Why adding green initiatives to your company makes dollars and sense.
Sustainability is quickly becoming not only a benefit but an expectation for most companies. This has pushed many businesses in every industry to adopt green initiatives. Big names including Hewlett Packard, Cisco Systems, McCormick & Company, Unilever, and Tesla have joined the ranks in adopting strong sustainable and green initiatives company wide.
But you may be asking why should you add green initiatives to your company?
There are multiple benefits to adding green initiatives to your company. These include:
1. Enhanced brand image and increased competitive advantage
One of the most important advantages to adding green initiatives is increased sales from an increase in brand image and competitive advantage. Research shows the following:
- Consumers are 58% more likely to buy your company’s products or services when they know your organization is mindful of its impact on society and the environment.
- Consumers are willing to spend up to 20% more on environmentally sound products and services.
- A recent survey found that 88% of Americans believe taking care of the earth is very important
2. Better financial and investment opportunities
According to Newsweek article “Green Revenue: How Companies Generate Revenue While Enhancing the Environment”, Morgan Stanley reports that 71% of investors want portfolios of companies that point toward a greener environment and sustainable economy. This is reinforced by an article from the Harvard Business Review that discusses how investment companies are heavily implementing Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues into their investment strategies. According to this article, as of April 2018, the number of investment companies committed to ESG issues in their investments had grown to 1,715 and represented $81.7 trillion in accounts managed.
3. Improved recruitment and retention of quality employees
Green initiatives can not only bring consumers to your doorstep but can also bring employee loyalty and new employees. The new workforce manning the companies of today are more focused on the environment than ever. Feeling good about where they work is of huge importance to the Millennial and Gen Z workforce. In a recent HP Workforce survey, 56 percent of respondents said “ignoring sustainability in the workplace is as bad as ignoring diversity and inclusion.” Forty percent said they would look for new jobs if their current employers did not engage in sustainable business practices, and 39 percent even said they would warn others of their company’s poor sustainability practices
4. Increased productivity and reduced costs
There is a wide range of green initiatives your company can implement that can increase productivity and lower your costs. It can be as simple as switching out light-bulbs for more efficient options or a bigger commitment by adding a renewable energy system to your location. If you are choosing the latter, you have a range of renewable energy options from solar to wind to gasification. Gasification is an option that can benefit most companies two-fold. First, it can save a company, with a substantial amount of waste, money because it creates on site waste management. The cost avoidance from no longer having to pay tipping fees or transportation costs to remove the waste can be substantial. Second, that waste can be converted to heat and electricity to cut down on utility costs. And the cherry on the top is the waste is not going to landfills to harm the environment.
