Recent studies have confirmed that among the qualities consumers consider before purchasing from a specific brand, sustainability still ranks one of the most important. Put simply, green initiatives within your business can have a positive impact on both the environment and your bottom line. As non-eco-friendly processes and materials tend to be more accessible and affordable, you’ll need to think more carefully about every expenditure. These tips from the Higgins Lake-Roscommon Chamber of Commerce are a great starting point for your sustainability efforts.
Starting a Sustainable Business
Before you even think about sustainability, it’s important to establish a solid business structure, such as an LLC or S corporation. When you start an LLC in Michigan, you’ll enjoy flexibility for growth, tax advantages, and limited personal liability. Meanwhile, an S corporation gives you the option to claim tax deductions on your company’s financial losses and the benefit of pass-through taxation. Make use of a formation service to save on hefty lawyer fees, which will free up some of your capital to focus on your sustainability efforts. Be sure to check the requirements in your state before finalizing your registration.
Benefits of Sustainable Business Practices
-
Competitive Advantage: Aside from the benefit of potential customers being attracted to your ethos, you may also gain access to higher talent employees and investors who are looking to put their dollars behind businesses with desirable policies and practices.
-
Reduced Costs: While there may be some additional costs involved in transitioning to a sustainable enterprise, there are a few ways that green initiatives could save you money. Some of these include allowing your employees to work remotely or moving away from paper-based correspondence completely to reduce operation costs.
-
Reduce Your Carbon Footprint: There are few ways to more directly benefit the planet than by reducing your CO2 emissions. To add to this, legislation surrounding how businesses address climate change is continuously changing, and it would be wise to ensure your efforts are up to snuff now to avoid facing heavy penalties in the future.
Finding Sustainable Business Practices
The best way to implement sustainable business practices would be to take a close look at what measures have been taken by your competitors. Note that policies will differ depending on the type of products or services you offer, but these tips offer a good starting point:
-
Conserve Water and Energy: These resources are often used excessively in the workplace for operational requirements and sanitation purposes. Consider purchasing water-efficient appliances and installing low-flow fittings for optimal water savings. There are also a number of energy-saving tactics that can be implemented, such as installing light sensors or using air conditioning and heating conservatively.
-
Reduce and Recycle: Reduce the amount of waste generated by providing reusable dishes and containers for your staff where possible. For any refuse that still may be generated, mobilize a recycling drive by incentivizing staff to recycle and encouraging healthy competition within the workspace.
-
Product Packaging: If your business sells a physical product, ensure that your manufacturing processes, packaging, and distribution methods are as eco-friendly as possible. Opt for glass or aluminum over plastic, as these materials can be recycled more easily.
Marketing Your Business
Once you’ve transformed your business into an eco-friendly haven, you’ll want potential customers to know about it. Up your marketing efforts by creating a simple logo that reflects your business and its green aspects. You should then use this logo in your campaigns. Use a free online logo maker to create vibrant and stunning artworks that show off your brand identity and your commitment to green practices.
You may find it necessary to convert different file types to get them to work for your social media and web-based platforms. If you need a way to convert PDF to jpg, look for a free conversion tool. You’ll just need to select your file, place it in the drop zone, select your file type, and convert! It’s that simple. Then you can use that file for your marketing campaign.
Green practices for your small business can save you money while you save the planet. Don’t be afraid to invest in these initiatives wholeheartedly, as the urgency for change will soon make it a legal requirement and necessary for the longevity of your venture.
Find out what other local businesses are doing to set themselves apart from the crowd – and enjoy plentiful member benefits too – by joining your local Chamber of Commerce.
