The Benefits of an Environmentally-friendly Business

Businesses that are environmentally considerate usually have a lighter environmental footprint, support the wellbeing of employees and communities they touch and result in cleaner economies, less waste, pollution, and carbon emissions. Another handy benefit is that they’re usually better than most at job creation and wealth distribution.

Even though these benefits could sound like nice-to-haves for many, they also come with huge potential financial gains that no one can ignore. So what are they?

1. A Better Brand Image

 

These days, consumers are much more choosy about what they buy, where they buy it from, and what the real environmental and social cost of that item is. The great thing about this is that when a business works at being more sustainable, it adds a lot of trust, credibility, and social value to its brand. More and more, customers are spending their money in line with their values, and even though it’s simply the right thing to do, running a more sustainable business can be as profitable as it is morally satisfying.

2. Compliance With Regulations

 

Globally, there’s increasing pressure both for governments and the private sector to meet certain environmental targets. This means that sooner or later, these institutions and private businesses will have to accept—and meet—these targets for sustainability and greenhouse gas emissions. Those who don’t prioritize these initiatives and keep putting them off will soon be left behind. When a government institution or business makes sustainability a priority, it automatically puts itself ahead of the curve when compliance with environmental regulations becomes mandatory.

3. Cut Costs & Boost Productivity

 

Being environmentally considerate and aiming for a sustainable business doesn’t have to be expensive. With operations, sustainability can mean enormous energy—and therefore cost—savings. Even better, when there’s a companywide culture that embraces sustainability, it’s proven that workers are more productive and take more ownership of their work and sustainability initiatives.

4. Attract High Quality Employees

 

When a business has a brand image that embraces sustainability and shows these values in its everyday work, it becomes not only more attractive to customers, but to high quality potential employees as well. The best part? High quality employees usually stay at a business longer, make more and better contributions, and are usually well aligned with company values. Remember, the cost of hiring, keeping employees, and dealing with staff turnover is expensive. This means huge potential cost savings when implementing sustainability values and initiatives.

5. Tell a Great Story

 

Ask anybody in PR and they’ll tell you a sustainable business or initiative is a story worth telling. Even though the media is flooded with “greenwashing,” it’s not hard to figure out which companies are telling inflated stories about their sustainability initiatives. That’s why it’s so important that businesses communicating their stories about sustainability are sincere about it, stick to the facts, and remain clear about what their efforts really are.

6. Be On the Right Side of History

 

Whether or not it boosts profits, being considerate of the environment and making a genuine effort to boost sustainability will give any business the edge. With sustainability and ethical behavior becoming increasingly important for customers, this will help businesses build trust and meaningful relationships with customers.

7. Get Ahead of Digital Transformation

 

So many businesses know about the digital revolution, but there aren’t that many who are ready for it. Opting for a paperless office is just one of the easy ways a business can build on efficiency and sustainability. Plus, there are so many added benefits to going paperless:

• Save time and money
• Protect against physical loss or damage of documents
• Access and retrieve documents easily
• Faster communication
• Increased document reliability
• Easier sharing and collaboration
• Cross-platform access and functionality
• Secure signing, sharing, and storage of documents
• Quick and easy conversion between different formats
• Improved efficiency and productivity
• Document regulation compliance
• Lighter environmental footprint (no paper, ink, heavy equipment, extra storage space, additional energy usage)

Even though it may seem like a nice-to-have, there are real benefits of sustainability in business, including enhanced reputation, regulatory compliance, cost savings, increased productivity, and finally, getting ahead of digital transformation—and competitors—by creating a paperless environment.

Ready to go paperless? Let’s start with your work contracts and agreements, shall we?