Budget talks, chatter about prospective new clients, and one too many discussions about the on-the-fritz coffee machine in the back dominate your business day. But when was the last time you circled back about sustainable corporate purchasing?
“Sustainable corporate purchasing” may not be the sexiest term in the business world, but it’s more important to customers than ever. Research shows that the U.S. is on the verge of a significant shift in its consumption habits, with companies that deliver on their vows to be more sustainable gaining an advantage over brands that haven’t doubled down on their green efforts.
Adopting an eco-friendly approach to purchasing goods and services is an easy step toward making your company truly sustainable, benefiting your brand reputation and bottom line in the long run. Let’s explore the top eight best practices for sustainable corporate purchasing.
1. Embrace Green Energy
Buying renewable energy can quickly help your business promote sustainability and minimize its carbon footprint. Start by entering into a long-term power purchase agreement, or PPA, with a provider of renewable energy. The PPA will allow your firm to buy electricity from a solar or wind farm. This technique offers price consistency and guarantees that your power comes from green initiatives.
Perhaps you have space to host wind turbines or solar panels. Consider investing in your own green energy system to create clean electricity. This can lower your energy expenses considerably while providing a dependable energy supply and boosting your sustainability image.
2. Buy in Bulk
Making bulk purchases is one of the best ways to practice sustainable corporate purchasing. Buying bulk toilet paper and other essentials, like cleaners and personal protective equipment, can help you save big by negotiating lower pricing with suppliers. The per-unit cost falls as the purchase volume rises, ultimately boosting profitability.
Another benefit of buying bulk is that it can decrease waste and your company’s carbon footprint by reducing individual packaging, including wrapping, cardboard, and plastic. Bulk purchasing also reduces transportation emissions since transporting bulk goods requires fewer journeys than smaller and more regular shipments. This decreases fuel use and carbon emissions.
3. Invest in Green Technology
Minimizing your environmental impact and reducing operational costs is easier than ever for businesses thanks to green technologies like light-emitting diode (LED) lighting and green heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems.
LED lighting is much more efficient than fluorescent or incandescent lighting, as it can consume 75% less power and last more than 20 times longer. LED lights also generate less heat, which reduces the demand on air conditioners. Start experiencing significant energy savings by installing LED lighting in your business office, warehouse, and outdoor area.
Upgrading to a more efficient HVAC system can also significantly reduce energy consumption. An efficient HVAC system has features like variable speed drives, or VSDs, which vary the motor’s speed to meet the demand, minimizing energy use. You can also save energy by using a smart thermostat to control the temperature precisely and programming it to conserve power when the office is empty.
4. Recycle the Old Before Buying New
Are you in the market for a new computer numerical control machine? Try recycling your outdated one first. Companies that sell used machines can help you make money from your idle equipment while eliminating disposal costs. It can also help promote natural resource conservation by decreasing the demand for equipment’s raw materials, eliminating the environmental effects of material mining, shipping, and processing.
Recycling offers another green benefit for your business: It can help you minimize the garbage you send to landfills, which saves space and reduces landfill pollution. Less energy is also required to recycle equipment than to create new items from scratch, resulting in less greenhouse gas.
5. Choose Sustainable Packaging
Ship your company’s products using biodegradable packaging, which is constructed from materials that break down organically. For instance, try cornstarch packaging, which is made from maize and is both compostable and biodegradable. Cardboard and paper, which are both biodegradable and recyclable, are commonly used for food packaging and disposable cutlery. Bamboo is another increasingly popular sustainable packaging material for wrapping, bags, and boxes, as it grows quickly.
Looking for more outside-of-the-box green approaches to packaging your products? Use compostable packaging, which decomposes into non-hazardous, soil-enriching components. Polylactic acid is a compostable material made with fermented starch (often corn) and used for packaging, lids, and cups. You can also try bagasse, a compostable sugarcane manufacturing byproduct used to package food. Protective mushroom packaging is another innovative material made from mushroom roots and agricultural waste. When introducing sustainable packaging, remember to inform your employees, partners, and customers about its benefits and how it should be used.
6. Go Local
Look closer to home if you’re considering ordering food for your business’s upcoming annual team-building picnic. Buying food from producers and farms, called local souring, can dramatically cut transportation-related greenhouse gas generation.
Local produce is also typically more nutritious and fresher due to shorter transportation and storage times. Another reason to choose local sourcing is that it will allow you to support local producers and farmers, benefiting your local economy and further enhancing your brand’s image.
Try incorporating more plant-based food options into your catering menu to elevate your green focus and image even more. Plant-based items usually have smaller carbon footprints than their animal-based counterparts, and they often require less land and water.
Make Your Purchasing Strategy Greener
Adding an eco-friendly spin to your corporate purchasing strategy may improve your public image while helping you protect the earth and your bottom line. Adopting a sustainable corporate purchasing approach can be as easy as buying renewable energy, buying in bulk, and investing in energy-efficient technologies. Recycling old business equipment, choosing sustainable packaging, and embracing local sourcing can further help you decrease your company’s carbon footprint. Consider all the above-listed tips for sustainable corporate purchasing to positively affect the planet, people, and your profits long term.
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