How To Guide - 6 Surprising Ways to be more Sustainable

All the businesses I've run have had sustainability at their heart. Brought up in a slightly hippie family in the 70s, looking after nature and the planet was always part of life.

However, in this day and age, sustainability has become a monster of a topic and pretty overwhelming for a micro business owner just trying to pay the bills. There's an assumption that it's all expensive electric cars and carbon neutral heating which may not fit with your business or be financually possible. But does this mean you're not sustainable? Does this mean you can't let your customers know that you're doing your best to be sustainable?

In this How To Guide, I wanted to explore simple ways to be sustainable which will hopefully help you realise that you're more sustainable than you ever thought you were. Better still, I believe that sharing your sustainable practices with customers does provide you with an authenticity and quality that sets you apart.

So here we go:

1. Sustainability isn't just about net zero. Although a key part of halting the ever disastrous global warming challenge, net zero isn't about never using fossil fuels and is attainable even for a micro business. Net Zero means reducing your use of fossil fuels as much as absolutely possible and then off-setting the rest. Imagine if everyone just used 25% less fossil fuels across the world? Use a carbon tracker like the one I use as an EQM Award holder (EQM.org.uk) to help you understand what carbon footprint you currently have and where the opportunities are for you to reduce them.

2. Understand the bigger picture. Sustainability is its broadest form is made up of three key areas that can help you unpick what you're already doing well and where you can improve.

   1. Environmental - what it says on the tin! Understand what your carbon footprint is and how to reduce it. Note how often you're using single use plastic and find an alternative. Be clear on what your supply chain is and how to improve it. Be mindful of what you use in relation to its effects on nature, water or air. Be clear on how your business is positively supporting biodiversity, animals or flora and fauna.

   2. Social - what ways are you supporting people in an unequal world? Often this is the easiest way for a micro business with a tight budget can make a quick difference. Ask yourself honest questions about how to buy and where from? Do these business support equality, safe working conditions or are they slavery free? Do you pay your contractors or staff a living wage or just the minimum? How do you give back to community or offer those with less opportunities, something exciting? What do you tell the world about your beliefs in equality?

   3. Governance - how are you building in robust ways to monitor and measure what you do for the planet? This is about taking responsibility for every corner of your business in sustainable terms. Perhaps you measure carbon footprint or sign up to Living Wage alliance or share an annual report on your supply chain. Adding in transparency and honesty about where you are on the sustainable journey can be the most powerful educating tool you have.

3. Sustainability and its relation to the economy is sometimes broken down into 5 capitals which are also helpful ways to break down the enormity of sustainability and take action. By knowing what they are, you can make new choices, step by step, to mitigate any negative impact your business might have for each of the capitals.

   1. Natural Capital - this is about the natural resources of the world. How we use water, impact on water supply and quality, ways we support ecosystems and use precious metals. We can think about promoting pollination and supporting positive land management e.g. non or low chemical practices.

   2. Human capital - this is about the overall well-being of people to provide a more equal world for all. You might think about supporting education or promoting healthy habits. Perhaps you're able to offer flexible working for staff or sharing valuable knowledge.

   3. Social capital - this is all about networks and communities and the way we support healthy cooperation and social structures. What can we do in the language we use and the ways we work with others to support social capital where we are or even in the world?

   4. Built Capital - this is all about infrastructure and the physical assets that are produced by people to support economy. We can think of this in terms of transportation, the way we use technology and systems or perhaps how we use buildings. Are they single use or multifunctional to the benefit of productivity or people?

   5. Financial capital - this is all about the money! We might want to understand where our money is, what investments we make and what the practices are of those institutions. Are we able to use our own financial resources to support other capitals to help sustainable development here or across the world. This could simply be where you bank and how you save.

4. Recycle last. We've all heard of the notion of re-use, recycle and so on, but actually we want to move away from recycling as a 'go to' activity and move ourselves towards a how we purchase in the first place. Recycling should be our last resort. This simple aproach makes a huge difference to many of the structures of negative impacts from day one. If we think of a plastic water bottle as a simple example. Flipping from 'I'll buy this plastic bottle because it's recycled and then I'll recycle it' to 'I will buy an aluminium bottle and never buy pastic bottled water ever again'. You can apply this process to machinery - can you share it with others or repair? You could apply it to clothes or equipment and by re purposed or refurbished?

5. Understand the digital impact on sustainability. Did you know that using AI uses 30% more energy on average and 50% more water resources? How aware were you that buying new tech is using limited precious metals from mines that are difficult to monitor for child labour and negative practices? Of course, this isn't a black and white discussion. AI is here to stay and we all need new tech sometimes, but we can make changes and educate. We could choose to use AI for specific actions and not all the time. We might use 30% less energy elsewhere to mitigate our use. We can choose to make our tech last a very long time so we purchase less or buy refurbished to avoid more virgin mineral use. Simply being aware of how we use new tech is a sustainable act.

6. Make it global & share. There's a misunderstanding that in order to be a sustianable business, you have to be 100% green. Not true. We can make an impact in one or two key areas each year. In a world of greenwash and pretending, it's more important to share your journey with others. Start by committing publicly to doing better. This could be in just one area mentioned above e.g. we will no longer use any single use plastic in the business. Alternatively, you could choose 2 or 3 UNSDGs to align your business to. You can share where you are and what your goals are as a positive and transparent way to let customers know what you believe. You can also think about staying educated so that you can make the best choices for your business and for the planet every step of the way.

If this guide has prompted some new thinking for you and your micro business, then head to our Sustainability Group in the Hub to discuss ways to be more sustainable with your felow members or seek out their support in your own journey. The more we share, the more we can achieve!