Simple and Easy Ways to Make Your Business More Environmentally Friendly in 2023

The world cannot afford for businesses to continue operating as they were. Every company needs to rethink the materials they use, the supply chains they participate in, and the overall cycle of the products or processes that they are currently producing. There are smarter ways to do business, and in many cases, the answer to being more sustainable is ultimately more cost-effective in the long run.

However, you don’t need to overhaul your business operations immediately completely. What you do need to do today is get started with auditing your business and creating a roadmap towards a more circular, sustainable operation. A few of the key areas you’ll want to focus on include:

1.   Materials

Every business has materials. Your team may use these materials directly to work, or they may be a key part of the manufacturing process that your entire business is built around. Regardless, you need to vet through and find a more sustainable alternative to your business’s materials. In manufacturing, for example, you can switch to a water soluble polymer that’s non-toxic and biocompatible.

Simple switches like this can actually end up saving you money. You may require less material overall to accomplish the same job. You may be able to invest in a reusable option that has a lower cost-per-use than your current solution.

2.   Energy

Many manufacturing processes are energy-intensive, but there are also many ways to reduce that usage and the cost that comes with it. The first is to reuse water. Many heavy-duty operations require ongoing cooling to work efficiently. You can create a closed-loop system that requires less work by recapturing the water produced in the cooling process. Investing in new technologies or new solutions is also a good idea. This can range from investing in solar panels to even just switching energy providers to ones that come from sustainable sources.

3.   Waste

Waste should be minimized from the outset, sorted for proper recycling, and considered more than just a cost. If sorted and properly prepped, you can sell on your waste to recycling companies or new manufacturing companies who have designed a waste-based material.

4.   Emissions

Emissions are another key factor that will impact your business’s sustainability. The first step to reducing these emissions is to calculate them properly. From there, work on minimizing your operations’ emissions at the source. This could be done by using a carbon-capture technology that, at minimum, keeps the heavy toxins out of the air. The other simple solution is to offset your emissions by planting trees or investing in organizations geared toward improving the health of forests, mangroves, and oceans.

5.   Circularity

Circularity is a design principle first and foremost. Start working out how you can design your products beyond the sale. This means investing in how they can be recycled and used again. Currently, this will usually mean having some sort of buy-back program. You will also likely need to use single-source materials. In fashion, producing products made of cotton means that cotton can be reprocessed and used again.