5 Ways Your Business can Help the Earth
Tomorrow is Earth Day! Yay! Time to celebrate our favorite planet! But when was the last time you thought about how your business could be in service to this planet? Or at least, not do any damage?
Well, to help you out, we've put together a list of 5 things your business can do to reduce it's harm on the planet and maybe even help it be a little bit healthier.
1. Offer remote work
So many companies are doing this out of necessity since much of the workforce has decided traveling to and from the office is a sacrifice they are not willing to make anymore but as more technology is invented and improved, and more work gets done online, there is less need for people to be in a physical office.
This is great for the environment! Fewer cars on the road, idling in traffic, equates to less carbon dioxide (CO2) being emitted into the air.
This small change can help reduce traffic and a business’s overall carbon footprint. Further, with less people in the office, you can save money on office supplies, lighting, heating, and all the other expenses you usually accrued from having a traditional office.
2. Encourage your employees who do commute to use public transit
Public transportation (buses, trains, vanpools) is the greenest way to commute, and companies can encourage employees to take advantage of these transport options.
By offering your employees incentives, for example a monthly metrocard, you can directly influence their contribution to greenhouse gas emissions. And guess what!? Many city transit agencies offer subsidized passes for businesses!
While NYC doesn’t offer a direct discount, they do have a new requirement where businesses with 20 employees must offer their staff a “pre-tax MetroCard” who’s savings could amount to about $400! Not bad!
3. Use sustainable packaging
Sometimes we are so focused on cost and timeline that we forget about the materials we’re using. Making sustainability a priority for you and your company doesn’t hinder your ability to find great looking, affordable packaging in 2022.
A surprising stat from a survey done by Sendle shows that 64% of consumers would be more likely to make a purchase from a retailer that offered compostable packaging (especially if it didn’t cost more).
Recycled paper and cardboard are tried and true sustainable packaging options, but there have also been strides toward creating completely compostable packaging that results in zero waste at the end of its cycle.
9. Use green web hosting services
Another surprising awareness: websites use energy, too! The servers that host a website’s data are constantly on, using up copious amounts of energy.
Luckily, companies can choose where their data is stored. More and more, eco-conscious companies are offsetting that energy usage to go carbon neutral.
Google has done a lot to decarbonize its data centers and claims that its cloud services produce zero net carbon emissions. And the largest cloud computing provider out there, Amazon, has promised to achieve the same by 2040 through wind and solar farms.
11. Buy carbon offsets
Finally, for whatever portion of a company’s carbon footprint that can’t be reduced through changes, the purchase of offsets can move the needle to carbon neutrality. But, what is an offset?
A carbon offset is a credit that a person or organization can buy to decrease its carbon footprint. When the number of carbon offset credits obtained is equal to an individual or organization's carbon footprint, that person or organization is carbon-neutral. Revenue generated from the purchase of carbon offsets is often -- but not always -- invested in environmentally friendly projects, like investments in green computing technologies.
Businesses can use a variety of carbon marketplaces to both calculate and offset their emissions. When choosing, it’s important to search for third-party certification and the projects the investments are made in.
Here are a few reputable carbon offset organizations to start the carbon-neutral journey with:
As you can see, even if you can’t actively make changes to your business systems, you can compensate with carbon offsetting! So, really, there’s something for everyone here. Even the biggest companies — including McDonald’s, Microsoft and Samsung — are incorporating sustainability practices into their businesses, and if that’s the case we know the climate crisis is a very dire phenomenon.
Every business has their part to play, whatever their size. By taking account of our individual carbon footprints and taking the steps to shrink them down, we can help slow and hopefully reverse the effects of climate change.
So, what do you plan to do in celebration of Earth Day? Gift your loved ones or employees with some thoughtful carbon offsets, perhaps?
