We face a world full of serious environmental concerns that are getting worse as the years go by. Steps must be taken to avoid a climate catastrophe, and the onus is on businesses and corporations to step up and assume responsibility.
As a result, we’re seeing the emergence of sustainable startups, though conventional businesses can still do a lot to shift things. It’s all about implementing the three core pillars of sustainability throughout your organization. We’ll review how to do this in the article below, providing examples of how companies are already making changes.
Reduce
The first step on the sustainability pyramid is to reduce waste. A reduction of waste puts less pressure on landfill sites, meaning fewer carbon emissions are released. One simple way a business can reduce waste is by improving its procurement process. Understand how much stuff your company needs before you place orders for things. This means you get what you need without having excess materials or things that get thrown away.
Another idea is to follow what a lot of sustainable construction companies are doing and approach things from a bespoke perspective. Making things to the client’s specifications means these companies only order and use resources when the project is agreed upon. It dramatically reduces waste materials.
Reuse
When you can’t reduce waste, you should think about reusing it. How can a company take waste and find a new purpose for it? An excellent example is to look at pottery studios with loads of clay waste. If you learn about pugmills, you’ll find that these special machines take old clay and repurpose it for other solutions. This can include sending the clay to construction sites or rock quarries. Instead of throwing the waste clay away, it has a new lease of life.
Other examples are tech companies like Apple which encourage customers to trade in their old devices. When these devices are sent back to the company, they can either sell them on the second-hand market or take apart broken devices to reuse vital materials inside. Look at the waste your business creates and consider how it could be reused for other business purposes.
Recycle
Recycling is the final step – if you can’t reuse waste, it should be recycled. Every company must implement a strict recycling policy throughout its ranks. Casual waste should be recycled – like plastic bottles, paper, cardboard packing boxes, and so on. Large types of waste should also be recycled if they can’t be reused.
Of course, not everything can be recycled. You will find things that must be thrown away, and that’s okay. It all comes back to the first pillar of sustainability: reducing the overall amount of waste produced. If you’re trying hard to reuse and recycle as much as possible, you’ll always end up with less waste.
When viewed like this, sustainability sounds so simple. Businesses across the country (and the world) could be doing a lot more to help the planet. If you run a company and want it to take great strides towards sustainability, make sure you implement the three pillars shown in this guide.
