Welcome to 2020, a new decade and a new chance to make your business as sustainable as possible. We live in an environmentally conscious world, with more people than ever shouting out about how we need to save the planet. The ice caps are melting, global warming is giving us heat waves in autumn, and there have never been so many forest fires across the globe. It is a serious issue we need to address. As a company, you have a responsibility to be sustainable as everything from the way you make products to package them can have an impact on the environment.    

With more people aware of business’ contribution to issues like global warming, people only want to invest their money in companies who are actively trying to reduce their negative impact on the environment. Keep reading to learn how you can dedicate your company to being sustainable from the get-go in 2020. With hard work, awareness and dedication, you can make your company a green business who strives to provide great products which don’t harm the environment.

Think About Your Products

Our products are what make our businesses great. Whatever it is that we sell, clothes, toys or even TVs, we need to think about how we produce them. The way we create our products could be overly harmful to the environment, so we need to assess how and why we use specific methods and materials and look for alternatives. Maybe we can switch out a machine for people who can do the same job. It might take longer, but you are producing fewer fumes, using less energy and help save the environment. Even the materials we use can be looked at too; Adidas has pledged to do away with all virgin polyester (plastic fibres) in its product by 2024. Other companies like Grace Beverley’s TALA range use 92% recycled materials in the production of its clothes. 

Take a look at your own company and see if you can switch out the materials you use for recycled ones instead. If you can make small changes to the way you package and make your products, then you can see a massive difference in your sustainability and the impact on the environment.

Reduce Your Waste

Another way you can make your company more sustainable in 2020 is by reducing your waste. You can do this at an office level, as well as looking at the way you make and package products. Do you have scrap materials left over? Try looking at different ways you can use the materials to get more out of them.

We can also assess how much waste is produced in the office setting. Are people ‘losing’ pens, throwing away paper, printing out too much or even disposing of their waste in the wrong recycling bins? You need to assess how much waste your office is creating and work towards reducing and recycling. Have people print double-sided to reduce the amount of paper used, or even give them a limit of how much they can print.

Try and convey important information via emails and meetings rather than printed on memos or letters as these will be read once and thrown away. You can also reduce the amount of electricity you use by using energy-saving bulbs and turning lights off in rooms unoccupied. If you have a couple of signs up and about reminding people to switch off lights, you can start to see a significant change in the amount of energy used in the office.

Recycle and Reuse

If you reuse and recycle in the workplace, you can be on the right track to greater sustainability in 2020. Fresco Environmental can support your desire to recycle more, providing you with the tools you need, such as bins and front end loaders. With regular on-site visits to assess your companies needs, we can always change how we provide help to keep up with your changing needs.

If you have recycling bins and signs in the workplace and reduce the number of general waste bins, you can see more progress being made. Remind workers of their obligation to recycle and remove general waste bins from their office space. They might kick up a fuss at first, but the environmental benefits from providing them with recycling bins instead are great.

Fresco Environmental take care of everything for you; all you need to do is make sure the waste is placed in the right streams. From there, Fresco Environmental remove the waste and make sure it is taken to be disposed of environmentally and recycled. We aim to bring all waste away from landfills and instead give it new life and purpose elsewhere; whether that’s as animal feed or to be recycled and made into new plastic products.

Check out our website to learn more about Fresco Environmental and how we can help your business be more sustainable in 2020. Whether you are starting from the bottom or want to improve the total waste management plan you already have in place, we can support your journey. Our dedicated teams treat each business as an individual and look at how we can help your business on your specific needs and budget.