New Year´s resolutions for a sustainable entrepreneurship

When starting a new year, it is inevitable - and very healthy - to take it as an important milestone and an opportunity to rethink how we are doing things. And by "things" we mean both how we impact the world with our daily activity and how we get involved in our business to move it forward, including everything we sacrifice for it.  

With this post, we seek to give you some ideas to make your business more sustainable for both the world and you, positively impact the environment and do all that without losing profitability. 

To achieve a turn towards a greener business model, the key is you: as the basis of the business, you represent its main engine of change. 

There are many measures you can take, starting with your own lifestyle and ending with the procedures and philosophy of the company: small gestures but that are a substantial improvement if we add them all. You will see how this impacts your life at all levels, it will even make you happier as an entrepreneur.

Let's look at some concrete examples of things you can do to implement - this year, yes - a sustainable entrepreneurship. 

Sometimes, we are less efficient than we imagine because, at some point, it was decided to do things in a way and it has not been raised again if it is the best according to environmental criteria. 

This is transversal to the business and affects all levels in cases such as the filing system. Are you one of those who print absolutely everything to keep it on paper? That, in the middle of 2020, has to change towards a digital model. 

Imagine how things change if all the invoices issued and received start to be PDFs saved on a server. Imagine the time you will save by finding a file, or the amount of physical space you will no longer have to pay for.

I do not mean the product, raw material or anything like that. In this case, I mean the office's logistics, with things like not buying plastic glasses and cutlery, or giving each worker a refillable glass bottle - with your brand logo, why not? - not to buy water packed in single-use plastic. 

It can also be interesting to centralize orders on a monthly basis so as not to generate so much transport, switch to recycled paper, also recycle consumables such as printer cartridges and waste derived from daily consumption … 

Change your way of buying and you will see how your way of living changes too. 

Always turn to suppliers who have your confidence in that regard whenever possible. If they are certified companies with seals such as those issued by different organizations and reference entities, all the better. 

We refer to standards such as ISO, but also other external standards such as Energy Star for electronic products or FSC for paper and cellulose derivatives such as packaging. 

Since we bring up the issue of packaging, it is important to emphasize that a large part of the waste we generate as a company comes directly from those boxes and containers we use for the distribution of our products. 

First thing I would always recommend is that you use only the necessary material. You cannot imagine what you can save by using custom boxes for your product instead of other standard ones. 

The main reason is that you are using raw material unnecessarily, because the standard box is usually oversized, which means that you also have to add additional filler protection (in many cases derived from plastic). 

Cardboard and paper, when they are recycled, are quite efficient with a quality / price ratio very close to being optimal. With this we refer again to the issue of seals and certifications: it is basic. 

Even so, it is logical to say that nothing pollutes less than what is not used. So maybe you can join the Zero Waste trend that is so strong in cosmetics and basically uses reusable containers or products such as solid shampoo, which does not require any type of bottle or container. 

 

In other cases, you may be able to invest in the research of materials and advances in packaging, as in the example of Cove water and its fully degradable bioplastic bottles. In fact, this policy, together with that of nearby operating products, is one of its strategic differential values. 

This may be one of the most radical changes of 2020, because it affects the very nature of your business. However, there are very profitable eco-friendly niches that can make you grow as an entrepreneur, while making your business more sustainable. 

From cosmetics to household goods, through food products in bulk or fashion. It is not a trend, it is a paradigm change that the client proactively seeks. It no longer “rewards” green companies, it is that, in many cases, it is not considered buying in others for a matter of civic and environmental awareness. 

Surely you have heard or read: "Being an entrepreneur is a full time job.” Right? Well, it is very important that you do not believe it. It should not be that way. 

Nobody is only an entrepreneur: we are also mothers or fathers, we have family, friends, hobbies ... Do not let work define absolutely what you are and learn to disconnect when necessary. 

This is important from the human point of view, but it also has an impact on sustainability, because most businesses can and should have a reasonable schedule that allows them to “stop machines” a few hours a day. 

Rest, eat healthy every day (forget about eating anything in front of the computer), exercise regularly ... Self-care is synonymous with self-respect. 

A person who is not a priority for himself, will hardly be able to generate positive dynamics for the environment or for those around him. Give that turn to your life if you still do not do it and encourage people who work with you also take care of such simple actions as having fruit in the office, a healthy and ecological snack that does not need plastics or packaging and is fully biodegradable, in addition to very nutritious.