By Daisuke Hori
Sustainability is an increasingly important topic in the business world. As climate change continues to impact our environment and the ecosystem, greener business practices are fast becoming imperative. So, what does “sustainability” mean for businesses?
Business sustainability is the practice of operating a business without impacting the environment negatively. Typically, it takes into account three components – profits, people, and the planet.
In summary, a sustainable business focuses on operating responsibly while optimising its resources to achieve positive impacts along with its bottom-line results. As more businesses are “going green”, one of the popular ways to do so is to reduce the carbon footprint in the workplace, be it corporate or home offices.
Carbon footprint measures the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions that come from the production, use, and end-of-life of a product or service. Many large companies have established long-term goals to reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions, and that typically includes a lot of supply chain, operational, or even product changes. That said, there are plenty of smaller, immediate steps which companies of all sizes can adapt to make their workplace a little greener and reduce emissions that are contributing to climate change.
Reducing carbon footprint through everyday choices
One of the ways businesses can reduce their impact on the environment is by leveraging green technology, which is developed to reduce carbon footprint in the workplace. Doing so can be very beneficial for businesses and the stakeholders involved.
Simple steps such as a change in everyday office equipment choices can go a long way. Interestingly, research conducted in the U.S. found that over 1.5 billion pounds of greenhouse gas emissions could be saved if every office product purchased was ENERGY STAR certified. That’s comparable to reducing over 150,000 cars on the road and is worth more than $117 million in yearly energy costs. If we apply this concept to our office, it’s easy to understand how an organization-wide change to energy-efficient office equipment can help with the bottom line.
As the world leader in business printers and projectors, we constantly innovate to meet the latest consumer demand. Epson’s Heat-Free technology integrated into all Epson inkjet printers is an example of innovation with sustainability in mind. With its ability to reduce up to 85% less energy and CO2 emission for each print, companies will be able to save a considerable amount of operation costs, reduce overall carbon footprint, while enjoying the same functionality of the printers.
Another practical way to reduce carbon footprint is to convert physical meetings to virtual ones. Seeing that transportation is a large contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, virtual meetings reduce the need for work travel. Many companies are turning to online meetings to save time, costs (mileage or taxi cost), and increase productivity. With the increased adoption of online meetings now, the trend may continue even post-pandemic due to the benefits that it comes with.
Attracted to socially responsible brands
Another major reason for companies to integrate sustainability considerations into their business practices is long-term profitability. A report by Nielsen that surveyed 30,000 consumers in 60 countries found that 66% of consumers were willing to pay more for goods from brands that demonstrated social commitment. A company, no matter big or small, can demonstrate its social responsibility by incorporating eco-friendly practices like switching to a renewable energy source, adopting sustainable materials for product packaging, and inculcating eco-friendly habits amongst employees etc. As a matter of fact, it can even be exemplified in its marketing practices. This means that companies can use marketing to attract consumers who want to make a positive difference with their purchases. For example, companies can offer consumers the option of buying an environmentally friendly product or buying a product in which partial proceeds go to an NGO they care about.
Major eCommerce brands have already started planning the implementation of more sustainable practices in their business. For instance, the world’s leading eCommerce company, Amazon, pledged to bring their carbon emissions to zero by 2040. At Epson, we’re always focused on helping to solve societal issues through our products and services. Along with actionable visions and goals, we take great care to ensure that these are clearly documented and communicated to hold ourselves accountable. In 2008, Epson established Environmental Vision 2050, a statement of our environmental goals out to the year 2050. The Vision outlines our efforts in contributing to the development of a sustainable society by leveraging efficient, compact, and precision technologies to reduce the environmental impact of products and services across their life cycles.
Sustainability attracts talents
Sustainability helps to cultivate a good brand image. In the long run, this positive image can be valuable in not just the consumer’s eyes, but also help attract potential talents. In fact, a company’s social responsibility are fast becoming a key consideration factor for talented candidates before applying to an organisation.
A report by Inc stated that millennials will make up 75% of the workforce by 2025 and they are looking for socially responsible employers. Another intriguing finding also revealed that this group of talents are willing to offer their services for a considerably lower salary to a business that demonstrated environmental care. That’s a huge win for any business.
In conclusion, sustainability is no longer just an option for any business. While the COVID-19 pandemic may have side-tracked some of the corporate social responsibility focuses, it’s expected that sustainability will be an even more important agenda post-pandemic. Reducing the carbon footprint in the workplace is only the first step. Companies that can recognise the upside to sustainability can be the early adopters of green technologies and embark on a path to achieve real long-term value.
