How Can My Business Help Fight Climate Change in 2024?
2 years ago by Michal Kowalski
Hello eco-minded entrepreneur! Thank you for being here and rallying forth in the fight against climate change.
Your love of our natural world and its inexhaustible wonders is, no doubt, what landed you here.
Your success depends on it. We ALL depend on it!
As the decision-maker at the business you possess a unique power.
Your operations, processes and customers have a much greater impact and ripple effect than (most) actions taken by an individual alone.
Today, we hope to inspire you to begin exercising your power mindfully, for the benefit of all, with our round-up of easy-to-adopt green business ideas.
Easy-To-Adopt Green Business Ideas to Fight Climate Change
– no harmful byproducts – stable energy prices – fewer or no carbon emissions – increased consumer and investor confidence in your brand – being more attractive to buyers as they seek a greener supply chain – being ahead of the curve and prepared for future laws and regulations
We’re based in London, and the transition to cleaner energy is WELL underway.
You can witness it EVERYWHERE; from Clean Air Zones to tax reliefs. It’s safe to say. IT’S HAPPENING!
If producing your own energy appeals to you, there are a few things to consider when deciding whether to install renewables such as solar panels, heat pumps, or wind turbines:
– business size – energy needs – how much does your business use – location – might you need planning permission – your premises – do they belong to your business, or are they rented
The best part? Long-term savings can make up for the upfront installation costs. You can also sell your energy back to the National Grid under the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG).
With an increase in renewable energy education, the demand is rising, and the cost of using renewable energy technology is falling.
with 100% of their energy taken from renewable sources such as wind, solar, or biomass.
The UK’s main suppliers also offer green tariffs, but they rely more on carbon credits or offsetting.
You can check how much energy a provider produces comes from renewable sources by looking at the “fuel mix” information.
If you don’t want to change your supplier, it’s still a good idea to take a look at green energy tariffs from your current provider and how they can help your business protect the environment.
With a little education, determination, and enthusiasm there’s no reason everyone can’t embrace recycling!
It’s something we’re incredibly passionate about at Blooming Haus in our fight against climate change.
We:
– recycle the cardboard packaging that we receive from suppliers. – reuse, recycle or return flower buckets and delivery packaging – compost all our organic waste
All of these actions align with our aim to protect the planet by reducing the amount of waste we produce as a business.
Recycling can be a real turning point for your business.
Plus, it helps to reduce the planet’s reliance on unsustainable resources.
As well as minimising waste, recycling and reusing also reduces the amount of energy needed to produce new items as their numbers are fewer.
Taking the recycling route has a positive impact on the corporate social responsibility (CSR) of your business.
Potential customers see this and are more likely to use your products or services as a result.
Research also suggests that employees are more likely to want to work for a business that’s committed to recycling.
Aside from anything else, businesses and individuals have a responsibility to protect the environment by reducing the amount of waste that goes to landfill.
Sustainability is at the centre of everything we do at Blooming Haus.
And we believe that every business should recycle as much as possible.
Doing so helps to protect the planet, reduces fuel consumption, and allows businesses to save money by repurposing or reusing items.
There’s simply no downside to having a recycling strategy in place.
Hybrid working isn’t a new practice, but it did increase in popularity during the global pandemic.
Many top professionals seek to work for businesses that encourage this type of flexible working.
They want to be able to choose whether to work at the office or at home.
So, having a hybrid working policy in place at your business makes it easier to attract top talent.
Being able to protect the environment is another major positive of hybrid working.
Employees don’t spend as much travelling to work, and back, so your business’s carbon footprint reduces.
At Blooming Haus, a large part of our marketing department operates on a hybrid working model – and it works great for us.
Not only does this remove the need for a larger office space to accommodate all the desks and computers – saving us money – it also reduces the number of commuters traveling into London.
Keeping your workforce happy and protecting the planet is a win all-round.
Low-flow fixtures include toilets, taps, and showerheads.
These fixtures use significantly less water than traditional alternatives.
Plus, you can choose a colour scheme to suit your business premises because they’re available in various colours and styles.
Water is one of the most wasted resources on the planet, so we all have a responsibility to protect the environment by reducing the amount of water we use.
We’ve introduced low-flow fixtures into our premises, and we’re amazed at just how much difference the change has made to our water usage.
The fixtures are just as effective as traditional ones too, so there’s no downside.
Using low-flow fixtures can also reduce the heating bills for your business as you won’t use as much hot water.
7. Encourage Employees to Adopt Sustainable Habits
We think this is something all business owners and managers should do if they want to protect the environment.
It’s easy to instil a passion for sustainability in your workforce.
For example, you can encourage employees to rideshare, create processes for proper waste disposal, and encourage the use of reusable cups while evening banning or discouraging the use of single-use plastics.
You may also want to arrange team participation in community environmental projects and encourage them to participate in sustainability planning within your business.
Eco-anxiety is real! We’re all feeling it on some level or another addressing it will help your employees feel good and help them to create long-lasting habits for the benefit of all.
Sustainable habits to encourage throughout your business can be as simple as switching off computers instead of leaving them on standby.
You can also take the message further by creating your own training programme or allowing your employees to participate in nationally recognised training.
Getting your business involved with protecting the environment locally is an excellent idea.
You can work with local community groups and charities to complete projects such as:
– Planting a native garden – Making a home for insects, including pollinators – Creating a butterfly garden – Planting trees in local schools – Placing bird nesting boxes around the local area.
You can also arrange clean-up projects which protect the environment by removing dangerous plastics from parks and water sources.
Taking part in local projects and clean-ups doesn’t just protect the environment; it helps people see you’re dedicated to your CSR and enhances their trust in you.
You may also be inspired to do fun fundraisers and donate the money to a cause you believe in.
11. Look to Local Small Businesses for Supplies and Solutions
Sourcing services and materials from local businesses doesn’t just help to protect the environment; it also helps the neighbourhood to flourish.
Plus, you find other business owners with whom you can share experience and advice.
We find these relationships invaluable.
Working with local suppliers helps you to protect the environment by reducing the need for transportation.
This reduction has a positive impact on the carbon footprint of your business.
To deliver our bouquets in and around London, we use a local company called Quiver – which have saved over 11068kg of CO2 so far!
Looking for local businesses to work with also builds a strong neighbourhood, with businesses putting money into the community as opposed to giant corporations such as Amazon.
