Everyone has various wish lists for the holiday season. For businesses like yours, sustainability is a wish list that you can slowly achieve. Now that resources used by every business are slowly depleting, it’s time to go down the path to being a sustainable business. Learn more about sustainability and why it is a component in becoming an eco-friendly business beyond the holiday season.
What is sustainability and why it is important
Sustainability is carrying out business operations without damaging the environment and the society. People and businesses survive through using natural resources. It matters especially now that the environment is bearing the brunt of our actions.
By practicing sustainability as a business entity, you’re not compromising the quality of life when making profits. You’re also protecting the people by giving them cleaner air and helping them achieve better health. Your decision to go green with your operations will benefit your business and the people around you.
How to become a sustainable business in the Philippines
Care for the environment while making profit this holiday season and beyond with sustainable these practices:
1. Be firm about your intention
The path to sustainability begins with your decision as the business owner. Understand how sustainability can save your business and stand by the decision you make. Let your employees know about your decision as well. Create a plan for incorporating sustainability in your business operations later on.
2. Use alternative packaging to plastic
Single-use plastic harms the environment, especially marine life. Add to that a worrying 400 million tons of plastic waste produced every year. Do your part by turning to sustainable packaging. Use cardboard boxes, old newspapers, recycled mailers, and compostable mailers in packing your items for shipping. These materials will cost you less in production and shipping fees.
3. Talk to your employees
Your employees know what’s happening in the daily operations and how resources are used. Have them pitch some ideas on how to conserve resources while maintaining the same quality of work and work environment. Their ideas and contributions will surprise you, which will help in creating better policies for your employees.
4. Recycle the recyclables
Computer parts, light bulbs, and paper products are recyclable items inside your office. Implement a recycling program to prevent these materials from occupying the landfills. Partner with a recycling center to give these materials another shot at usability. In turn, you can give employees incentives for their recycling efforts.
5. Conserve water and power
Water and power are two of the most important resources for any business. As much as possible, it’s better to use these two resources in the most efficient way to save money. Buy energy-efficient faucets and appliances to make sure you’re not wasting these resources. Create a set of policies your employees will follow in using water and power.
6. Have a proper disposal method of chemicals
You use chemicals in your business operations in one way or another. Chemicals, when disposed recklessly, can harm the environment in the most damaging way. Switch to green cleaning products and train your employees in disposing chemicals properly to lessen contamination especially on water.
Go green with Oikos Sustainable Solutions
Prioritizing sustainability as a business takes lots of work, but it saves your time, money, and resources. You’re also likely to win more customers in the future with your decision to protect the environment if you’re known as a sustainable business.
Oikos Sustainable Solutions is the first plant-based packaging company in the Philippines. We offer corn and cassava bags purely made from the starch of each crop with additional polymers and natural fats. These products decompose in as early as three to six months without leaving any residue to the environment. Know more about our products here.
