YoManila | Small Business, Big Impact: Ways Your Small Business Can Increase Environmental Awareness | Besides using recyclable packaging, your small business can take a more proactive role in promoting sustainability. Considering that businesses – particularly mega corporations from first-world countries – are responsible for the majority of toxic emissions, the least your small business can do is raise awareness about the environment. You can influence your customers to make more sustainable choices. Together, you can leave a positive impact that would last generations.
No matter how small the contributions you’d make, don’t underestimate its power. Besides, taking baby steps often gives the best results. So without further ado, here are the ways your small business can raise environmental awareness:
- Allow Flexible Working Arrangements
If you shifted to a remote working setup during the pandemic, consider continuing it indefinitely. Employees who work from home help decongest the roads, reducing the emissions coming from cars. So if most of the work in your business can be done remotely, don’t oblige your employees to come to the office. Encourage them to keep working from home by disclosing some facts about the carbon footprint left by driving and commuting.
Promoting sustainability in your organization is the first step to being a truly green business. That’s how you make your business a credible source of environmental information and advice.
- Offer Incentives to Employees Using Public Transport
Though commuting also leaves some environmental impact, it’s a more sustainable way to travel than driving a private car. So if your employees need to come to the office, offer incentives to those who would use public transport. Talk to your HR department about the benefits your company can provide. In addition, check with your city transit if they offer subsidized passes for businesses. It would allow you to provide the incentive directly, or your HR department to add the incentive to their benefits software program.
- Post-Environmental-related Content on Social Media
Social media is of course the best platform for spreading information. You can also use it to drive traffic to your main website. Post blogs or articles about the environment on your website, then share its link to your Facebook or Twitter. To post it on Instagram, consider creating an infographic, then put the link on the caption and your bio. The key is to catch the attention of your followers so that they’d willingly visit your website to read the blog.
Take some precautions before posting, however. Sometimes, spreading public awareness can backfire. Ensure that every fact you share has been verified, and only get information from credible websites or any other material. Try not to involve politics or politicians on your posts as well, because that could trigger arguments that can escalate into fights, affecting your small business’s publicity.
- Recommend Books and/or Movies That Tackle Environmental Issues
Since businesses have a reputation of caring only about money, show your customers that you have more meaningful intentions. Engage with them by recommending books and/or movies that tackle environmental issues. Let your customers recommend their favorites, too. It’s a way to connect your customers with each other and humanize your business.
You can also take a more subtle approach to recommending books or movies. For example, on a Friday night, post a photo of a Netflix screen showing the intro for the documentary “Our Planet.” If your business sells blankets, your post will demonstrate one way to use your product. As a result, you can put your customers in the mood to watch an environmental documentary while snuggling up in your blanket.
- Add a Touch of Nature to Your Brick-and-Mortar or Office
If your shop or office has a space for landscaping, hire a lawn service company to add a touch of nature to your business premises. Commercial landscaping can boost your business image, not to mention attract customers. In addition, it allows you to learn how to look after plants. By having a garden in your care, you’d know when to prune branches, pluck out weeds, and water the plants, and learn the consequences of not doing them.
It would make you closer to nature as a result. In addition, your landscaped garden can attract some birds and animals, which can strengthen your determination to protect certain species and their habitats.
In turn, your newfound determination can be your fuel to raise environmental awareness even more. Your employees can also absorb your energy and be just as passionate as you. Promoting sustainability and discussing environmental issues require passion to deliver an impact, after all. So, simply put, start by raising awareness in your organization first, then spread it to your customers afterward. Your organization’s collective effort is key to accomplishing your mission.
YoManila | Small Business, Big Impact: Ways Your Small Business Can Increase Environmental Awareness
