Sustainability Advantages: 6 Business Benefits of Going Green

Over 80% of consumers think well of brands that implement eco-friendly business practices.

And the benefits of going green do not end with better brand reputation!

In this article, we will discuss six sustainability advantages that will give your business good reasons to rethink its current practices.

We will also show you how doForms can help you do more with your data collection while doing better for your environment.

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6 Sustainability Advantages For Businesses

Let’s jump straight into it and go over six major perks that come with going green.

1. Saving On Utilities & Office Supplies

In terms of utility, the first and immediate step you can take is monitor and reduce energy use. Train your team to turn off the lights and devices they do not need.

The next step would be to switch to renewable energy sources such as wind or solar power.

Both of these will help you reduce your monthly electric bills which could result in substantial savings on the annual level depending on the size of your business..

While training your staff to be mindful of their use of electricity, don’t forget to mention the water use. This would result in symbolic savings, but the environmental impact would be significant.

The next point on your checklist: Reduce the use of paper.

This will take joint effort as there are steps you can take as individuals, such as reusing scrap paper, and as an organization, such as digitalizing paper-based processes; for example, you can replace your paper forms with doForms’ mobile forms. But, more on that later.

Bottom line:

Being mindful with how you use your office, including utilities and stationary, will improve your bottom line. As they say, “little things add up,” so much so that

75% of UK businesses that invest in eco-conscious tech and practices have enjoyed commercial benefits.

Also, it’s worth mentioning that when your business reduces energy costs and gains efficiency as a result, you are on your way towards attaining green tax credits.

2. Improved Brand Image

Cone Communications CSR Study found that 87% of consumers would rather buy from an eco-conscious brand.

Also, 92% of consumers are likely to put their trust in such a company.

In other words: adopting sustainable practices and telling the world about it will affect how consumers perceive your brand.

Another study found that a brand’s environmental impact is an important consideration for 37% of consumers that factors into their purchasing decision.

A green approach to business not only improves your company’s reputation and brand image, it also gives you an upper hand on the market.

Which brings us to the next point…

3. Appeal To A Rising Demographic

Sustainability is the buzzword of today.

Millennial and Gen-Z consumers are much more concerned about the environment than previous generations. They have even started to expect transparency from brands on this score and to hold them accountable.

Some of the world’s biggest brands have taken concrete steps to appeal to this demographic that represents a growing consumer base.

Amazon highlights its devotion to sustainability through a dedicated online hub. The company connects with other high-profile brands using well-thought-out messaging to explain how they’re helping the environment.

Another example is L’Oreal, a cosmetics company whose carbon footprint used to be substantial due to discarded packaging, among other factors. The brand takes full ownership of this issue and lets consumers browse through its green initiatives and objectives that lists the ways in which they work on solving the problem.

The good news is: Most brands have not caught onto this trend yet.

Big retailers and corporations are under immense pressure because their competitors are racing to gain favor among increasingly eco-conscious consumers.

Smaller brands, however, have much more room to leverage sustainability for their competitive advantage and grow their market share in doing so.

4. Better Investment Possibilities

Investors are starting to see the brand’s environmental impact as an important criterion in their evaluation.

When your business goes green, it not only saves resources and improves its brand image, but it positions itself for better investment possibilities and greater market value.

5. Greater Employee Satisfaction

Companies that follow green practices have a 16% boost in employee productivity.

And, according to Adecco’s study, 52% of employees want their employers to be more environmentally friendly.

Working for eco-conscious businesses has been found to boost employee morale and results in greater work satisfaction.

So, if you are looking for ways to improve employee engagement, loyalty, and retention, going green can do wonders for your business.

Use the internal newsletter to explain your incremental path to sustainability, as this gives a clear and consistent sense of purpose to your employees.

6. Mandatory Regulatory Compliance

Rising energy costs and tighter environmental regulations are listed among the “Top 10 Risks for Business” in 2020’s Ernst & Young’s report.

Moreover, the US and EU companies will be required to lower their carbon emissions between 50% and 80% by 2025s.

In pursuit of this ambitious goal, an increasing number of US’ states and other governments worldwide are introducing or are planning to introduce strict environmental compliance regulations.

It is a gradual process that defines going green as staying ahead of the curve.

Waiting for your government to impose these measures can lead to hasty, yet systematic changes.

Implementing the changes sooner than later, on the other hand, allows you to introduce new systems and processes gradually.

This will give your organization enough time to assimilate the novelties and avoid costly mistakes or long-term damages of large overnight transformation.

How Can Companies Go Green With doForms?

 

doForms helps you digitalize your data collection, storage and management.

It also helps you reduce or eliminate paper use by providing you with customizable mobile forms your on-site workforce can use even offline.

Take JLL for instance.

By switching to doForms, they were able to replace 80-page surveys with a simple digital form. Here is our case study.

That is 80 pages per survey that needed to be filled out, processed and stored, or thrown away if the survey needed updating.

Now think about this: During its lifecycle, a single piece of paper produces 20.9 grams of carbon emissions. Using doForms’ mobile forms saves one tree for 80,500 pieces of paper they replace, and in doing so, reduces carbon emissions by over 1.6 million grams.

Effectively, doForms saves you money and eliminates harmful emissions simultaneously.

With doForms’ paperless forms solutions, you can turn all your paper data into electronic files, update, store and manage them in real-time.

Moreover, with its real-time data synchronization, i.e. storage, as well as updates, using doForms for on-site data collection will reduce (or eliminate) the need for trips to the office for paper filing and updating purposes.

With one click, you can deploy the latest version of your mobile form to your on-site team, while your on-site team can communicate their data to you just as easily.

Our forms seamlessly integrate with all major third-party applications and industry-standard software that improves your operational productivity, including:

• ProPay
• SalesForce
• Geotab
• Evernote
• GoogleDrive
• Dropbox
• Microsoft Excel
• Microsoft Word

What Are The Advantages Of Going Green? (Real-Life Examples)

Top-rated companies from various industries have already achieved sustainability advantages. We will name only a few.

Danish energy supplier Ørsted was named the most sustainable company in the world which followed their transformation to a green energy supplier by moving away from fossil fuels to renewable energy.

This went hand in hand with their reported 4% rise in profitability.

Apparel brand Addidas joined forces with Parley for Oceans to make limited edition shoes made from plastic retrieved from the ocean.

Adidas improved its image significantly by promoting this sustainable line of sneakers.

They were a massive hit:

The sneakers sold out immediately and Adidas subsequently made about one billion dollars from another edition of 5 million pairs.

United Airlines has been making their planes lighter, which reduced the use and cost of fuel.

The company has saved more than $2 billion on fuel so far.

Google – one of the largest energy consumers in the US – uses emission-free power that comes from wind, solar and other renewable sources.

This cut down the brand’s utility costs by 10%

How Can Companies Go Green? 4 Small Changes For Big Impact

There are numerous ways in which your business can achieve sustainability advantages.

Here are some of the smallest yet effective incentives and changes that will improve your business’s efficiency and reduce carbon footprint.

1. Telework

Today’s technology – accelerated by COVID-19 pandemic circumstances – allow for screen/file sharing and video conference calls which are the staple of successful remote work. Having employees teleworking reduces commuting-related carbon emissions and company utility expenses.

2. Going paperless

Paper makes about 23% of the total municipal waste. Since 2016, 28 millions hectares of woods are lost yearly. Switching to electronic forms helps reducing the amount of paper and prevents deforestation that is needed to make paper.

Cloud networks and electronic apps replace paper-based inventory, improve company productivity and promote sustainable living. Electronic forms are one of the most efficient ways of going paper-free.

3. Reusable products

Particularly useful for retail brands that want to go green, the eco-friendly nature of reusable products is favored by consumers. These items also put a stop to additional waste in landfills.

4. Carpooling

By using public transportation or providing incentives for carpooling, your company promotes an environmentally friendly atmosphere and green living. This effectively cuts down the gas emission from vehicles and improves the quality of air.

Sustainability Advantages Recap

The sustainability advantages are many: Businesses that go green enjoy a greater financial efficiency, improve their brand reputation, gain competitive advantage and more.

doForms effectively helps businesses reduce carbon footprint by cutting down paper waste and, in doing so, improving both the internal and external brand image.

Our electronic mobile forms will also accelerate your organization’s daily workflow by efficiently collecting and organizing data, while reducing expenditure.

Mobile eForms’ key benefits include:

• Real-time functionality
• Versatility
• Cost-effectiveness
• Customization
• Safety and security
• Accessibility