How sustainability can give your business an edge in 2023
Tamlyn Duncan
Both of last yearâs COP summits made it pretty clear that we canât rely on governments alone, and we really need to count on businesses to step up and take a leading role in tackling climate change. Reassuringly, 96% of businesses feel increasing pressure to become more sustainable. Of course, itâs easier said than done, but with a little effort, the rewards for business are plentiful:
â Boost competitive advantage
â Boost brand
â Attract talent
â Please stakeholders
â Save time
â Save money
â Save the planet!!!
The list goes onâŠ.
When businesses put sustainability in their plans, the list of wins really does go on and on. Both for the planet and for their own commercial success. A McKinsey Global Survey recently found that 83% of C-suite leaders and investment professionals believe ESG programs will generate more shareholder value in five yearsâ time than they do today.
Sustainable business strategies like reducing emissions and waste production, offsetting unavoidable emissions, and limiting the use of energy, water and raw materials, can massively reduce costs. And, as governments incentivise investment in decarbonisation, businesses can boost revenue by expanding into profitable new markets while enjoying tax benefits and capital allowances (e.g. tax credits, business deductions, and government subsidies).
Sustainability is great for the bottom line, but it also works wonders for the brand too. As consumers are increasingly making decisions based on the environment, sustainable business practices can become a main source of competitive advantage. Loyalty, reputation and ultimately sales can shoot up, and the best people will want to come and work for you. Two-thirds of UK employees have said theyâd be more likely to work for an organisation that has strong environmental values.
Weâd hope that no right-minded business would want to turn that juicy list of benefits down, but putting sustainability into practice can take a little guidance, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) who donât have bottomless budgets to throw at expensive consultants. Weâre here to help!
A British Business Bank survey found that SMEs contribute half of all business-driven emissions in the UK. So we really need SMEs in particular to step up and do their bit for the planet.
The most effective way for SMEs to tackle climate change is to rapidly decarbonise their supply chains, reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and eventually get to net-zero.
Hereâs some of the best ways to get started on that journey:
đ Sustainable supply chain
Supply chains hold the key, as for a typical business they can account for up to 80% of an organisationâs total greenhouse gas emissions. The key is to map out the whole supply chain, from where the raw materials come from, to what factory makes the products, to how waste is disposed of. This process can take a long time, but itâs worth it. You can then look at greening your supply chain with the help of companies like Reboxed and Globechain to buy pre-owned business items, or Firstmile to sustainably dispose of your waste. Another quick win is to use renewable energy suppliers like ecotricity and ovo energy. Alongside reducing emissions, thereâs plenty more a business can do to reduce its impact on the environment.
đ· Ethical banking & pensions
Money talks, and simply putting yours into an ethical bank will get you off to a flying start. Banks globally have provided $2.7 trillion in financing for fossil fuels since the 2015 Paris Agreement, and banking for fossil fuels rose $736 billion in 2019 alone. Your bank could be using your money to finance environmental degradation in the form of fossil fuels, deforestation and extractive mining without you knowing, but ethical banks like Triodos will always use it to support a better future.
An often overlooked option to significantly reduce your carbon footprint is to switch to a pension provider that isnât abetting fossil fuel investment. Ensuring your pension aligns with the rest of your climate action is a remarkably effective way to ensure your earnings are contributing to causes you actually believe in. Did you know that greening your pension is 21 times more effective at reducing emissions than stopping flying, going veggie, and switching to a renewable energy supplier combined?! See Make My Money Matterâs toolkit here for next steps.
đ Low carbon web hosting
If youâre just starting out, choose a business like create.net to design and build your website. You can then host that website on servers that run on renewable energy with a provider such as Krystal hosting, who use 100% green energy for all their operations and data centres.
đŁ Carbon footprinting
If you donât measure it, you canât manage it, so itâs crucial to get an accurate picture of your carbon footprint. When you know where your emissions are hiding you can take the right actions to reduce them. Thatâs where Ecologi Zero comes in. Itâs our free carbon footprinting tool, designed specifically for service-based SMEs. Ecologi Zero integrates with Xero accounting software to quickly and simply provide a snapshot of Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions, and get you going on the path towards net-zero.
đ Climate Action Workforce
At Ecologi, we also offer a simple way to keep the planet in mind by offering a perk that your employees will love. Support your businessâ sustainability journey with a Climate Action Workforce monthly subscription that rewards your team, and our planet by funding certified carbon avoidance and responsible tree planting projects every month.
đ± Funding climate action with Ecologi
Fund the planting of trees or fund high quality climate action for every sale or customer using our Shopify or Zapier integrations. The options and ideas for integrating climate action into your business are infinite with our Ecommerce integrations. Theyâre convenient and simple to set up. You can also get started with a free pay-as-you-go account with Ecologi, and manually add trees to your company forest or support climate whenever you choose. You can even add a badge to your website, showing your climate impact and the trees youâve funded for planting so far, as well as joining our leaderboard of businesses with the highest number of trees funded for planting.
Net-zero is where we all need to be headed, and our aim is to make that journey as simple and effective as possible. Together we must reach net-zero by 2050, or weâll exceed the Paris Agreementâs targets and there will be no going back from some of the worst impacts of climate change.
Now is our chance to rewrite the future. Do it for your business. Do it for our planet.