If the papers are anything to be believed, we’ll all be living in a smog-filled dystopia before our lives are over, coughing up a lung while multinationals roll around in smoke covered money.
Indeed, activist and writer Naomi Klein called climate change a ‘clear and present danger’, while even large corporations are trying to reduce their carbon emissions for fear of environmental repercussions. But how does this impending energy disaster affect your business?
Well, when even the biggest companies are beginning to sweat climate change (major brands like Tesco, Dupont and B&Q have all implemented carbon-cutting initiatives), smaller companies have to pique their ears and take notice. Just what good is going green for a business?
Here are a few of the benefits.
Good PR
You’ve seen these buzz phrases plastered on seemingly every product – ‘all-natural’, ‘organic’, ‘eco-friendly’. Much like a moth to a flame, consumers are inextricably drawn to the promises of ethical goods. According to site Business Green, many companies are struggling to keep up with demand for green products.
No matter what industry you’re in, looking eco-friendly (and being able to prove it with facts and figures) is the key to consumer engagement.
With so many customers hyper-aware of climate change, they inevitably have a positive response to a product that looks as if it’s raising a helping hand. And an increase in sales for ethical goods can only be a good thing.
Cutting those costs
While the government rolls out fracking initiatives across the British countryside, the business with money on its mind is realising the benefits of cutting energy use. According to the Carbon Trust, UK businesses could save £300 million by trimming emissions.
Even a process as simple as gas meter removal could be the key to cash-saving, allowing companies to implement newer, more effective systems.
More than this, starting something like a recycling initiative in your workplace can help foster a greater sense of community between employees. As they work together to make a greener business, you’ll see an increase in productivity, bonhomie in the office and profits.
You don’t want to fall behind
The world-famous folk singer Nick Drake once stated, in typically wistful fashion, ‘I think they’re leaving me behind’. With his guitar under his arm and his lilting voice evoking countryside splendour, the quickening pace of society was too much for him.
If you stick to your guns on fossil fuels, you’ll soon become a different side of the same coin as Drake. You’ll be mired in the darkness of coal and fracking while other companies – partly for the cost implications, mainly for the good publicity – will be attaching solar panels to their roofs.
The business that can’t move with the times is the business that will ultimately wither, so follow those bigger companies’ lead.
