How Small Business Can Reduce Its Carbon Footprint

Please welcome Harry Wilson to the 21st Century Tech Blog. This is his first posting to the site. Harry is a senior digital marketing consultant at Globex Outreach. For Harry, writing is a part-time hobby allowing him to share experiences with readers. In his work, he helps clients develop digital marketing plans.

In this posting, Harry looks at an environmental issue: the decarbonizing of small businesses. Short of doing carbon calculations for every aspect of a small business, what can entrepreneurs do to reduce their carbon footprints? I’ll let Harry explain.

Small business has become more eco-conscious and seeks ways to minimize its carbon footprint to ensure sustainability. No matter the business niche, changes can be made to help reduce carbon emissions and protect the environment. It likely cannot happen overnight and does require research. Four areas to focus on make it possible. These include the 3Rs, reduce, reuse, recycle, promotional items, meetings and travel.

Follow 3Rs Principle: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle

Implementing the 3Rs principle is not just a business strategy, it’s a responsible step towards our planet’s safety. By applying this principle to all aspects of your business, regardless of its niche, you can significantly reduce your greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and carbon footprint. 

Small businesses are finding ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle from office supplies to packaging, operations, and waste disposal. Large companies like Coca-Cola have been practicing the 3Rs since 2023. Coca-Cola’s “World Without Waste” initiative has the goal to collect a bottle or can for every one they sell by 2030. Small businesses can make similar efforts and some are already doing it. Here are some case examples:

• Yoloha Yoga – makes yoga mats from cork, a natural, renewable, and recyclable material. The cork used comes from trees that are hand-stripped every nine years rather than cut down.

• Pela – manufactures iPhone and Android phone cases and accessories using biodegradable and compostable materials free of harmful materials.

• EarthSuds – produces single-use shampoo, conditioner and body wash solid tablets that dissolve when used. The tablets replace the amenity plastic bottles and tubes used by hotels resulting in less plastic waste entering landfills.

• Abeego – makes reusable beeswax wraps that replace disposable, non-recyclable plastic wraps.

PDI publishes a Technologies’ Business of Sustainability Index (BOSI), an annual survey that tracks consumer attitudes and behaviours. In 2024, 80% stated a willingness to pay more for sustainable products, a number that has steadily risen from 68% in 2023 and 66% in 2022.

Eco-Friendly Giveaways

If you attend any convention then you have experienced swag, an acronym that means “stuff we all get.” Businesses rely on swag to reward existing and attract new customers. Most swag is cheap, plastic and throwaway.

Reusable swag is relatively new. It includes items like reusable mugs, computer backpacks, pens and utensils made from sustainable materials. Instead of single-use items, biodegradable swag can last and reflect the environmental commitment made by a business.

Companies like Pinnacle Promotions and Bagmasters are marketing branded purpose-driven eco-friendly promotional products and swag. These items are made from natural fibres, bamboo and plastic alternatives that biodegrade.

Online Meetings and Events 

Many small businesses because of the COVID pandemic adopted hybrid work models. Some employees worked on-site while others worked remotely.

Businesses got used to using applications like Zoom, Skype, Microsoft Teams, Adobe Connect, Google Meet, and Webex to stay connected without physically gathering together. The hybrid model has proven to be ecologically advantageous.  

By eliminating the need to travel long distances for official meetings or events, small businesses were able to cut down greenhouse gas emissions and save money on travel.

Other providers of virtual meetings, besides those mentioned above, are focusing on the small business opportunity. Here are three you may have never heard of:

• Jitsi Meet is an open-source online meeting space that is free.
• Talky.io offers simple video conferencing for up to six making it almost ideal for very small businesses.
• GoToMeeting is a subscriber service similar to Zoom that provides enterprise-grade, secure virtual conferencing.

Cutting Travel Emissions 

Greener transportation options dramatically reduce the carbon footprint of small and big businesses. Apple is not a small business but it has reduced its transportation carbon footprint by 20% since 2022.

Small businesses can tackle transportation emissions by converting vehicles from gasoline and diesel to alternate fuels, electricity or hybrid systems. They can institute sustainable commuting programs to reward employees who use public transit, cycle, carpool or walk. They can build chargers on-site to make it convenient for employees to drive electric vehicles.

A quick survey of small business case examples includes the following:

• Penfolds Roofing & Solar is a British Columbia-based business that has converted its vehicle fleet to dual-fuel gasoline and propane reducing fuel costs by 28% and annual carbon emissions by 30 tons. The company has installed solar panels on its head office roof further reducing its reliance on energy generated from fossil fuel sources.

• Van Houtte Coffee Services is another Canadian company that has altered its gasoline-powered fleet into hybrid systems that use gasoline and propane fuel. This has reduced the company’s annual carbon emissions by 27% and saved it $100,000 annually.

• Nature’s Path is another Canadian company that has implemented a “Green My Ride” program. Employees earn credits for using transit, walking, cycling, or carpooling. The company has reduced its carbon emissions by 11% with staff commutes, equivalent to removing 12 tons of GHGs from entering the atmosphere.

There are many more that indicate tackling carbon emissions is not just something big companies can target. Small businesses also can find ways to reduce their carbon footprints and help mitigate the causes of anthropogenic climate change.