How do you start your sustainability journey as a small business?

We can see with our own eyes almost daily that the climate is changing, and the ecosystems around us are struggling. You are likely to feel a sense of unease about the future and a need to do something.

The challenge is enormous, and the stakes could not be greater. We cannot wait for rules to be forced upon small businesses before changing, as it might be too late to protect our loved ones.

You are only one business owner with a relatively small budget and even less spare time. You also may see the press and other forces belittling the effect we can have on the future. Remember, some people make a lot of money from the status quo and feel threatened by the needed changes.

My advice is to pick your battles and do your own research. You cannot control what anyone else does or doesn’t do, but you have control over your business and lifestyle. It isn’t as hard as you think to make a massive difference and start helping Mother Nature recover.

Take some time and consider what levers you control and the impact that could be had if you pull them. Look at the things that are easy, cheap, don’t take much time and have a significant effect first. Then, move on to the levers that are more challenging.

Solar panels and electric cars are great but expensive and are not necessarily the most significant impact you can make to reduce your carbon footprint.

There is a huge opportunity to save money, grow your business, build more resilience in your finances and make a big impact in the fight against the climate emergency.

Here is a suggested business climate action plan for the rest of 2024 & 2025

Stage 1 – The next 90 days

  • Bank – reviewing your banking arrangements – what do they do with your money?
  • Review the funds within your pension funds – could they have a more significant positive impact?
  • Energy suppliers – move to a 100% renewable tariff;
  • Energy use – reduce your energy use;
  • Carbon literacy training – learn more about the climate and biodiversity crisis;
  • Calculate your carbon footprint – Calculate the impact;
  • Review how you travel to and from the office – could you walk, cycle or take the bus more?
  • Your digital footprint – delete emails and documents you don’t need, unsubscribe from emails, and move to green hosting platforms.
  • Reduce your waste, reduce single-use plastic use and buy locally;
  • Sign petitions and write to your MP;
  • Consider talking about your changes with your friends and family;
  • Consider your impact on the natural world – What can you do to reduce harm – chemicals and insecticides? Consider planting more plants and trees around your home or office.
  • Support other businesses and individuals who are on the journey.

Stage 2 – The next six months

  • Create environmental and sustainability policies and publish them on your website;
  • Create a carbon reduction plan for the next five years – what can you commit to? What’s possible?;
  • Look at your replacement policies for IT & mobiles – can you make things last longer?;
  • Reduce the impact of your website;
  • Decide who you want to work with or what you sell – Are there items or services that create more negative impacts that you could stop or increase services/goods that make more significant positive impacts?
  • Renewable energy – Consider generating your own power at your home or office;
  • Change your defaults – Offer the sustainable option first to your clients and let them actively choose to carbonise the service or product;
  • Suppliers – Ask them for their sustainability and environment policies; Replace suppliers not actively working towards net zero.
  • Charitable donations (money and time) – consider creating impact through philanthropy;
  • Talk to others in your industry and keep learning to increase your positive impact.
  • Try growing your own fruit & veg and share the excess with your community;

Stage 3 – The next 12-24 months

  • Create an impact report – Detail the impact you want to have and the impact you are having;
  • Look at what your clients do with your service or product – are their impacts damaging to the planet or its people?
  • Look at certifications – Consider working towards an external validation like B Corp.
  • Suppliers – Engage with suppliers you can’t ditch as they are business-critical but aren’t moving forward fast enough on net Zero.
  • Activism – Consider how you can amplify your positive impacts and influence.
  • Continue learning – read and listen to podcasts to learn more about sustainability;
  • Learn how to repair and make things;
  • Consider how you can contribute to your local area;

The next level means you must look at how you make sustainability the core of your business, not just the add-on.

Please share your progress, positive and negative and amplify your impacts by encouraging the next business to start their journey. Change is often challenging, and having supporters and people to motivate you is essential.