This blog was written in collaboration with Katie Conroy.
It’s crucial to make sure you can continue being sustainable even as your business grows. Making small changes to your business processes can help you mitigate the environmental and social impact of running your business in the future. In the meantime, your business maintains a positive ROI, as becoming more energy-efficient brings lower operation costs.
1. Waste Reduction and Composting
About 60% of all plastic produced since the 1950s has ended up in landfills or the natural environment. Recycling is an easy, cost-effective way to reduce your business’s environmental impact. If you or your employees produce a lot of waste, try organizing recycling bins separating that paper from cardboard, plastic from aluminum. Reduce any unnecessary packaging from your products, then make sure you recycle or reuse everything you can.
Florida has a state goal of recycling 75 percent of all waste by 2020. In 2015, the state’s recycling rate was 54 percent. Only three Florida counties hit the 75 percent mark this past year. Despite the state’s push for higher recycling rates, glass, which can often be recycled, ends up in Florida landfills, even when placed in recycling bins. There are two main reasons for this:
First, contaminated glass cannot be effectively recycled. Second, it is often not economically beneficial to recycle glass.
Ana Wood, Polk County’s director for waste and recycling, stated that none of the glass the county accepts as “recycling” is being recycled because “no one wants it.” Trends in the market have had a detrimental effect on glass recycling, as the demand for recycled glass is at an all-time low.
Organic waste—yard waste, food waste, and other paper—made up about 27 percent of the total waste in Florida landfills in 2020.1 With that, one has to wonder if the state might have met its goal with improved organics recycling efforts. If you have an abundance of compostable material — like coffee grounds or fruit peels — you can cut down on trash by encouraging your employees to toss organic matter into compost bins.
Organic matter composts naturally, but we can support the process depending on how we dispose of our organic waste. Yard trimmings, biosolids, and certain food scraps can be composted. Throughout the state of Florida, we have compost programs for yard trimmings and solid waste. However, Orlando is the only city that has a public composting infrastructure in place for composting food scraps.
2. Recycling Gadgets
With all the electronic gadgets, cell phones, computers, etc., being thrown away every day, everything ends up in landfills and is not recycled. Several businesses in Miami buy old cell phones to refurbish and resell or recycle them. If you have an older computer, it should be taken to your local Miami recycling center, where they can dispose of it properly.
Best Buy has collected over 2 billion pounds of e-waste and appliances, making them the nation’s most prominent retail collector of e-waste. All old appliances, gadgets, and electronics are responsibly recycled by licensed, third-party recycling partners. The recyclers ensure that the various commodities are sent to end markets to be recycled and repurposed into new products.
3. Renewable Energy Sources
In terms of options for renewable energy for business, solar, wind, hydropower and geothermal are among the most popular. Each brings different benefits and will depend on environmental availabilities, government restrictions, and business needs.
Renewable energy like solar power is a great way to help your business be more environmentally friendly — as well as less dependent on fossil fuels. Talk to the Florida state government to see what options you have. Whichever renewable you choose for your business, it will help lower your overall pollution and emissions output.
4. Alternative Transportation
Transportation accounts for 30 percent of energy demand in the U.S. and surpassed electricity generation as the leading source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States in 2016. While our electricity grid is getting cleaner, many vehicles used for everyday travel still rely on dirty fossil fuels.
Did you know riding the bus, commuter rail, or streetcar saves 42.9 million gallons of oil every year in Florida?
If you can arrange for a ride to work, bike, walk, or take public transportation there are several advantages:
- Reduce traffic jams
- Improve your health
- Save on gas
- Boost the state’s economy
- Reduce carbon emissions
- Save costs of having a car
5. Hire CADA Consult: A Holistic Marketing Agency
Imagery is especially important for social media and email projects. When you’re consistent with your photography and design elements, your followers and subscribers know who this message is coming from. Plus, when they come to recognize your brands’ style (and enjoy your content), it will get them to stop scrolling. Or stop and open up that email. In turn, you’ll have a greater opportunity to solve their problems and build brand loyalty.
Holistic marketing refers to a marketing strategy that considers the whole of a business and all the different marketing channels as a system. Under this strategy, a business with different departments comes together in synergy in pursuit of a conscious mission, great customer experience, and a positive brand image.
While there’s no denying that sustainability is vital, it can be done with an eye toward profitability. By learning how to use sustainable practices that increase your profits, you can set yourself up for success in your future business.
CADA CONSULT works one-on-one with our clients to ensure their vision is brought to life to its fullest potential through a holistic strategy and customized design process. Contact us at info@cadaconsult.com for a complimentary business consultation.
