Building a Socially Conscious Business
Choose one: Make money or save the envionment.
Traditionally, the mutually exclusive choice between making a profit or helping the environment has been the choice that many organizations have had to face. For a long time, it has seemed that in order to make money, you’ve got to destroy the world in the process.
But isn’t there a way to build a financially successful business that is ecologically and environmentally sustainable at the same time? I believe there is, if we all make changes to the way we work.
Small Steps, Big Effects
Sometimes the smallest changes have the largest effects. Take 15 minutes today and think of simple ways you could help to make your organization reduce, reuse, and recycle the resources available. As a bonus, try to focus on ways you can reduce costs at the same time for extra effect.
A few ideas:
- Print less - The next time you go to print a document, ask yourself "Does this really need to be printed?" and "Is there another way to get this document to its destination without paper?"
- Make your next computer a Tablet / Slate - We’ve had a lot of success with our Tablet PCs at soma. Clients love that we can hand it around at meetings, and the stylus interface is intuitive. This also helps to save on paper costs.
- Phone conferences for smaller meetings - If there are one or two smaller items to go over with a few members of a team in separate areas, use the phone instead of meeting physically. This will save the company hours of pay and cut back on fuel usage, as well.
It Starts at the Top
Large-scale changes need to be adopted at the top of the organization in order to be successful. If you have the ability to make changes in your organization that will help replace old methods with new, I urge you to take a look at your options environmentally. It is not like the old days; many environmentally friendly choices cost the same as regular methods or can actually save you money.
Consider
- Allowing workers to telecommute - If a worker has a long commute, buy them a laptop and have them work from home. You don’t need to commit to this for years up front: Try it out a few days per week for 2 weeks and watch that worker’s productivity and happiness soar.
- Implementing a recycling program in the office - Placing a recycling bin next to each garbage in the office sends a good signal to team members in your organization, doesn’t cost much, and helps reduce and reuse waste.
- Training team members to always consider the environment and waste with every decision in their work. Having your team members constantly looking for ways to improve efficiency and having a corporate culture of helping the environment is simply good business.
Helping businesses and organizations that are working to make the world a better place is one of the main driving forces behind our efforts at soma. We all have a responsibility to help each other and leave the world in a better condition than it was in the day before.
What does your organization do in order to maintain a sustainable balance between environmentalism and profitability?
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