If you’re an eco-minded entrepreneur, there are a number of ways you can make your business more sustainable - or alternatively, launch a business entirely focused on sustainable measures. Learning about your potential market and your competition is the first step in planning a successful venture. Behive Design presents you with a guide to establishing your business using sustainable operations.

Have a Green Brainstorming Session

If you’re not sure where to get started, but know you want a business concept that’s sustainable, you likely fall into two camps: a green product or service, or a company that operates with sustainability in mind. For example, a green-focused business might provide products or services that are sourced and made locally, create minimal carbon footprint, or feature sustainable manufacturing processes. If you want your business to “run green,” you might introduce recycled components, minimiSe packaging, and buy and sell locally to cut down on pollution created via air and land transportation shipping. A brainstorming session can point you in the right direction.

Creating Your Business Structure

The first step in launching any business venture is developing a comprehensive business and marketing plan. During this process, you’ll identify your target demographic, narrow the focus of your product or service offerings, analyse the marketplace, and learn competitors’ price points and unique features. You’ll also outline a budget and detail all of your startup needs, from equipment, products and inventory to marketing, office space, or a storefront rental. If you need to apply for small business financing, the business plan will be a necessary part of the application process. According to Simply Business, your plan should be an always-evolving document that serves as a roadmap but should also have the ability to change as circumstances warrant.

In your business plan, emphasise steps that will minimise your carbon footprint, like remote working arrangements and minimiSed waste strategies. Allowing for local deliveries through a robust website can help reduce carbon emissions from long distance transportation, too.

Behive Design can work with you to create a great website and marketing campaign that emphasises the green aspects of your business, like working on the cloud and going paperless. If at all possible, allow your employees to work from home to reduce emissions and the need for more power sources on site.

How to Stand Out

Sustainable productions and operations can cost more than traditional processes. According to Tickled Chili, this makes it important that you’re filling a unique niche with your operation so you can compete and be relevant. You might amplify your approach by collaborating with other green companies, utilising vendors who have sustainable operations, and joining green business coalitions. Banding together in this way gives you all more visibility. You’ll also want to emphasise the eco-friendly elements of your business in your marketing materials. Many consumers seek out businesses that operate in sustainable fashion, so use that to your advantage in your packaging, on your website, and in your social media presence.

Next-Level Green

If you’re already operating your business sustainably, or you currently produce and sell green products and services, look for ways to take your efforts to the next level. Invest in equipment that lowers energy use. Install solar panels on your building(s), go paperless with all of your operational functions, reduce water usage in your company. And always recycle, reuse, and repurpose wherever possible.

If you’re expanding or relocating, build a LEED-certified facility. Get employees involved by creating a committee tasked with coming up with different measures you can collectively take toward protecting the planet. And if you’re a brick and mortar location, try relocating to an area with a high walk score. In other words, plant your new roots in a neighbourhood where many of the shops can be walked to by residents. In this way, you’ll help your customers cut out carbon emissions, too.

Building Your Business Acumen

The world of eco-commerce is continually evolving, and to be on the cutting edge, you need to stay abreast of trends in your industry. Ongoing professional development can also give you new tools and resources to help you grow your business. A master’s degree in business management, marketing, or sustainability can teach you how to apply new concepts, scale your efforts, get employee buy-in, and leverage partnerships to boost your earnings. It can also allow you to make valuable connections that could lead to mutually beneficial collaborations down the line. Join industry associations that focus on sustainable operations, attend conferences and trade shows, and continually look for ways to step up your efforts.

There’s a growing need for more businesses to operate in sustainable ways, as well as an increasing demand for ethically sourced, sustainably produced products and services. There’s no better time to get involved in eco-commerce. Even if you take small steps at first, they can lead to a greener future in more than one way.

Behive Design can help you to create effective marketing campaigns that show off your goods and services, while also highlighting your eco-friendly efforts. Visit us online today to learn more about how we can help your business grow.