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. This results 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. Businesses that prioritize sustainable practices, like renewable energy and recycling, attract environmentally conscious consumers, boosting customer loyalty and market competitiveness.

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. To help you see the advantages and become part of the green movement, let’s look at the benefits of an environmentally-friendly business.

1. A Better Brand Image

 

These days, consumers are much more picky about what they buy, whom 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. Failing to do so could result in significant consequences, such as reputational damage, legal penalties, and the loss of market share. Additionally, embracing sustainable practices and reducing greenhouse gas emissions can lead to long-term cost savings and improved efficiency for both governments and private businesses.

3. Cut Costs & Boost Productivity

 

Being environmentally friendly and aiming for a sustainable business doesn’t have to be expensive. When applied correctly, sustainability can mean enormous energy—and therefore cost—savings throughout your operations. 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 company has a brand image that embraces sustainability and demonstrates these values in its daily work, it becomes not only more attractive to customers but to high-quality potential employees as well. The best part? Top-talent employees will want to stay at a company 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 high. 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 that 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 communicate their stories about sustainability in a sincere manner. They need to stick to the facts and remain clear about what their efforts really are. There’s no point in lying—if anything, inflating your sustainability practices will make things worse for you.

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 an edge. With sustainability and ethical behavior becoming increasingly important for customers, this will help businesses build trust and meaningful relationships with customers. The later you jump on board, the more difficult it will be for you to convince others that your efforts are genuine.

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. Transitioning to a paperless office reduces environmental impact, streamlines operations, and enhances collaboration, data security, and information access for employees and clients. 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.
• Communicate faster and more efficiently.
• Increase document reliability.
• Share and collaborate more easily.
• Access data across platforms.
• Sign, share, and store documents securely and without risk.
• Quickly and easily convert between different formats.
• Improve efficiency and productivity.
• Ensure document regulation compliance.
• Have a 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? It’s so much easier than you may think.