How can you find success in business when your practices are killing the earth? According to a new IEA analysis of the most recent data from around the world, CO2 emissions are on track to rise by nearly 300 million tonnes in 2022 to 33.8 billion tonnes. In the Philippines, the world bank reported that the country generates  2.7 million tons of plastic waste annually and 20% of it ends up in the ocean.

In a world where the environment is under attack from increased pollution, climate change, and acidification, it’s more important than ever to find ways to minimize our impact on nature. Let us break the common misconception that when you are running a business it would be difficult to be sustainable.

If you’re looking for new ways to reduce your environmental impact, here are 5 amazing eco-friendly practices that you could try out in your business.

1. Choose suppliers of your products that practice sustainability.

When choosing a supplier of products or the raw materials sellers use to create products what they always consider is its quality and price. Aside from these two important factors, as a business owner, you should also consider if the supplier practices are sustainable. 

You must check if the supplier adheres to environmental laws, and does not have any records of breaking laws concerning the environment in his or her business. You must also see or ask what’s their product resource use, if they are using any hazardous materials and the number of packages it uses.

These are important things to ask because they will determine if the products you are selling are safe for your customers and do not leave many carbon footprints. Besides environmental benefits, sustainable sourcing also produces a cost-efficient product supply for you for it saves energy usage and will increase your brand value as you follow United Nation’s Sustainable development goals.

2. Resort to paperless billings in your orders.

Billings are significant in business, it records every transaction, provide your customers with transparency, and are used for tracking inventory. However, in traditional business doing this can be very costly, you have to buy a receipt printer, ink, and paper to use for it. 

Apart from paper billing being costly, Dental product reports that it is responsible for 10 percent of cut-down trees worldwide. It also adds landfill waste when the papers are not recycled. This is why it is important to find an alternative for this and that is through paperless billings or electronic receipts.

In paperless billings, you will only need a template of your receipt and an email to send to your customers. It will not only lessen your expenses but also contributes to reducing waste.

3. Make Eco-friendly Practices a habit in your business place.

It is not only in materials that you can aim for sustainability, in your daily operations you can also seek Eco-friendly practices. The 3Rs or the reduce, reuse, and recycle will never be cliché.  Practicing these three will let your business contribute to the conservation of limited resources for the future and cut down on the quantity of waste that ends up in landfills.

You can reduce by lessening the usage of disposable things like paper cups, plates, spoons and forks instead use ceramic alternatives. In reusing, those things that can be still used again should not be thrown away like boxes, rather than throwing them, you can fold them and keep them until they will be useful again. Likewise, for the printed papers that you do not use anymore, you can use the empty back of the paper to print some files again. 

Further, you can opt to recycle different things that are still useful instead of discarding them in trash cans. There are recycling centers and junk shops that you can contact to send these materials. You can bring them to Green Antz Builders, The Plastic Flamingo, My Basurero, and more.

4. Go for sustainable packaging.

Packaging is vital in business. Good packaging does not only encourage your customers to buy, but it also protects your products throughout the shipping process. That is why sellers use thick packaging materials like bubble wrap to secure orders. This is understandable but we still need to consider packaging that will not only protect our goods but our planet too.

There are a lot of eco-friendly practices for your packaging these strategies include using corrugated cardboard and other types of paper-based packaging that can still be repurposed. Instead of using bubble wraps, you can use honeycomb kraft paper, cardboard, molded pulp, biodegradable packing peanuts, suspension, and retention packaging.

Moreover, you can provide your customers with a return program for your used product containers. You can share with them a note about best practices in disposing and recycling their packages too.

5. Save energy and water consumption.

Having a business uses a lot of electricity and water leading to high electricity and water bills. On one hand, despite the demand for the usage of these two during operation hours, you can still find ways to lessen your usage which will decrease bill charges and contribute well to the environment.

Saving electricity will lessen the demand for fossil fuels and lower carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. You can do it by choosing to use renewable energy like installing solar panels, changing incandescent light bulbs with LED fixtures and light, using energy-efficient office equipment, and taking advantage of natural light and proper insulation in your workplace.

Meanwhile, saving water consumption will not only lessen your water bills but also reduces water flows in the gutter that pollute the environment. You will help in preventing water scarcity and improving drinking water quality. To achieve this, you can enhance your water system maintenance, practice daily water-saving techniques, you can also choose to install basic or advanced water-efficient technologies, and have Water recycling and water reuse practices.

As a business owner, it’s important to be conscious of your impact on the environment. Luckily, there are many easy ways to make your business more eco-friendly. From using recycled materials to investing in renewable energy, there are plenty of options available to help you green up your business.

Eco-Friendly Online Store

Eco-friendly practices are not only good for the environment, but they can also be good for your business. By implementing some of these practices, you can save money, increase efficiency, and improve your company’s image.

Maynakem is a free e-commerce platform that also gives significance to sustainable business practices. It can help you process your business transactions in an eco-friendly way. Start today!