What is business sustainability? Sustainability is a word which has been thrown about social media, various industries and even the government recently. The world is consumed by being more environmentally friendly, which includes being aware of sustainability.

Sustainability means cutting down, reusing and recycling business waste to minimise the negative impact on the environment. Not only is sustainability a moral obligation, but it can help boost your brand awareness to a world of consumers preaching a sustainable lifestyle. With new brands like TALA promoting sustainable clothing (with 92% recycled materials), and everyone keeping an eye on the environment around us, you need to be aware of the adverse impact of your business waste.

Everything from product materials, packaging and office waste, can contribute to the 41 million tonnes of commercial and industrial waste we produce. The EU has a target for the UK to recycle at least 50% of household waste by 2020, but that doesn’t mean businesses shouldn’t be environmentally conscious and sustainable this autumn too.

This autumn is the perfect time to start a total waste management plan for your company. With Christmas a few weeks away, you can begin altering your sustainability now to appear more appealing to potential customers when the Christmas buzz hits. Don’t waste time! Keep reading to learn more about business sustainability and how you can make your company more environmentally friendly now.

Check Your Packaging

You can start making a change in your business by looking at how you can cut down on waste from your packaging. Lots of packaging is plastic or cardboard, making it relatively easy to recycle. But, as a business, we can still include way more packaging than necessary. Please take a look at the different packing materials you use and try to swap them for alternatives such as recycled plastic and cardboard. If you use materials that have already been used and recycled (and can be recycled again), then you will cut down on the amount of waste you are adding to landfills.

Once you have designed a new packaging plan and started implementing it in your warehouses and packing facilities, then you can promote these changes online. Social media is a great way to make consumers aware of your business sustainability goals and changes. If consumers can see that you are actively making changes to be more environmentally conscious, they will like and approve of your brand more. This can come in handy when choosing between environmentally friendly competitors, like yourself, and those who are not.

Product Materials

Looking at the materials you use to create your products can take a little longer as you have to think about the costs of new, more sustainable materials and manufacturing before you start making changes. You might not make lots of significant changes by Christmas, but starting now will set you in the right direction for the new year.

Unilever and Nestle have both made essential commitments to being more sustainable. Unilever promised to cut down on palm oil and its overall waste. At the same time, Nestle made significant commitments to be more environmentally friendly regarding climate, product life cycle, water efficiency and waste. By looking at large companies and how they have altered their products to be more sustainable, you can take note. Research your industry to find popular trends of sustainability and develop an understanding of the environmental journey you need to be on.

Walmart, IKEA and H&M are also moving towards being more sustainable, by reducing their waste, increasing resource productivity and optimising material usage. If most of, if not all, of your products, can be broken down and recycled, then consumers are more likely to purchase it over a competitor who doesn’t use recyclable materials – especially those who are very keen to protect the planet.

Waste Management

As a business, you have a responsibility to recycle and reduce your waste, both legally and morally. Our Earth needs us to look after it better if we want to have a healthier and brighter future living on it. 

Working with Fresco Environmental this Autumn can help you see a positive change in the amount that you are recycling as a business. Depending on the size and amount of waste that you need to recycle, Fresco can provide your business with front end loaders (FEL), wheelie bins, skips and compactors from our fleet. We work with you as an individual business to create unique solutions to fit your needs and financial situation. With regular on-site visits, KPIs and open communication, we are always looking for ways to improve our work with you.

At Fresco Environmental, we have made a promise to avoid taking waste to landfill sites and instead, recycle all of our waste. We can recycle and reuse anything from WEEE (waste electrical and electronic equipment) to cardboard, plastics, metal, food and glass waste, to name only a few streams. We handle everything from providing you with the equipment needed to recycle to collecting it from your site and recycling it effectively and appropriately. Check out our website today to learn more about our services and how we can help you.