our planet. Make sure new staff quickly adjust and get used to this being one of their employer’s guiding principles. You may choose to steer away from hiring applicants whose personal values don’t align with your company’s outlook on the importance of sustainable practices.
Cut Any Ties With Highly Polluting Business Partners.
Do you have any business relationships with organisations known for being major polluters? This could include gas and oil companies, airlines, and car manufacturers who behave irresponsibly and fail to adhere to sustainable measures. You simply don’t want to be associated with rotten eggs, that aren’t interested in making an effort to research and make use of sustainable materials and fuel. Be careful about who you align yourself with as a sustainable small business in 2022, not all companies have a clean record of protecting the environment and behaving responsibly.
Put Aside Some Money To Support Environmental Causes.
Small businesses in the UK can set aside money to help charitable organisations that support environmental causes. Pledging some of your business’s profits to environmental charities demonstrates that you care about the planet and the pressing environmental issues of today. Handing over a relatively small portion of your company profits could go a long way in helping out a charity focused on improving the world’s ecological problems.
These are a few tips for owners of small businesses in the UK relating to what they can do to reduce their organisation’s impact on climate change. Small businesses in the UK need to show themselves as forward-thinking and progressive on environmental matters and taking proper care of this beautiful planet.
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