ECO BOOST YOUR DIGITAL BUSINESS

The days of businesses turning a blind eye to sustainable practices are over. From the largest corporations to the smallest enterprises, everyone has a part to play in protecting our planet and fostering purpose-driven working environments. 

The next-generation of employees want more from their workplace. Millennials and Gen Zs are actively seeking out companies that align with their eco-friendly and ethical values.

Greener practices and ethical company values also allow business owners to save more money, streamline their offerings, and improve their employee retention rates – a win for all involved!

Here are 3 ways to eco-boost your digital business and revamp your company culture.

Digital footprint

When we hear the word ‘sustainability’, we typically think of cutting down on driving or taking advantage of our reusable coffee cups. We don’t think about the electronic devices that we use every day.

IT is responsible for approximately 2% of the world’s carbon emissions, which is roughly equivalent to the CO2 emissions attributed to the aviation industry. Computers, laptops, and servers require a constant energy supply and are responsible for significant greenhouse gasses.

Whenever you send an email attachment, store a file or use a piece of software, you’re impacting the environment. It’s a pretty wild thought, right?

Of course, IT is indispensable and we’d be lost without it. But there are ways we can minimise our digital footprint without ditching our laptops and smartphones altogether.

• Ask your website provider if their hosting uses renewable energy sources or offsets their environmental impact.
• Avoid storing data you don’t need. Clear out your Dropbox and Google drive regularly to free up space. A bonus for your expenses and organisation levels, too!
• Clear your inbox. Unsubscribe from irrelevant mailing lists, compress large attachments and delete those emails that are clogging up your main folder. Most research shows that 64 million unnecessary emails are sent every day in the UK, amounting to 23,475 tonnes of carbon per year. It all adds up!

Pension

Pensions aren’t only a tax-efficient way to save for your retirement, they’re also an opportunity to help the planet.

When researching a pension, it’s worth checking out where it’s being invested. Common industries for pension companies to invest in are fossil fuels, arms dealing, construction, infrastructure, and assets such as gold or tobacco. Simply by opening a pension, you can become an unwitting contributor to all sorts of unethical organisations.

Making sure your pension is ethically invested is a key yet oft-forgotten component of a sustainable lifestyle. As one of the largest investments you hold, choosing to move your money to a more ethical pension plan means supporting important sectors such as healthcare or companies contributing to the transition to a low-carbon economy.

If you’re concerned about your pension, just ask. I’d advise speaking to a financial expert for recommendations to make sure you’re picking a product that matches your goals and your risk levels.

Banking

As with pensions, where we choose to store our money has consequences beyond our own saving potential. Banks use our money to make themselves richer by investing in various industries. Unfortunately, this can involve funnelling money into environmentally harmful and unethical businesses.

Most banks are waking up to the fact that users want to put their money somewhere that isn’t burning up the ozone. Ethical banks are defined by their refusal to invest in unethical and unsustainable industries, such as oil, tobacco, or weaponry. Instead, they invest in sectors like green energy and prioritise transparency.

Banks like Starling and Triodos have ethics statements that detail their support for the environment, women in finance, and their wider community. As they’re a paperless bank, their carbon footprint is significantly lower than some of their traditional counterparts. Thumbs up!

As a business owner, it’s normal to encounter obstacles when trying to be more conscious and purpose-driven. That’s why I offer an Eco Boost power hour to help you tackle those challenges head-on. Each session is one hour long and tackles all things people, planet, and profit.

To book, click here.