Sustainability tips to ensure a green business approach

• Understand your impact – what affect does your business have on the environment and society? Tailor sustainability plans around these aspects and use online tools to help. Business Link has some excellent guides for small businesses
• Think partnerships – team up with suppliers, customers, outsourcing partners etc to adopt a eco-friendly approach. Other organisations can be a great source of knowledge and resource. You could also switch to suppliers to support those that openly endorse sustainability
• Be passionate – whoever is leading the strategy should have passion and enthusiasm for the implementation. Staff won’t be motivated unless others within the organisation are. Utilise your internal communications and provide staff with easy access to top tips and advice
• Look for easy wins – examine where you can improve quickly to fit in with an environmental approach and provide an immediate return. Reducing paper by automating document processes is one example of this
• Eliminate unnecessary activities – can invoices be automated and handled electronically? Can that face-to-face meeting be replaced by a conference call?
• Make sure proposed improvements will deliver both economic and environmental benefits – quantifiable benefits are an essential requirement in any green strategy
• Printing, copying, storing, mailing and disposing of paper can exceed the initial price by as much as ten times so make sure simple practices such as printing double sided, using recycled paper and only printing when necessary are followed
• Search for local suppliers in your area – the more you can use suppliers who are local to your business, the less travelling they have to do, the less energy will be wasted

By John Elkington - Managing Director of Esker, Northern Europe

Read full article: http://mybusiness.co.uk/YcMa1s5oRI5jag.html

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