Business growth, yes, but not at any cost. Running a green business is no easy task, as you often need to put the environment first. It can lead to passing on practical but not sustainable opportunities that would have produced growth. It is a delicate balance to keep your green business afloat! Yet, with a little bit of strategic thinking, nothing is impossible.
Are you unsure how to bring your business to the next level in a sustainability-focused strategy? These little tips will provide some guidance to move forward along the green path.
Are you utilising all the available green suppliers?
Green cleaning products? Check. Green energy supplier? Check. Green materials? Check. Green Internet? Wait, what is green Internet? You may think that digitising your processes to prevent paper waste is enough to reduce your environmental impact. However, not all website hosts are the same. Indeed, 2% of global carbon emissions are linked to the energy required to operate the telecom and hosting centre infrastructures for the Internet. It’s worth exploring the benefits of green hosting for your site. Don’t hesitate to take the time to compare hosts to ensure that your website will remain accessible and user-friendly at all times. You don’t want to switch to a green host and lose half your traffic in the process! A more effective website host is instrumental in attracting traffic, boosting your ranking, and promoting brand awareness.
Take the guesswork out of the equation
What do you need to do to become more sustainable while promoting growth? The answer is simple in theory: Reducing waste across your business will help maintain your green profile and improve your capital without worrying about additional investment (it’s a bonus for small businesses working with a limited budget). Except that wastes may not be as obvious as you think. Working with an expert such as The Oakland Group can provide valuable insights into your operations and processes. Indeed, the data consultancy agency can help identify opportunities based on data collection and analysis. They can provide solutions to improve your operations, which can reduce waste and, therefore, promote money-saving and sustainable approaches.
Seek funds for sustainable improvements
As a small green business, it’s understandable that sustainability is a constant source of worry. Being sustainable comes at a high cost for companies. Yet, when the budget is limited, you may be forced to maintain lesser sustainable operations until you can afford a better and greener solution. However, local and national governments are supporting green projects for companies of all sizes. Green grants and loans can help finance essential improvements to improve your business efficiency and sustainability.
How do sustainable building and operation investments support growth? They can provide different sources of income by saving by reducing waste and productivity by increasing the generated output.
In conclusion, growing your green business can be challenging when you’re working with a small budget. However, it’s worth noting that green strategies can directly affect your business reputation, productivity, and revenues. With sustainable growth, the secret is to aim for a steady pace rather than rushing through the process!
You might also enjoy reading…
Taking inspiration from nature, the circular economy is a series of interconnecting systems that make everyday life more sustainable. Plus, we can all be part of it.
In this handy book, Claire Potter helps explain what the circular economy is, how we as individuals fit into a bigger landscape, how we can demand more of brands, corporations and governments – and how all the decisions we make in business and in our daily lives- really do make a difference.
Photography by Anna Oliinyk
