Nine easy steps to a greener business

René Botha, Regional Investment Manager at Business Partners Limited, provides small business owners with nine simple changes that they can implement in their operations to become greener, more sustainable businesses.

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For every conscious step that a business takes to become environmentally more sustainable, the positive impact is so much broader than the business itself. Environmental awareness and habits practised in the workplace are likely to spread to the households of the workers, says René Botha, Regional Investment Manager at Business Partners Limited. This makes the community of business owners one of the most important constituencies of the environmental movement.

Earth Day, celebrated globally for over half a century, is a good starting point for business owners who want to take their first step towards sustainability, or for those who want to consolidate their progress.

Becoming sustainable need not be an all or nothing affair, says Botha. It is a process that all business owners will have to go through along with the rest of society. She offers the following nine easy steps that business owners can implement on the journey towards greener, more sustainable business operations:

1. End single-use plastics

Find alternatives for all the single-use plastic that your business consumes. “If you stock your board or staff-room with bottled water, consider replacing it with a water dispenser and glass carafe. Similarly, plastic cutlery and food containers can be replaced with wood, paper or glass. If your raw materials come in single-use plastic containers or wrapping, discuss reusable systems with your suppliers,” she says.

2. Package in paper, wood and glass

The public is increasingly coming to expect the items they buy to be packaged in paper, wood or glass rather than plastic. It’s reusable and biodegradable. As Botha asserts, “Even if you have to use a lot of plastic in your manufacturing processes or your packaging, consider using some of the many biodegradable plastics that are becoming available, and look for ways to reduce the amount of plastic used.”

3. Start a recycling system for your business 

Once your staff know to separate the different types of waste, it is very easy to maintain, and soon it becomes a habit they will all take home with them.

Recycling produces winners. If businesses recycle efficiently, income streams can be created for waste pickers and collection depots. A winner in the national Petco awards, which recognise inspiring work within the collection and recycling value chain, was GreenWay Africa, in partnership with Heineken for Project Vuselela in the Durban area. Credit: Petco

4. Combine sustainability with team building

In Botha’s opinion, you can kill two birds with one stone by structuring the greening of your business with team-building exercises. “Let your staff members compete to see which team can use the least plastic, save the most energy, or reduce their waste most. Taking your staff out for a beach or veld clean-up can be a great team-building exercise. These can be planned to coincide with global initiatives such as Earth Day or Plastic-free July.”

5. Go solar

As the price of solar equipment falls, the case for installing a solar system for your business is becoming more and more compelling. The latest estimates show that a solar system can pay for itself in as little as six years. “Initiatives such as Business Partners Ltd’s Energy Fund, which provides finance of between R250 000 and R2-million to businesses to install alternative energy sources, make it even easier to go solar,” Botha says.

6. Reduce your power consumption

Small changes in your business can make a big difference to your power consumption, including changing your lights to LED, switching off unused lights and equipment, boiling only the amount of water you need and removing unused chargers and power cords from the wall plugs are good ways to start. And once these habits are instilled in your staff members, they are sure to do the same in their homes.

7. Use energy-efficient machines

According to Botha, it’s important to keep an eye out for more energy-efficient alternative machinery, from office equipment to furnaces, that regularly come to the market in nearly every industry. “Not only does it make your business greener, but it is sure to give you a competitive edge.”

8. Insulate your building

It costs a bit in the beginning, but over time you will save a lot in energy usage by making sure your premises are well insulated. Consider the guidelines in Business Partners Limited’s Green Building initiative, through which business owners can earn a rebate on their financing costs if the premises which they buy, build or retrofit qualify as a green building.

9. Become water-wise

As Botha concludes, “With plastics and electricity, there are many ways in which a business can reduce its use of water. Teach your staff to report leaks and stop dripping taps. Harvesting rainwater is relatively inexpensive and helps to preserve this precious resource.”