5 eco-friendly tips for businesses

More and more, we are making choices in our personal lives to reduce our ecological footprint. We consume less, we reduce our car travel, we compost, etc. At home, in some cases, it’s easier to adopt an eco-responsible lifestyle, or at least more accessible. However, when it comes time to transpose our good intentions to our work, we often don’t know where to start or even what to prioritize in terms of actions. Being often immersed in the search for new initiatives to improve the environmental impact of the companies I collaborate with, I decided to list 5 concrete tips that will allow you, whether as an employee or manager, to improve the environmental impact of your company.

1. Measure and define the sources of pollution of the company.

As one of my former colleagues at Workleap (formerly GSoft) used to say: Measure and evaluate before acting! In other words, before asking questions such as: should I compost or eliminate air travel, it is first essential to measure and evaluate what the major sources of pollution are within the company. It is crucial to perform this task upfront to avoid addressing cute and easy-to-solve issues that unfortunately do not have a real impact on the company’s ecological footprint.

Take this opportunity to put in place a clear strategy regarding the actions you will take. Don’t hesitate to link performance indicators (KPIs) for each of the initiatives you will implement to be able to evaluate the real impact of each and improve it over time.

2. Opt for eco-responsible promotional items

Offering gifts bearing the company’s logo is always a good way to retain customers or even promote the brand. This marketing technique has been around for several years, but unfortunately, it constitutes a source of pollution in itself. Pens, USB sticks, or even t-shirts made in China often find refuge in a box forgotten under another box. These items are not used and, in most cases, do not necessarily represent the company’s values.

The solution is not to stop offering promotional items, but rather to buy fewer from local companies that encourage the use of eco-responsible and local materials. Kotmo, a certified B Corp, and Alterna Éco-Solutions are excellent options for purchasing various items that will certainly align with your values.

3. Reduce your transport

Today we are fortunate to enjoy incredible technological advances. Facetimes allow anyone wanting to communicate to do so without emitting greenhouse gases through transport. Indeed, I am aware that some meetings need to happen as in the good old days, that is, face to face without technological material. However, I suggest you list your meetings for the next month and identify if each of them requires travel. You will likely find that this is not the case. If you do need to travel, take the time to evaluate the different options available to you. If the situation allows, prioritize public transport or even the train for travel outside urban centers.

As for business trips that need to be done by plane, compensate for your carbon emissions with companies such as Solutions Will (B Corp certified) or Planetair. The amounts paid as part of carbon compensation will allow you to invest in renewable energy projects, energy efficiency, or reforestation.

Finally, encourage regular telecommuting. Suggest to the entire team to work from home a few times during their work week. In addition to drastically reducing emitted carbon emissions, this measure can allow for a better work-family balance and, among some employees, an increase in efficiency.

4. Implement sorting stations to facilitate waste management

From experience, if a banana peel ends up in the trash while the company composts, it may be because the sorting stations are not accessible enough. Often, people are hurried and do not take the time to make the healthy walk to deposit their organic materials in the compost. This is why I suggest you install sorting stations with 3 compartments (recycling, compost, and waste) to ensure they are accessible to everyone. Additionally, to avoid confusion for some, take the time to label which compartment each material should go into. To create this list or even implement a composting system in your company, if not done yet, I invite you to refer to Compost Montréal.

5. Avoid single-use containers (at all times)

This may not come as a surprise to many of you. Avoiding single-use containers on a daily basis is not on the list of insurmountable challenges, I acknowledge. However, try to apply this eco-responsible approach to all your events. Whether it’s your Christmas party or an event offered to your clients, opt for porcelain or compostable dishware and for washable or compostable utensils. Furthermore, prioritize reusable or compostable supplies over anything recyclable. And finally, opt for a local caterer with a social mission, such as Les Filles Fattoush. Supporting local companies is not only a way to help your local community thrive but also to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transportation.

Last Tips

Don’t forget to include your team in this process. In other words, if necessary, create an environmental committee whose mission will be to establish a strategy and orchestrate initiatives that will enhance the environmental impact of your company.

Also, be sure to share results with employees. If you want them to support the initiatives you present, they need to be aware of the results that come from them. For example, if you implement initiatives to reduce air travel during business trips, share the amount of greenhouse gases that were not emitted. This way, employees will be motivated to continue in the right direction.

Hoping that these concrete solutions can assist you in implementing your eco-responsible action plan. If you would like further advice, don’t hesitate to come and chat with us!

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Article written by Thomas, B Corp Consultant (he/him)