Sustainable business practices

The word ‘sustainability’ isn’t new for me, it was a concept that I was introduced to when I was a fresh-faced graduate (not too many years ago…haha). Back then, it was an area the firm I was working for had invested in as a new service offering. Although it didn’t quite work out all those years ago, I feel that expectation has changed with the times and we as a nation could finally be ready to make a significant change not just business but generations to come.

With unprecedented access to information, we are hearing, seeing and living the real effects of how the environment is changing. I mean ‘never have I ever’ lived in a time where the land of the long white cloud would (in the space of minutes) turn into the land of the yellow sky’s (which is what happened when smoke from Australian fires made its way across the ditch). Right throughout New Zealand there are great examples of New Zealanders leading the way and in true New Zealand spirit we can all make a positive difference by doing the simple things.

Quite often, the focus is with those industries who are seen as the worst offending i.e. transport/ farmers. Rightly so given the response and questions need to continue to be asked so that those within these industries continue to look for new ways of doing things. I am however happy that there appears to be good progress being made i.e. EV trucks, the work being completed on NZ water ways and work being done around fossil fuel free shipping are some great initiatives aimed at having more environmentally friendly business. As a person that has worked in an office most of my professional career, I have also wondered about the efforts of those that work in a corporate office. Often driven by a small number of enthusiasts or the annual community event. Not that these do not have value or are not great to be a part of (as every little bit counts). However I think we could do more!

So having a quick think about how regular every day office people could do more to incorporate sustainable behavior into the 9 to 5 (or beyond for those that burn the midnight oil) let’s start with the following (no particular order):

1.     Coffee: lets start with coffee, frankly we consume way too many cups of coffee/ tea a day. I read an article a few years ago which said New Zealanders consume almost 300 million Takeaway coffee cups a year. What was even more alarming, most of these are not recyclable and therefore head to the landfill. Just as you have a cupboard full of mugs for staff to use, why not buy a cupboard full of Keep cups for your team to use internally and externally. Reusable, hand washable and if you have a café owner who is like minded, quite often you get a 5 -10% discount on the coffee purchase. As for the pounds and pounds of coffee grounds that most are currently throwing into a bin, there are many uses for ground coffee beans. Most are to do with plants / composting so ask around the office. You never know, there might be a staffer who does this already.

2.     Go paperless: Accountants and I am sure many other professionals are very poor at adopting technology to reduce the amount of paper used. Many I am sure still use some form of paper file. I am quite proud at how much our office has done to go paperless but also accept that we could do more. It is 2020 so as professionals, lets use the new decade to start some new behaviors. The less paper you use, the less printing you do, the less time it takes which all in all equates to less time and cost.

3.     Transport: Support alternative means of transport i.e. put in some bike racks for those who want to bike to work. Offer a subsidy for those who use public transport. Where possible car pool (those in our audit team will know all about this). Whether it is any one of the above or taking the stairs instead of the lift it is not only good for you it is good for the environment.

4.     Finally, flick the switch. Whether you are going for lunch, leaving a meeting room or you can run your last hour on your lap top battery. The collective impact of these small but powerful steps will help keep the power bill down and the bosses happy.

The funny thing about writing this, is that I only wanted to write my standard paragraph but with a coffee in hand, the sounds of Whitney blaring in the background this is what you get. There is a lot of information and guidance available to help get you started, and it would be great if, the professionals community can make some positive changes around the office which is a tick for business and a tick for sustainability.

It takes a while to change behaviors and I am sure there are other simple things we can do around the office. In fact, I would love to hear some of the things you are doing around your offices that we could collate and have as a Top 20 for 2020.

Let me know via a comment. Happy Anniversary Auckland and enjoy the rest of the week everyone!