Small businesses are the backbone of the global economy. That is why they play an essential role in creating a sustainable future. Buying habits have also changed to prioritize sustainability. 60 percent of global consumers rate sustainability as an important purchase criterion. Investing in sustainability projects can benefit small businesses in many ways, from reduced costs to increased positive brand association.
Sustainable production
Invest in renewable energy
Governments have created new rules and regulations designed to increase sustainable production. Small businesses should take advantage of new incentives to invest in renewable energy to reduce costs and waste. They can choose to use green energy, such as solar, wind, hydropower, and others, to manufacture goods. There’s no shortage of incentives to move toward sustainable production. Renewable energy investment is expected to accelerate in 2022 and the global renewable energy market is expected to reach $1,997.6 billion by 2030.
Offset your carbon footprint
Carbon offsets promote growth in the renewable energy sector. However, some small businesses may lack the necessary funds to adopt comprehensive and sustainable production policies. Instead, small businesses can focus on accurately reporting carbon emissions when moving toward sustainable production. Companies can compensate for greenhouse gas emissions by investing in carbon reduction activities elsewhere. The RED Platform’s blockchain-based CO2 offset system makes carbon reduction reporting easy by allowing producers to prove green energy production.
Sustainable marketing
Create sustainable products
Small businesses first need to create sustainable products to market. Greener products are ethically sourced from recycled or reclaimed materials. Small businesses can also create these products by sourcing the materials locally to reduce costs and emissions.
Adopt sustainable packaging
Sustainable companies steer clear of plastic packaging. Small businesses should choose to use recycled, or multi-use materials to package their products.
Reduce waste
Small companies that don’t currently have the funds to create new products or ways to package them can still be champions of sustainability by adopting waste reduction and recycling programs.
Advocate for the environment
Trust is paramount to keeping your client base, especially if you’re a small business owner. To build trust, make sure you advertise meaningful actions implemented to fight climate change. Small businesses can pledge to donate a certain portion of their profits to charity, support local food producers, and create measurable, climate-friendly policies internally.
Sustainable management
Small businesses can take advantage of environmental compliance resources to create a sustainability compliance plan. Business owners and compliance teams must align business strategies with sustainability through open discourse. With buying habits increasingly favoring sustainable companies, small businesses will need to demonstrate transparency. The best and cheapest way to do this is to use existing platforms, such as Restart Energy Democracy, to employ blockchain technology. This way, management teams can quantify improvements in traceability and accountability.
How clients react to new sustainable policies
It’s no secret that consumers favor doing business with eco-friendly companies now more than ever, a trend that shows no sign of stopping. More of the global consumer base believes that companies have a responsibility to enact climate-friendly policies to reverse climate change. For example, the fashion industry creates an estimated 92 million tons of textile waste annually. Consumer demand for sustainable clothing has prompted many in the fashion industry to change how they source their clothes. Zara, for example, has announced that 100% of its cotton, linen, and polyester will be sustainable by 2025 and other brands like Asos and Uniqlo have increased their eco-friendly collections in recent years.
Crypto aficionados are also turning to more eco-friendly cryptocurrencies. Fossil fuels currently power about 60% of Bitcoin mining, prompting over 150 crypto companies to pledge to reach net-zero emissions by 2030. Crypto investors are becoming more attuned to crypto companies that use less energy-intensive methods of validating transactions. Encouraged by green crypto investors, Ethereum has announced that it plans to switch to a proof-of-stake verification process model that heavily relies on blockchain.
In recent years, clients have shown overwhelming support for businesses with actionable sustainable policies. Recent surveys from North America and Europe show that a majority of consumers take sustainability into account when making purchasing decisions. Clients note when businesses implement sustainable policies, making them more likely to be repeat customers of climate-friendly companies.
Find out more about the RED Platform right here: redplatform.com
