The world has been trying to slow down climate change and its negative effects for decades. To make these efforts effective, businesses needed to become a part of the solution rather than the problem.

This is why corporate sustainability is one of the hottest topics in today’s business world. As the climate challenges become bigger, the popularity and importance of big business practices keep growing.

Not taking part in environmental efforts can cost your business in several ways.

Primarily, you can lose potential investors as they are increasingly on the hunt for sustainable companies. An analysis by Roland Berger showed that the importance of ESG initiatives for European banks rose by 93 points (+79%) over the past two decades. Clients are also leaning towards eco-friendly businesses.

In addition, a lack of sustainable practices achieves 1.4% lower median revenue growth per year compared to sustainable businesses. These companies also underperform in terms of total shareholder return (TSR) by 2.5 percentage points​ compared to sustainable companies.

By ignoring sustainability practices, your company can miss out on a great long-term opportunity to attract top young talent, more customers, and serious investors.

How to Improve Sustainability in the Workplace?

Take a look at the top eight strategies for introducing or improving your company’s sustainability practices:

1. Introduce Remote Work

Transitioning to remote work or offering a hybrid work option decreases commuting-related pollution. In addition to the ecological benefits, this switch provides employees with much-needed workplace flexibility and improves employee satisfaction.

If you opt for remote or hybrid work, you’ll have room to downsize or eliminate office space. This will help you save energy, reduce costs, and introduce several other sustainable practices.

In case you are afraid that your company’s productivity and employee management will suffer, don’t worry. remote work time tracker specialized for supervising remote company devices and employees can facilitate a smooth transition. There are several customizable and easy-to-use tools that might even help you make your remote teams super-efficient.

2. Promoting Eco-Friendly Commuting & Travel

To minimize the environmental impact of your business, you can promote sustainable business travel. Encourage your employees to reduce unnecessary trips and substitute some of them with online meetings. If they need to travel, ask them to opt for sustainable hotels. This approach will not only reduce carbon emissions, but also cut down on your expenses.

Promoting the use of public transportation, such as trains, buses, or subways, can considerably lower CO2 emissions compared to driving. Walking and biking are certainly the healthiest options for both nature and your employees.

3. Start Recycling

Recycling is an eco-friendly strategy that everyone should be familiar with. This is what makes its implementation in the workplace undemanding.

A company can start recycling in several different fields, such as:

• Paper recycling
• Electronic waste donation or recycling
• Composting lunch leftovers

In addition to recycling, it’s important to raise awareness about reducing waste and choosing reusable options in all possible spheres.

4. Reduce Paper Use

Running an office that uses no paper is difficult. Still, reducing paper use is possible and it’s an important step towards workplace sustainability.

Here are a few proven methods that can help you and your employees cut down on paper:

• Rely on digital tools and resources. With cloud storage available to the whole organization and interactive digital resources, it’s easy to avoid printing on paper.
• For situations when it’s necessary to use paper, provide your workers with deforestation-free paper (recycled or FSC-certified paper).
• Erasable stone paper notebooks are a great eco-friendly option for workers who prefer using pen and paper for drafting.

5. Pay Attention to the Workplace Kitchen

Although often overlooked, your workplace kitchen can also become greener and contribute to your company’s overall eco-friendliness.

The first and most important thing you can do is start using non-disposable cups, cutlery, and towels.

Maintaining the kitchen with a full set of reusable cutlery and dishes is too much for your staff? Then, go for biodegradable options instead of plastic.

Even switching to reusable coffee pods and loose tea can reduce your carbon footprint.

6. Opt for Eco-Friendly Cleaning Solutions

Office spaces need to be cleaned regularly. This is why switching to green cleaning products can have a significant effect on your carbon emissions.

Opt for eco-friendly certified products and consider using homemade solutions with ingredients like vinegar, lemon, or essential oils.

7. Sustainable Bathroom Solutions

Office bathrooms offer significant opportunities for enhancing sustainability by implementing zero-waste and energy-saving measures.

Paper towel dispensers can be replaced with automated heated hand dryers. Water-saving taps can help conserve water and lower utility costs.

In addition, using sensors for lighting and recycled trash bin bags are simple yet effective steps toward creating a greener workplace bathroom.

8. Fostering a Culture of Sustainability

Your company’s sustainability efforts shouldn’t end with implementing eco-friendly practices within your office. To foster and spread a culture of sustainability, you as a leader should:

• Strive to raise awareness among employees about your organization’s eco-initiatives and results
• Initiate quarterly meetings and training sessions about sustainability practices for your team
• Ensure your partners and suppliers align with your environmental values by clearly conveying your sustainability expectations
• Spread the word about your green practices. This will inspire other organizations to adopt similar environmentally, socially, and economically beneficial strategies.
• Consider becoming certified as an environmentally conscious business. This way, you’ll show you take corporate sustainability seriously. That will help you attract employees with the same system of values as well as clients who respect these practices.

Why Is Adopting Sustainable Practices Important for the Future?

The future will only bring more challenges related to climate change and resource depletion. This will put growing environmental, social, and regulatory pressure on businesses.

Businesses that fail to prioritize sustainability risk facing disrupted supply chains, regulatory penalties, and a loss of consumer trust.

Companies that do integrate sustainability deeply into their operations will be better positioned to respond to this pressure. Moreover, their developed sustainability practices will allow them to turn these challenges into opportunities for innovation, growth, and increased resilience.