Sustainability is no longer a buzzword but a vital ethos shaping corporate decisions. As companies increasingly prioritize eco-conscious practices to meet both environmental and consumer demands, other businesses are wondering how they can undertake a commitment to being eco-friendly.
Below, 17 Forbes Business Council members share the success stories of businesses that have not just embraced the green movement but have a specific initiative they proudly champion. From innovative recycling programs to energy-efficient transformations, discover the inspiring ways businesses are making a positive impact on the planet and how these initiatives were seamlessly integrated into their operations.
1. Create Regenerative Supply Chains
We have created many economically lucrative regenerative supply chains (with measurable impact) in developing parts of the world. Being sustainable is not a solution in many sectors, so we need regenerative processes with long-term economic viability. – Amit Hooda, Secteur 6
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2. Track And Measure Carbon Footprint
As content creators, we are taking steps both on and off-screen to become a purpose-led, people-first and net-positive company. One initiative we have undertaken is a partnership with Watershed to track and measure our carbon footprint, including usage on our animation productions. This allows us to learn, maintain accountability, identify ways to reduce our emissions and impact real change. – Jennifer Twiner McCarron, Thunderbird Entertainment Group
3. Conduct Energy Efficiency Audits
One initiative that we have undertaken is conducting energy efficiency audits once every three months to see if there are any areas where we could reduce our energy bill and overall carbon footprint. These audits have often helped us change office equipment, use better sustainable lighting and adopt new and emerging green technology for our benefit. – Erik Pham, Health Canal
4. Transition To A Paperless Office
One initiative we’re proud of in our company’s sustainability efforts is our transition to a paperless office environment. To implement this, we digitized our document management processes, encouraging employees to use electronic formats for communication, documentation and record-keeping. This streamlined our operations and contributed to our environmental sustainability goals. – Brittany Harrer Dolin, The Pocketbook Agency
5. Use Digital Business Cards
Our company has a digital business card solution that we use to greet potential customers and clients. Traditional business cards lead to the destruction of millions of trees annually while digital business cards require zero paper production and printing. We create, manage and distribute digital business cards virtually, allowing us to leave a zero carbon footprint in our networking. – Sharat Potharaju, Beaconstac
6. Utilize Recycled HDPE Plastic
We switched suppliers for our top-grossing product. Our new supplier builds from post-consumer HDPE plastic. The manufacturer of this product annually diverts 15,000 tons of recycled HDPE plastic from landfills using a process that produces minimal greenhouse gases. That’s equal to 210 million plastic bottles annually. This helps reduce deforestation, toxic exposures and landfill pile-up! – Andrew Swierkos, The Mountain Shoppe
7. Reduce Single-Use Plastic
Our company reduced the use of single-use plastic. We noticed that the majority of our team was drinking single-use water bottles. We simply gave people stipends to buy a Hydro Flask of their choosing and installed water bottle filling stations in the office. To date, we have saved thousands of water bottles from ending up in landfills. It was simple but effective. – Greg Welborn, First Financial Consulting
8. Recycle Everything You Can
We recycle everything and have product and disposable acquisition initiatives that reduce the need to recycle. Our mantra is to reduce the need on the frontend and recycle 100% on the back end. – Daniel Astin, Ciardi Ciardi & Astin
9. Fuel ‘Human Sustainability’
“Going green” is one dimension of sustainability. We have chosen to focus on building the conditions to fuel “human sustainability” or the long-term well-being of individuals, organizations, the planet and society. We have stopped thinking short term and now base all decisions on the long-term positive impact we can have on the larger ecosystem, which includes human well-being. – Andreea Vanacker, One Million Years Of Joy
10. Invest In Green Technology
One of the initiatives we are proud of is our contribution to offset programs to neutralize 24.97 tons of CO2 in 2023. In addition, we are investing in green technology by using high-quality rechargeable batteries from companies that are sensitive to green policies. We are also trying to choose the shortest connections while working globally to further limit our impact on the environment. – Luca Rovinalti, Svet Solutions Media
11. Use Team Messaging To Reduce Reliance On Paper
We went 99% paperless. With the advent of Teams and other tools, everything can be done without paper. While we still have printers and provide handouts at certain times, most of our internal and external work is electronic through Teams. We do not send internal emails to each other except as a last resort. Teams messaging has been the easiest and most efficient while reducing our reliance on paper. – Joe Crandall, Greencastle Associates Consulting
12. Focus On Long-Term Sustainable Value
The most important sustainability issue that any business must address is the sustainability of the solutions that it provides to customers. If these solutions cannot be maintained for the long term, all the virtue signaling in the world will fail to bring any real value to the customer. When a business fails to consistently bring value to customers, that business is no longer sustainable. – ‘Smitty’ Robert J. Smith, Robert J. Smith Productions
13. Implement A Digital-First Policy
We’ve implemented a digital-first policy, significantly reducing paper usage. We transitioned to digital invoices, contracts and reports. It required training staff but it’s been worth it for our planet. – Tomas Keenan, Step It Up Academy
14. Establish Defined Goals And Deliverables
The initial step in adopting eco-friendly practices is to assess your organization’s environmental impact and evaluate how it compares to industry standards. The next step is to establish long-term organizational objectives, accompanied by specific milestones and deliverables. With a clearly defined direction, achieving positive environmental outcomes becomes an intuitive process for all involved. – Denys Grabchak, Performetry
15. Reduce Printing, Postage And Fuel Costs
We use technology to “go green.” For example, we use texts and emails to communicate with our clients instead of sending paper statements and invoices. We also use software and cameras that allow us to run our facilities while reducing fuel consumption. It sounds simple, but we spend less time and money printing invoices, agreements and other documents, in addition to reducing our costs for postage and fuel. – Chris Clear, Clear Storage Group, LLC
16. Reduce Office Use
We eliminated our office for everything but team meetings. Our crowded metropolitan area has difficult commutes. By centralizing our communications in Teams, we have eliminated over 90% of local travel and improved the work-life of our team members. – Ray Rasmussen, rGen Consulting
17. Use Natural Ventilation In Buildings
Most of the investments I make are in the real estate sector. Sustainability has a huge role here. For example, the use of natural ventilation and illumination in the design of a building minimizes the use of air conditioning and lighting. Building properties in new areas allows businesses and employees to have shorter commutes to minimize gas use. – Zain Jaffer, Zain Ventures
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