What Is Sustainability in Business? & Why It’s Important (Earth Day 2022)

No matter what business you’re in, ensuring sustainability is your business. Fortunately, there are sustainable business practices you can adopt.

What is sustainability in business? Harvard Business School Online defines it as

“doing business without negatively impacting the environment, community, or society as a whole.”

Adopting sustainable practices for the environment isn’t just the responsibility of governments and large corporations. It’s everybody’s business. And it begins with you.

In this article, you’ll learn how environmental sustainability in business benefits your bottom line. You’ll also discover practical sustainable business practices you and your team can put in place, no matter what size your business is. You can implement some of these straight away, so let’s get started!

Environmental Sustainability in Business: Why It’s Important

Sustainability in business has several benefits. Aside from knowing you’re doing something good, sustainability is, in fact, good for business. 

Here are four benefits of a sustainable business:

1. Attracting more customers. As the general public becomes more aware of climate and environmental issues, they’re increasingly looking for businesses and products that don’t negatively impact the planet. Some people only buy environment-friendly products and invest only in companies that have sustainable practices.
2. Sustainable business practices bring cost savings in the long run. You may need to make some investments initially to retrofit your existing operations. But these will more than pay for themselves eventually. And as we mentioned before, they can get you more customers.
3. Attracting more talent. Conscientious employees want to work for and with sustainable businesses. Sustainability is one of the criteria they look for in an employer. This guides the choices they make when it comes to applying for and accepting jobs.
4. The drive to make business more sustainable also stimulates innovation. It forces you and your team to question the status quo and think outside the box. This may lead to new and exciting ideas you wouldn’t have considered otherwise.

Ultimately, sustainability in business can increase your bottom line. That’s probably why Ray Anderson, known as The Greenest CEO in America, said: 

“Done right, sustainability doesn’t cost. It pays.”

It comes as no surprise that sustainable business is now mainstream in many countries. The Deloitte 2022 CxO Sustainability Report says:

“The business case for change is compelling and broadly accepted — Australia stands to lose $3.4 trillion by 2070 if we don’t act fast, but could gain $680 billion with rapid, focused action.”

In other words, sustainability is good for business.

How do you make your business more sustainable? We’re glad you asked because we’ve come up with…

10 Ways to Add Sustainable Business Practices Now

No matter the size of your business, you can take steps to become more sustainable. Large or small, organizations are implementing sustainable business ideas and  increasing their sustainability.

In the United Kingdom, for example, 58% of medium-sized businesses surveyed said that sustainability is a significant factor in their decision-making. Among larger companies, ​​74% agree that sustainability is important.

Among the largest companies in the world, almost all have business and sustainable development goals. They regularly issue sustainability reports. More than 2,800 companies and financial institutions are working to reduce their emissions. And, almost one-third of Europe’s largest public companies have pledged to reach net zero by 2050.

You don’t have to be a big business to adopt business sustainability strategies. Below are 10 ways you can do good for the environment.

1. Become a Paperless Office

Did you know that 40% of the world’s industrial logging goes towards making paper? Not only that. Paper production is the second most energy-intensive industry (food is the first).

Choose digital over hard copies. Make it standard practice to share and read documents on a computer or mobile device instead of printing everything.

If you must use paper, use 100% recycled or FSC certified paper. They look just like regular copy paper and are affordable. And make sure to dispose of paper properly so that it’s recycled instead of getting dumped in a landfill (more on recycling below).

2. Measure and Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

You can’t improve what you don’t measure. So, the first step is to know the carbon footprint of your business. You can calculate this on Carbonfootprint.com, Climate Care and other online calculators.

Once you’ve got your baseline, you can take steps to reduce it by using green energy, for example. Households, businesses, and entire communities are working to reduce their carbon footprints. 

It’s no wonder that in 2019, Canadian businesses sold $18.9 billion worth of environmental and clean technology products. They also sold $10.2 billion in related services. The total goes up to $18.5 billion if you include environmental and clean technology services.

All the other practices on this list will also help you cut down your carbon footprint.

3. Buy Ethically

Make it a policy to only buy sustainable products, and to buy them from ethical suppliers. Use tools like the Fair Trade certification and ethical company ratings.

Ethical Consumer conducts in-depth research on the policies and practices of hundreds of companies. You can easily look up a company on their site. They also provide ethical shopping guides for everything from fresh produce to cars, computers, and clothing.

Support local artisans and farmers. They’re more transparent about their practices and supply chains, so you can easily assess how planet-friendly they are. Buying locally means you’re not contributing to the consumption of fossil fuels to move goods over long distances.

Put your money where your values are. With corporate social responsibility on the rise, 82% of business decision-makers say they’ve invested in “ethical sourcing” because it’s “the right thing to do.”

4. Manage Your Waste

Waste continues to be a big way we’re harming the Earth. Not only are we producing too much waste. The way we’re disposing of them is producing greenhouse gases and polluting the planet.

When it comes to managing waste, the 3Rs continue to be a good framework: 

1. Reduce your waste by avoiding single-use plastics and other disposable products. Segregate your trash so that food-based items can be composted instead of thrown in the landfill.
2. Reuse products as many times as you can before discarding them (if at all). Invest in items that last longer instead of buying cheap products that need to be replaced after just a few uses. Buy used, refurbished, or second-hand items when you can.
3. Recycle plastics, glass, paper-based products, and other recyclable items. Even electronic waste or e-waste can be recycled, so don’t just dump your old computers and electronics. Look for local companies that remove and recycle electronic waste for you.

Again, segregate your waste properly. Make sure that recyclable items will, indeed, get recycled instead of getting thrown in a landfill with garbage.

5. Review Your Office Travel Policy

Cut out unnecessary trips. Order office supplies and equipment online instead of driving to the store, to save on car fuel. Instead of taking your car, consider using public transport. Or ride your bike.

For long-distance traveling, air travel is the most expensive option and uses up the most fuel. If you must travel long distances, choose land-based travel, such as a train or bus, over a plane.

6. Rethink Your Investments

Put money behind your environmental values. Invest in companies that have sustainable practices and make your portfolio more planet-friendly. Look into ESG investing, or taking into consideration a company’s environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors before you invest.

The American Sustainable Business Network supports the Securities and Exchange Commission’s proposal to Enhance and Standardize Climate Disclosures for Investors. This would require US companies to report on carbon emissions in their regulatory filings. This increased transparency is a boon for investors who place a high value on business sustainability.

You can learn more about ESG investing from the CFA Institute. It’s a nonprofit organization of investment professionals that focuses on ESG investing and analysis.

7. Plant More Trees and Plants

Trees and plants absorb and store carbon from the atmosphere. That’s why protecting and restoring forests is one of the most effective ways to mitigate climate change. And it’s easy for anyone to contribute to this effort.

Whether you work from home or an office, or a combination of both, you can have more plants and trees in your workplace. Fill your office with indoor plants. Not only do they make your work environment more beautiful. They also clean the air of toxins.

Some of the best plants for de-toxifying the indoor air are:

• Bamboo palm (chamaedorea seifrizii)
• Chinese evergreen (aglaonema modestum)
• Dragon tree. (dracaena marginata)
• English ivy (hedera helix)
• Gerbera daisy (gerbera jamesonii)
• Mother-in-Law’s Tongue (sansevieria trifasciata ‘Laurentii’)
• Pot mum (chrysanthemum morifolium)
• Peace lily (spathiphyllum ‘Mauna Loa’)
• Spider plant (chlorophytum comosum ‘Vittatum’)

Outdoors, plant as many trees as your space allows. Some fruit trees even have compact varieties that grow in small spaces.

You can also support tree planting organizations that’ll plant trees for you in different parts of the world. One Tree Planted, Plant-A-Tree Program, and Tree Canada are just a few examples. You can decide to donate a certain percentage of your sales to these tree-planting programs. It often costs only $1 to get one tree planted.

8. Eat More Plants

Plant-based diets have lower carbon, water, and ecological footprints than diets that include meats and fish. Industrialized animal farming produces greenhouse cases. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, farmed livestock produces 14.5 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions (that can be traced to human activity).

And so, another way your business can be more sustainable is by reducing your meat consumption. You can ease into it by having Meatless Mondays, for example. Then, in the office and at face-to-face meetings, offer more plant-based foods.

9. Embrace Remote Work

Remote work is good for the environment. Global Workplace Analytics found that 24,000 employees driving less often to and from work avoided producing 32,000 metric tons of CO2 in a year. Work-at-home employees also avoid traffic jams, which account for 3 billion gallons of gas wasted through idling. Traffic jams also produce an extra 26 million tons of greenhouse gases.

These are only a few more reasons to have either a fully remote or a hybrid workplace.

10. Take Part in Earth Day

Earth Day, celebrated on April 22 every year, is the anniversary of the environmental movement. According to the organizers, over 1 billion people in 192 countries take part in Earth Day every year. 

You can leverage the day to educate staff, review current policies and practices, and start changes to make your business more sustainable. You can also organize a group activity that involves your team. Aside from making a practical contribution to the environment, this activity builds camaraderie. You can have a group cleanup activity, plant trees, or have a fundraising event for forest rehabilitation. 

Learn More About How to Make Your Businesses Greener

The work to become more sustainable involves all areas of your business. It’s an ongoing process that may never end, as we learn new ways of going green. Learn more from these resources:

• 
  Environmental
  What Is Environmental Ethics for Business? +10 Important Issues
  Andrew Blackman

• 
  Management
  Earth Day 2021: How Your Business Can Take Part In Restoring the Earth
  Sharon Hurley Hall

• 
  Earth
  4 Ways Your Business Can Help the Earth on Earth Day 2020 (And All Year Long)
  Andrew Childress

• 
  Environmental
  How to Become an Environmentally Friendly Company (Earth Day 2019)
  Andrew Blackman

• 
  Environmental
  How to Celebrate Earth Day (10 Activity Ideas for Your Work)
  Andrew Blackman

• 
  Finance
  Energy-Saving Tips to Help Your Business Cut Costs
  Andrew Blackman

Saving the Earth Is Everybody’s Business

We’ve shared a business sustainability definition. We’ve also shared some sustainable business ideas.

At this point, we hope you can see that becoming more sustainable just makes good business sense. As pressure mounts to address climate change, consumers and investors are demanding businesses be more sustainable. Greater transparency means no business is free from scrutiny.

Make sure your business measures up by following the steps above. Continue to educate yourself, your management or leadership team, and your staff. All of us can make a difference by changing our individual and collective behaviors. As a business leader, you can make a significant impact. 

In the end, sustainability in business isn’t just good for the bottom line. It’s the right thing to do.