TO RUN YOUR BUSINESS SUSTAINABLY

Written by Simon Taylor from Tesseract Management Consulting Limited

We all know that it’s never been more important to run your business in an environmentally-responsible way. But, chances are, that’s not your area of expertise.

Fire up the Google machine, and you’ll find an array of ‘scope 1/2/3 emissions’, ‘GHG’s, ‘CO2e’s, and the quiet dread that if you put a foot wrong, social media will rain righteous green anger down on you faster than you can say “Ozone layer”.

It’s true that there’s some jargon, but speaking a common language is important to make sure we don’t conflate similar concepts, and it’s easily demystified. For example, when you measure your carbon footprint, this means calculating the greenhouse gasses (GHG) you produce, directly and indirectly, to run your business. The unit of measure used is carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e). Different modes of transport, for example, produce different levels of CO2e per mile.

The good news is that the principles to run a sustainable business are pretty straightforward. Follow these tips, and you’re already a significant way towards operating in an environmentally friendly way:

1. Don’t do it alone. Saving the planet is a race we all win or lose together, and the internet is simply teeming with knowledgeable people giving away good advice for free. Follow people like Jan Rosenow, Laura Gelder-Robertson, Sarah Blanchard and Sophia Kianni on LinkedIn.

2. Get your team behind you. If your team are passionate about doing the right thing, then you’re already off to a flying start. Inspiring change without buy-in is a much harder task.

3. Focus on the benefits. Nobody likes making their own life harder. Reducing your carbon often involves reducing waste – which means saving yourself cash and working more efficiently. This is a win-win project, not a list of sacrifices.

4. Measure what you do. To get started, simply take stock of the facts. What does your business buy? What does it does it do? How much energy and water does it consume? Take into account this might peak during your busier seasons.

5. Make educated guesses. If you can’t be accurate about it, then make an educated guess. Your printer doesn’t report how much you’ve printed? Calculate how much paper you buy. Your office doesn’t have its own electricity meter? Ask your facilities manager for the meter reading for your floor or building, and calculate your proportion based on the square footage you occupy. It’s okay if you simply don’t have access to the specific data, so long as you make reasonable assumptions based on what you can get your hands on.

6. Calculate your footprint. For everything you listed, calculate the cost in carbon. Normative.io and CarbonFootprint.com have produced free online calculators.

7. Set a target. Once you know where you’re starting from, set yourself a target for how much to reduce your emissions by, and by when. ISO encourages the bare minimum to be a 50% reduction by 2030 (based on your 2018 levels) and net zero by 2050. If you can do more, faster, then you should. Countries and industries which have historically produced more carbon should also expect go further, faster to lessen the load on smaller contributors.

8. Ditch what you don’t need. The best way to reduce your carbon footprint is not to produce carbon in the first place. Do you leave anything switched on when it’s not in use, or overnight? Do you overbuy fruit or milk that always gets thrown away? Are your lights on in areas of the building that aren’t in use? Get rid of what you don’t need. Side benefit: you saved yourself money!

9. Get what you need sustainably. Make sustainable buying choices wherever you can. Using recycled paper in your printer is less harmful than fresh virgin paper; buying local produce is less harmful than produce shipped from abroad. Organisations like Small99 are a great way of identifying sustainable suppliers for just about anything you need, which makes research a piece of (locally sourced, sustainably produced) cake.

10. Set out policies for sustainable operations. Document how you could operate in a more sustainable way: choosing sustainable suppliers, using video conferencing to reduce travel, buying refurbished IT equipment instead of brand new. Side benefit: you saved even more money!

11. Help your team. If your team commute to work, can you offer subsidised public transport tickets? If they work from home, could you offer a cash incentive to anyone who switches to a renewable energy provider?

12. Improve your processes. Every email carries a carbon cost. Is every automated email necessary? Every attachment? Every recipient? Repeating processes because of mistakes often increases the carbon cost of the processes, whether through computerised processing or physical material. Streamline your processes and reduce the most common mistakes. Side benefit: you saved even more money by increasing productivity.

13. Review your website. Discover, and improve, the carbon footprint associated with loading your website. You can use WebsiteCarbon.com or GreenPixie.com to do this for free.

14. Dispose of waste responsibly. After cutting what you don’t need, then sourcing and using what you do need responsibly, you should have less waste. Repurposing your waste instead of throwing it away is what makes up the ‘circular economy’ where, as society, we produce little to no waste at all. Organisations like WRAP help repurpose waste food, drink, textiles and plastic packaging to avoid it going to landfill.

15. Remove what’s left. Once you’ve done everything possible to make your footprint the smallest it can be, remove the residual carbon with reputable organisations like Ecologi. They will plant trees and remove carbon on your behalf – and you can reduce your footprint to being a negative number!

16. Inspire. ‘Greenhushing’ is as dangerous as ‘greenwashing’. Talk about what you’re doing. Your actions may inspire someone else to do the same. If others share their stories, you can learn from them too. It’s not boasting to play your part in saving the planet.

Pest control is an essential aspect of maintaining a healthy and safe environment in commercial businesses. Whether it's a restaurant, hotel, or office building, pests can wreak havoc on the infrastructure, damage equipment, and pose health hazards to employees and customers alike. In this article, we will discuss the benefits of using pest control for commercial businesses.

Protect Your Reputation

Commercial businesses rely heavily on their reputation to attract and retain customers. Pests can damage your reputation quickly, especially if a customer spots a rodent or insect in your establishment. Word of mouth spreads quickly, and negative reviews online can be detrimental to your business. Hiring a pest control company can help prevent pest infestations from occurring in the first place, ensuring your customers have a positive experience and maintain a good impression of your business.

Health and Safety

Pests pose a significant health and safety risk to employees and customers. Rodents and insects can carry harmful diseases and bacteria that can cause illnesses such as salmonella, E. coli, and leptospirosis. Additionally, pests can trigger allergies and asthma, particularly in sensitive individuals. There is also the risk of slips, trips and falls due to guano otherwise known as bird poop on the floor. There is also the transmission of avian flu which is a concern within the industry right now. A professional pest control company can identify potential risks and implement preventative measures to ensure your business remains safe and healthy for everyone.

Protect Your Property

Pests can cause significant damage to your property, including structural damage, electrical damage, and damage to equipment. Rodents can chew through electrical wiring, creating a fire hazard. Additionally, Bedbugs are