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A Guide to Improving Small Business Sustainability

Start your sustainability journey as a small business. Learn practical initiatives to improve your environmental impact and support your local community. Read more here. 

Why is it important to work on being a sustainable small business? 

As well as adopting sustainability practices that can help improve your environmental impact and support local communities, consumers and employees are increasingly looking for more sustainable companies. 

Consumers find sustainability important 

Becoming a more sustainable small business could improve your sales and profits with 66% of consumers reporting they would spend more on a product if it came from a sustainable company.1 Additionally, in an IBM survey of more than 14,000 adults globally, 84% said they consider sustainability important when choosing a brand.2  

Employees are interested in sustainability 

When surveyed by IBM, an equivalent of 69% of the global workforce said they are more likely to accept a job with an organisation they consider to be environmentally sustainable.2 1 in 4 people surveyed reported looking for work that better fit their values too.2

Sustainability Practices for Small Business 

employees enjoying a cup of coffee using a reusable cup

Being a sustainable small business doesn’t happen overnight. It takes small steps over a significant period of time, such as reducing energy consumption, reducing packaging and waste, and changing company processes and procurement practices. While transitioning to more sustainable practices can take time and investment, 76% of SMEs believe that having an environmental strategy is good for business.

Here are three simple, small business sustainability initiatives you can try to use in your business. 

1. Create a sustainability plan: 

Taking the time to create a sustainability plan for your business can help you achieve goals that create financial and environmental sustainability.4 What are your goals and what actions can you take to reach these goals? When do you want to achieve these goals? The answers to these questions will help you create the foundations of your sustainability plan.1 It may help to calculate your carbon footprint in order to assess where your business currently stands and find opportunities to improve when creating your plan. SSE has a free carbon footprint calculator you can use to help you get started.   

2. Look into your processes and suppliers: 

Doing things like turning off lights, equipment and computers when not in use or holding meetings online to reduce travel can be simple daily practices to improve small business sustainability.1 Upgrading old appliances and equipment with new, energy-efficient equivalents could also cut down on energy consumption.1 Switching energy providers to one with stronger green credentials and talking to your suppliers about their sustainability practices to get a feel for whether they will complement your sustainability plans are some positive steps you can take. 

3. Engage your employees: 

Getting your employees involved is a great way to empower them to do their part, boost morale and help everyone realise they have a part to play. Think about how you can engage and encourage your team to come up with sustainability ideas and suggestions that could work for your business. You may even appoint sustainability champions among your employees who will take ownership of such initiatives.4  

There are many small, inexpensive steps you can take when looking to become a more sustainable small business. Your small business sustainability initiatives might involve creating a sustainability plan, making step-by-step changes to your processes and suppliers and engaging your employees in the plan as you get started. Simple actions add up over time, so don’t underestimate how small changes now can help have a lasting impact on your small business’s sustainability goals.