It is not an easy task to be a sustainable and eco-friendly business at the same time. It can be achieved slowly and the rate of sustainability a company wants can be found when there will be an alternative in the market. Reduction in the production of material does not always achieve eco-friendliness. This will only happen when a company’s supply chain will produce zero carbon emissions.
A company irrespective of its size can impact the environment and cause crises locally and globally. However, consumers are getting more conscious and aware of the climatic crisis. This is why the businesses are leaning towards sustainability and green practices to respect consumers’ sentiment towards the environment.
The availability of eco-friendly alternatives in the market can help in developing purchasing habits for consumers. With the increasing population, the load for feeding the extra population will also increase. In this situation, eco-friendly habits will come to the rescue in this crisis.
A Step Towards Net Zero
At first, any business regardless of its magnitude needs to know the current state of the business and analyze the amount of carbon footprint it is creating. The measurements are needed to be taken to understand the impact the business is causing in a quantitative (data) and qualitative (logical) way.
After analysis, the data will guide the business to focus and solve the problem in the area where it is impacting the environment the most. Some of the areas that are needed to be considered are as follows:
- Green transportation
- Consumption of green energy
- Supplying organic raw materials
- Usage of water
- Proper disposal of waste product
- Digitalization of the supply chain
- Implementing Recycle, reuse, reduce model
- Packaging
It is essential for a business to be eco-friendly and should make an effort to confront the flaws and make a change to implement sustainability. Some of the efforts for a business to achieve net-zero are as follows:
Promote Sustainability to Employees and Consumers: A business can influence a habit and the lifestyle of the public. Businesses should take a stand and promote sustainability, encouraging the employees and customers to benefit from recycling. With this stance, it can make a great change in society.
A business generates waste material that gets accumulated and gets dumped in landfills leading to soil pollution. The more business gets sustainable the public becomes more environmentally aware and has a positive impact on the ecosystem.
Careful Procurement: Eco friendly businesses that are aiming to run their business sustainably must opt ethical and efficient approach to meet the goal of becoming an eco-friendly company. The products should be purchased locally. In this way, the emission from transportation can be reduced. All the processes including purchasing raw materials to supplying finished products should be handled sustainably.
Reduce Water Wastage: Water is a finite natural resource and should be preserved from getting depleted. All the major companies need water as their basic need. Inside the company’s premises, water should be conserved, and problems must be fixed that are leading to water wastage.
Install pressure washers for cleaning purposes, plumbing, use of drip irrigation, and fixing leaking taps, are some of the ways to conserve water.
Use of Renewable Source of Energy: All the appliances used in the offices and industries are powered by fossil fuels causing a carbon footprint. To reduce carbon footprint, use renewable sources of energy in the workplace to achieve net-zero. Renewable power includes solar energy, wind energy, hydropower, etc.
Promote Green Transportation: Transportation of goods and services is an integral part of the business and it is also an important part of the company’s supply chain. To reduce carbon emission through transportation employees should be provided public transport service, CNG must be used, and use of the electrical vehicles must be encouraged to achieve net-zero.
