How to Make Your Business More Environmentally Sustainable
At SpillShop, our team is dedicated to supplying quality spill response and liquid containment products to our customers across the Asia-Pacific region, helping businesses protect the environment from spills and pollution incidents. Effective environmental management involves becoming aware of how your business operations affect the surrounding environment, and making changes to reduce its impact on the natural world. Not only will this make your business more sustainable, but can increase your profitability, improve your productivity, and enhance your professional reputation.
This month, we discuss six ways to make your business more environmentally sustainable:
Reduce Your Carbon Footprint
Our first tip for making your business more environmentally sustainable is working to reduce your carbon footprint, which refers to the total greenhouse gas emissions caused by your facility. This can be achieved in many ways, from giving up paper and using more recycled products to ensuring electronics are turned off at the end of the day. Switching to more effective energy, water, and waste management systems can also help to reduce your carbon footprint, which we will discuss later in this post. Because no carbon footprint can be reduced to zero, another easy way to offset emissions is to plant more trees in your local area.
Prepare for Pollution Incidents
Our second tip for making your business more environmentally sustainable is to ensure that your facility is prepared for possible pollution incidents. If your business stores, transports, or disposes of chemicals and other hazardous materials, then it is essential that you have an effective emergency spill response management plan in place, and the right equipment to deal with any spills which may occur. To learn more about preparing for pollution incidents, see our posts on incident management, preparing your facility for effective spill response in 2019, and our guide to safety equipment.
Limit Energy Use
Another way to create a more environmentally sustainable business is to limit your energy use as much as possible. This will not only help you save money, but make your company more energy efficient. Some options to consider include LED lighting, which has a longer lifespan and lower energy consumption than traditional incandescent bulbs, switching to gas or electric work vehicles, buying or leasing energy efficient equipment, managing standby power use, and switching to a green energy provider. Find out how much energy your facility is using and how you can improve your energy rating with the national NABERS rating calculator.
Conserve Water
Along with energy, an easy way to reduce your bills and become more environmentally sustainable as a business is to conserve water. This could involve recycling the water used by your company, managing the runoff on a building site or facility, installing water-saving devices, or using a water meter or flow restrictor where possible to maximise water conservation. Nominating a member of your staff to be in charge of saving water can help your employees become more aware of their water use, and report leaking taps, toilets, and fittings before they become an issue. Learn more about water management in your state or territory here.
Manage Waste Effectively
Effective waste management is a topical issue in Australia at the moment, with new anti-dumping legislation recently introduced by the NSW government to penalise the illegal dumping of waste and hazardous materials. Reducing, reusing, and recycling your waste decreases the amount of waste which ends up in landfill, and helps to conserve natural materials and resources for the future. Waste management includes all business activities where waste materials are handled, including collection, transport, processing, and disposal. Learn more about how to manage your waste using the resources in the National Waste Policy.
Organise an Environmental Audit
Our final tip for making your business more environmentally sustainable is to organise an environmental audit for your company or facility. An audit is useful for assessing the extent of damage to the environment caused by your business activities, as well as providing information on what actions can be taken. Once you know which areas of your business are producing the most waste or emissions, you can create an efficient environmental management plan to reduce your impact. Keep in mind that environmental audits must be independent, objective, transparent, and regularly performed in order to be effective.
SpillShop stocks a variety of quality spill response and liquid containment products to help you protect your business and the environment from pollution incidents, including spill kits, absorbents, granules, bunding, and drain protection. For more information, visit our FAQ page or Contact Us directly to discuss your needs.