eBusiness Weekly
Ways to create a more sustainable small business.
Starbucks, the global coffee chain, recently announced that it was banning plastic straws from shops by 2020. Meanwhile, office co-working company, WeWork, has banned meat — or at least, it will no longer serve it at events or reimburse staff expenses for red meat, poultry and pork.
While critics cite cost-cutting and PR as good explanations for the moves, others have praised both brands for trying to reduce their environmental impact.
Here, small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) owners explain how they’re approaching sustainability and what they’re banning or cutting back on in the process.
Adopt an ethical approach
The move away from fossil fuels is happening faster than many think and ditching them is becoming increasingly feasible.
Howard Carter, chief executive of mosquito repellent company, Incognito, has largely stripped fossil fuels from his operations. The business, which won a Queen’s Award for sustainable development in 2015, sources its electricity from a provider that only sells power created by renewables.
Mr Carter says that it’s not the cheapest option on the market, but it’s right for the company. “It does cost a bit more, but it was a conscious decision as, right from the start, we wanted to create an ethical brand,” says the CEO, whose firm also runs a fleet of electric vehicles and hybrids.
“We started off with G-Wizs (small electric cars), which we used for local deliveries in and around London.
“Our other vehicles are now hybrids and we’re currently investigating electric bikes for staff and other activity.”
Incognito’s repellent is applied to the skin and so must meet strict safety requirements, but the company doesn’t use ingredients tested on animals. Mr Carter says that this hasn’t proven a problem, citing one well-known entrepreneur as a trailblazer.
A few years ago, no-one was talking about banning plastic, but now they areJez Rose, Bees for Business
“The Body Shop founder, Anita Roddick, certainly helped to create greater awareness of animal testing and conscious shopping,” he notes. “We haven’t found it that hard to manufacture without animal testing, but it depends on your field; some are easier than others.”
He adds: “We mainly use essential oils and just do extra research when sourcing and planning new products.”
Create a more natural environment
Bees for Business is a company through which other firms can adopt bee hives, enabling clients to burnish their corporate social responsibility (CSR) credentials while also gaining a supply of organic British honey.
“We manage the hives, collect the honey — we do all the messy and difficult stuff,” explains founder, Jez Rose, who grew up on a farm, but worked as a behaviour analyst and coach in the corporate world before quitting to run apiaries.
His venture runs Elm Farm, a small organic site on the Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire border, and manages an apiary at the grand Elizabethan estate, Burghley House. Clients include The Ned Hotel in London and Nobo restaurant.
Mindfulness has been one of the best and greenest decisions for our company cultureTony Smith, Companydebt.com
Bees for Business has banned a lot of things, including use of pesticides, chemical treatments, plastic wrapping, non-recyclable IT products and sugar (it uses honey instead).
The founder says that it’s worth all businesses thinking about what they could do without. “A few years ago, no-one was talking about banning plastic, but now they are,” he says.
“It’s good to find out what’s possible – even people in offices can ask the question: ‘If we banned this, what are the alternatives?’ There are a variety of solutions.”
Mr Rose believes that there’s an innate yearning for people to live in more natural and hospitable environments, which is a win-win for both parties. “Environments where nature thrives are better for humans, too,” he says.
Embrace greener practices
Rather than simply banning things, a more consensual approach is to create a company culture that embraces greener practices and creates a better environment for all.
“We’ve made a conscious effort to promote a green company culture,” says Tony Smith, managing director of Companydebt.com. His 50-strong London firm encourages cleaner commutes via a bike-to-work scheme, prints “as rarely as possible” and provides a “really good office espresso” to dissuade staff from using coffee outlets that provide single-use cups.
The business also uses recycled paper and reusable pens, encourages working from home and uses green cleaning products. The office is adorned with plants to promote a healthy workplace.
Mr Smith is an advocate of mindfulness, a philosophy that he says improves productivity, employee well-being and fosters better communication. “One by-product of this is that, as people slow down, they become aware of their impact on the world around them,” he says.
“Forgetting to recycle something and printing when you don’t really need to are just two examples of how haste and urgency impact this space.
“Mindfulness has been one of the best and greenest decisions for our company culture.”— telegraph.co.uk.
