How Your Business Can Reduce Its Carbon Footprint

We are not strangers to the concept of global warming anymore. We cannot overemphasize our ability to push environmental sustainability further. As climates worldwide continue to increase, business executives must monitor their operations to limit their carbon footprint. 

According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, industry, commercial facilities, and agro-business generated 48% of all greenhouse gas emissions in 2020. We have an apparent problem when you factor in the 27% from transportation and 25% from electricity production. According to reports, if current concerns are left unchecked, CO2 emissions might hit 43.08 billion metric tons by 2050. 

So, how can your business reduce its carbon footprint, promoting our planet’s sustainability? We discuss them below: 

Recycle Products

Recycling is one of the effective ways your business can lower its carbon footprint. Why? Simply put, when you recycle, you reduce the amount of waste. More so, you reduce the number of raw materials sourced to create new products. As a business, your positive effect through recycling can massively outweigh that of the individual. 

For instance, recycling a single tin can save enough energy to power a laptop for 5.22 hours. Recycling a ton of paper can prevent 17 trees from being cut off, as well as 380 gallons of oil, 4,000kWh, and 7,000 gallons of water. 

Incorporating recycling measures into your workplace will foster a greener culture. These measures and habits can be passed on to your workers, who will do the same in their respective homes. 

According to a 2019 study, 73% of office workers want their workplace to improve its environmental sustainability efforts. More so, 24% of workers said they would not work for an organization with poor sustainability records.

Switch to Virtual Meetings and Events

Before the pandemic, virtual meetings and events were much rarer. As industries adjusted to lockdown protocols, businesses adopted virtual meetings as the norm. With the pandemic over, that practice should not fade from memory. 

Traveling long distances for conferences and meetings contributes a considerable chunk of CO2 emissions and greenhouse gases. As a business executive, you can consider if such meetings must be in person or could be online. 

Virtual platforms like Zoom, Skype, Slack, Facebook Rooms, and Microsoft Teams will significantly lower travel expenses and commute times. 

Use Public Transport for Business Trips

If business trips, events, or conferences have to be in person, you can opt for public transport. Public transport to business events is eco-friendly as personal trips add to the cumulative emissions of general transportation. 

Car sharing can also be a recommendation if the destination is the same. 

Buy High-Quality, Used Office Equipment

Buying used office equipment and furniture is an easy way to save your business money and lower your carbon footprint. It is clear that by recycling and reusing products, we reduce the demand for raw resources and stop their depletion.

There are used office equipment and furniture in perfect shape at a fraction of their new price. This equipment might be cheaper than some of the new mid-range ones. 

You should also consider sustainably sourced or recycled office equipment, such as polypropylene bamboo desks or canteen chairs. 

Patronize Sustainable Vendors

Another way to reduce your business’s carbon footprint is to patronize sustainable suppliers and vendors. If you plan to make your business greener but support those who are not environmentally conscious, you are indirectly promoting pollution and global warming. 

One of the determining factors in choosing suppliers is the ISO 14001 certification, which brings us to the next point:

Get the Edenark ISO 14001 Certification

Your business needs to be ESG (environmental, social, and corporate governance) compliant to lower your carbon emissions. The best way to achieve that is to get the ISO 14001 Certification from Edenark Group. 

ISO 14001 is an internationally accepted standard for incorporating an environmental management system (EMS) for any business or organization. This ISO standard creates a comprehensive framework for businesses to develop and maintain sustainable goals. 

There are several benefits to getting the Edenark ISO 14001 Certification for your business, which include: 

• Promote Compliance with Regulatory Agencies. One of the benefits of the certification is that it helps you stay compliant with environmental regulatory agencies. 
• Competitive Advantage. Your business is correctly positioned for competitive dominance with the certification. According to a McKinsey study, sustainable companies are +47% more valuable and generate +34% in returns compared to those who are not. 
• Attract Top Talents. Sustainable businesses attract the best employees. According to a report, Millennials, who will make up 75% of the global workforce, will not work for any company that is not environmentally sustainable. With the Edenark ISO 14001 certification, you can secure the best workers. 
• Establish Great Relationships with Investors and Customers. The Edenark ISO 14001 Certification places you in excellent standings with potential investors and customers who are sustainably conscious. 
• Global Market Penetration. The certification is regarded as an EMS standard on a global scale. So, if you’re considering making your company known to a worldwide clientele, you need this certification.

Other benefits include:

• Incorporating your business in a framework with over 300k organizations
• Experiencing lower operating costs
• Becoming carbon neutral

Register with UCapture

UCapture is an innovative platform that donates carbon offsets to your business when you shop at over 30,000 online stores. They have helped users offset over 47 million Kg of carbon emission – which is equivalent to growing 1.2 million trees, or preventing 5.3 million gallons of gasoline from being burned.

Using UCapture is free and easy. First, register your company for a UCapture program at www.ucapture.com/business. Then get your employees to install the UCapture Rewards browser extension on your computers (or have your IT administrator do so). That’s it – just set it and forget it! Next, when you shop with their online partners UCapture will donate carbon offsets to your corporate total, which you can track in real-time on UCapture’s Company Leaderboards.

UCapture has partnered with tons of online stores that may be relevant for your corporate purchases – including Hotels.com, GoDaddy, AliExpress, Target, Walmart, Verizon and thousands more. Also, UCapture can save you money as their technology automatically applies coupon codes for you during the checkout process!

Conclusion

Being environmentally conscious can also be good for your business, as discussed in a previous article, How to Grow Your Business Faster and Greener. By becoming ESG compliant and practicing corporate social responsibility (CSR), you attract top talent, reduce environmental waste, and have a leg up on your competitors. And working with our partners at UCapture is a great way to do so. You can sign up by installing a browser extension here and start reducing your carbon footprint today! If you have any questions about ESG, CSR, or UCapture please do not hesitate to reach out!

Expense To Profit is a leading expense reduction consultancy tasked with helping businesses to reduce their operating costs while increasing their profit margins. We can help you achieve your business’ long- and short-term financial goals. 

Call today for a free consultation and expense reduction analysis.