Sustainable business practices to follow

With the EU declaring a climate change emergency and news about climate disasters only becoming more prevalent, you might wonder what practices you can follow to make your business more sustainable. Whatever the size of your company or the industry that you’re in, there are ways that you can help tackle the climate problem. Below are seven business practices you can follow to display your commitment to a greener future.

Only partner with companies/suppliers that follow sustainable practices

One way to improve the environmental performance of your own organisation is to ensure you only work with other organisations that follow sustainable practices. While it can be tempting to make business choices that aim to reduce costs, this can often have the effect of choosing suppliers or partners whose business processes negatively impact the environment.

Have a screening process in place for any prospective businesses you are thinking of working with; do they have any certifications such as Fair Trade or ISO 14001?

Start a green team in your business

Depending on the size of your organisation, hire a person or team whose job is dedicated to designing a green policy for the organisation. They will be responsible for ensuring all staff get on board with these policies. Your green team can also be responsible for screening any new suppliers or partners.

Include sustainability in your company’s core values

Including sustainability in your company’s core values or mission statement emphasizes how important it is to your company. In job descriptions and performance appraisals, mention these values to cement your values in new and existing employees.

Ensure you reach your goals

Constantly measure your performance against the goals outlined in your mission statement and publish these results. Publishing the results internally and externally will encourage you to achieve higher and can form a good bit of PR. Knowing that there are targets to reach should encourage all staff to get on board and actively try to help achieve these goals.

Implement a community service policy

Community service or corporate volunteering initiatives are a great way to support your local area. Giving your employees 2-3 days off a year to volunteer at environmental charities shows your organisation’s commitment towards fighting climate change and pollution. You can also participate in organised activities such as beach clean-ups or book a plant a tree event.

Invest in training your staff

Send staff on training courses to learn the importance of sustainability and how it fits into your workplace. They can then return what they have learnt to the office to spread the knowledge. You could also bring speakers into the office to talk about sustainability, offering a free lunch to anyone that attends.

Get ISO 14001 certified

The ISO 14001 standard is an internationally recognised standard aimed at helping organisations reduce their environmental impact. The standard outlines a framework in which you must:

•  Set your environmental objectives
• Ensure staff are on board and actively working towards achieving your goal
• Constantly reviewing your processes to ensure they are at their most efficient

Getting ISO 14001 certified will ensure that your business focuses on its environmental impact, supported by an effective management process.