Why you should make your business more sustainable - and how to do it

Being an environmentally friendly business has never been more important. For starters, it is something that consumers are increasingly demanding because they feel positive after using products or services from a business that is working to minimise harm to the environment. Looking at the bigger picture, environmentally friendly practices can improve your reputation over the long term. 3Cube Property Solutions takes a deep dive into sustainability, explaining simple strategies you can put into place - and examples of companies who are getting it right.

First things first: what is sustainability?

Being a sustainable business means that you're concerned about more than just keeping costs down and profits up: it means you're thinking about the impact of your company's activities on both society and the environment. It involves making business decisions with the triple bottom line (profits, people, planet) in mind and taking corporate social investment seriously. This is a multi-faceted undertaking in which - from an environmental perspective - businesses need to consider a range of matters from recycling and energy efficiency to the use of chemicals and their carbon footprint.

Top strategies for increased environmental friendliness

There is a wide range of ways that your business can showcase its commitment to the environment. An important first step is to make sustainability part of your mission. If green goals aren't already part of your mission statement, it's a good idea to incorporate them.

Here are some top ideas for putting your goals into practice:

• Use locally sourced products and materials whenever possible. This has both environmental and social benefits, as it minimises the impact of transportation on the environment and provides revenue for local businesses and producers.
• Consider your end products' packaging. Do whatever you can to avoid single-use plastics and consider alternatives like paper, bioplastic and bamboo. Reusable packaging (such as canvas drawstring bags or sturdy cardboard boxes) can be a fantastic option depending on your product.
• Take advantage of recent developments in technology and go paperless - or if you can't go entirely paperless, focus on printing as little as possible.
• Help make recycling second nature in your office as well as in your business as a whole. Place recycling bins next to all rubbish bins and create signs to remind employees what they can and can't recycle.
• Donate, rather than throw away, as much as possible. For example, if you have promotional materials with outdated logos, you could donate them to a charity.

Examples of businesses making great strides towards environmental friendliness

In their blog, South African smart logistics company Pargo listed Cape Union Mart as one of the country's eco success stories. For starters, they supply a range of innovative recyclable products, including jackets and sleeping bags. They use recycled packaging and focus on in-house recycling at their head office in Cape Town.

The blog also mentions The Foschini Group, which is one of the founding members of the South African Plastic Pact. In October 2023, BizCommunity reported that TFG had launched its Sustainable Designer Incubator programme, which aims to support emerging designers while fostering sustainable fashion practices.

Back 2 Nature, a South African beauty products company which harnesses the power of nature, is also renowned for doing its best to take care of our natural world. All their products are packaged in glass jars or aluminium, and the team is currently on a quest to find a greener alternative to the plastic lining currently used on their products' lids.

No matter what industry you're in, you can find ways to lessen your environmental impact - and you can also find the perfect premises in which to do so. Get in touch with 3Cube Property Solutions if your business needs premises in Gauteng or the Western Cape.