Although some people refuse to admit it, climate change has become a serious problem on a global scale. Over the years, pollution and greenhouse emissions have been boiling our planet, and now we are at a point of no return.
Either we do something now, or we go extinct in a few decades. Fortunately, a lot of companies have recognized the urgency of the matter and are starting to change their ways for the good of the environment.
The process is slow, but you have to start somewhere. The first step is awareness. Recognizing that there’s, indeed, a problem helps companies develop strategies that will ultimately allow them to reduce waste and toxic emissions without losing too much of a profit in the process.
Yes, profits are often the real issue. Why on earth would you risk revenue when you can breathe, eat and drink money?
After all, who needs a planet when you have enough money to build a new one. Unfortunately, that’s not how things work. With that in mind, here are a few actions companies can adopt to fight climate change.
Assess your greenhouse gas emissions
Startups and small companies oftentimes don’t produce that many greenhouse gases. Larger companies, however, tend to be more problematic.
As mentioned before, the first step is awareness. By realizing that your company may produce more greenhouse gases than it should help you devise a strategy to reduce it.
Therefore, it’s imperative that you assess the situation and measure the number of pollutants your company is producing. This is especially true for companies that have huge manufacturing processes. Once you measure your carbon footprint, you can start working on ways to reduce it.
Give renewable energy a go
Renewable energy has been a hot topic for years now. Scientists around the world are doing their best to explain the benefits of using such energy sources, and they’re trying to convince companies to give it a try.
Renewable energy sources, such as solar energy, wind and water, are often overlooked by major companies, whereas some companies are really into it.
Therefore, why not give it a try and help the environment along the way. A good example is using solar panels to generate electricity and heat without skyrocketing your carbon footprint. After all, we have more sunny days now than ever before.
Some companies even rely on wind turbines to generate electricity. An average offshore wind turbine with a capacity of 2.5-3.0 MW can produce more than 6 million kWh per year, enough to supply 1,500 average households in Europe.
Opt for greener technologies
Today, we live in a digital world which helps our environment a little bit. However, a lot of companies still haven’t undergone a digital transformation. In other words, they still rely on traditional environments where there’s a lot of unnecessary hardware and tons of paper waste.
For example, instead of using a traditional landline with a lot of wiring, you can opt for a greener VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) system from a company that’s known for its environmental responsibility.
Moreover, you can opt for a cloud-based technology that will help your company establish a paperless office and allow it to get rid of unnecessary hardware. Cloud-based services, such as IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) are provided to companies via the Internet as well.
Choose sustainable providers and suppliers
Oftentimes, fighting climate change requires a lot of collaboration between companies. You have to send a message that sustainability is your top priority and that you want to make a difference. The best way to do that is to partner up with environmentally-friendly suppliers, providers and vendors.
However, this often means restructuring your entire supply chain. Still, choosing more sustainable partners not only reduces emissions, but it also supports the local economy and other small businesses in the industry. You can reduce both the waste and the gasses on shipping, manufacturing, logistics and overall production.
Adopt an eco-friendly culture
Restructuring your company culture is a major step towards fighting climate change. Everyone from CEOs, employees and stakeholders must be on board with this. Otherwise, any action you may take to reduce waste or emissions may be undermined.
Building awareness among everyone company-wide is crucial for companies to take a step forward and start making an actual difference. You can even partner up with nonprofit eco-minded organizations that will help you make the necessary changes.
Fighting climate change is oftentimes an uphill battle. The consequences of pollution will be dire if we keep this up and that’s a fact. However, those consequences won’t happen tomorrow, they may happen in a hundred years. That’s why many people don’t sense the urgency, but they need an example to follow, and companies should be that example.
