Running an Environmentally Sustainable Business

We can’t reverse past environmental damage, but businesses can protect what remains and drive measurable improvement. This guide helps to show practical steps businesses could take to run a sustainable operation.

What Is an Environmentally Sustainable Business?

Environmentally sustainable businesses adopt a proactive and strategic approach to sustainability, aiming to positively impact the environment, society, and the economy. They integrate sustainable practices into their core operations, ensuring that their growth aligns with environmental stewardship and social responsibility.

Natural resources are finite, and renewable resources are not limitless, so adopting sustainable practices is essential. By integrating environmental solutions and conservative resource policies, businesses can lead the charge in sustaining our planet for generations to come.

Environmentally Friendly Business Benefits

Adopting an environmentally conscious approach offers numerous advantages for organisations:

Stronger organisational resilience: Implementing a robust sustainability policy can be essential for long-term business continuity and risk management. It can demonstrate commitment to environmental responsibility, which may support greater adaptability as natural resources become more limited.
Improved public relations: Organisations that avoid hazardous or limited supplies can be viewed more favourably. Consumers may prefer to engage with businesses that are environmentally aware, enhancing your brand’s reputation.
Cost savings: Sustainable practices not only conserve resources but can also help to cut expenses. For instance, BT Group’s water self-supply initiative has saved the company over £3.6 million between 2019 and 2024 by improving water usage monitoring and reducing leaks.
More attractive for employees and investors: A clear commitment to environmental awareness could attract job seekers and investors.
A healthier workplace: Maintaining a cleaner, lower-pollution workplace environment can help to contribute to improved staff wellbeing.

Discover our training courses to help improve your company’s environmental awareness.

What Are Some Examples of Sustainable Businesses?

Some examples of sustainable companies include:

Unilever

Unilever’s Planet & Society Plan sets a variety of ambitious green targets such as achieving net-zero emissions by 2039, eliminating deforestation, and protecting and regenerating land, forests and oceans.

Lush Cosmetics

Using all-natural ingredients, without any animal testing or dangerous chemicals, Lush delivers eco-friendly products and implements sustainable practices within its company and community. Lush’s packaging has a high recycled content (around 89%), and they employ biodegradable and recycled materials to reduce environmental impact.

PepsiCo

PepsiCo’s sustainable packaging efforts support their pep+ ambition to create a Positive Value Chain by contributing to more circular and sustainable systems. They aim to design 97% or more of their primary and secondary packaging in key packaging markets to be reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2030. PepsiCo also aims to replenish 75% of the water that it uses back into the local watershed in high water-risk areas by 2030.

Green Business Ideas

There are many ways to enhance an organisation’s sustainability, including:

Attention to water usage: Conserving water is crucial. Organisations could prevent waste by ensuring taps are tightly closed and addressing leaks promptly. This practice supports both environmental conservation and profit margins.
Equipment supplier considerations: Organisations could choose suppliers who offer reusable packaging. This aligns with a greener workplace policy and upholds their environmental principles.
Local suppliers: Because environmental impact increases with distance, where feasible, sourcing from local suppliers may help reduce transport-related emissions.
Energy Audits: An energy audit, conducted by an independent specialist, can help organisations identify energy inefficiencies and reduce consumption. Identifying energy inefficiencies helps conserve resources and reduce costs.

For more ideas about how to save energy, read sustainability ideas for businesses.

Linking Environmental Sustainability to Long-Term Plans

Developing an effective environmental management system, built and maintained against the requirements of ISO 14001, that aligns with an organisation’s core long-term values is crucial for successful implementation. Consider these strategies:

Strategy	Purpose
Integrate environmental factors into business decisions	Organisations should consider the environmental impact of every decision. If an action might negatively affect the environment, it should be reconsidered. Environmental considerations should be prioritised alongside critical business decisions.
Consider appointing a Chief Sustainability Officer, or similar	A specialist should be designated to oversee the organisation’s global impact. Whether selecting an existing team member or hiring externally, it’s essential they have the authority to influence decisions, particularly in financial planning. This role should focus on directing investments towards sustainable practices.
Introduce environmental metrics	Clear environmental goals and targets should be set. Suppliers should be encouraged to meet or exceed these standards. Working with suppliers that align with your environmental objectives can support wider sustainability goals.
Embed sustainability in your workforce	An organisation should integrate its environmental strategy at every level, especially among employees. Clear guidelines on their role in sustainability should be provided, and incorporating environmental awareness into development plans is beneficial. An environmental policy can support this integration.

What Is an Environmental Policy?

An environmental policy demonstrates commitment to sustainability and tracks measurable improvements. While not legally required, an environmental policy can demonstrate intent to act in accordance with environmental regulations.

Environmental policies vary between organisations, depending on their specific objectives and aims.

What Are the Benefits of an Environmental Policy?

Creating a company environmental policy can provide some serious benefits to an organisation’s internal operations, including:

Clearly defining environmental roles within the workforce
Reducing wastage of both materials and energy within operations
Structures for monitoring and reducing environmental impact
Preventing incidents that could result in liability

Looking outside the business, the benefits can become even more considerable:

More business: Having a robust environmental policy may support competitiveness, particularly when customers or tenders favour environmentally responsible suppliers.
Improved relationships: Companies that take better care of their local environment, from less noise pollution to fewer vehicles on the road, have a better relationship with the local community.
Contractual advantages: In certain procurement processes, having an environmental policy, particularly when aligned with ISO 14001 certification, may help demonstrate due diligence regarding environmental impact.

How to Write an Environmental Policy

1. Clearly state organisation commitments

Ensure the policy supports the broader goals of the organisation. Setting targets for waste reduction or new behaviours should enhance, not hinder, overall performance. Consider factors like cost, risk reduction, and public relations benefits.

2. Keep it short and concise

Condense the message to be powerful and straightforward. When your aims and objectives are clear, they should be easy to articulate.

3. Use simple language

Use clear and accessible language to promote understanding and engagement.

4. Be realistic

Set achievable targets and timelines. Overly ambitious goals could be demotivating if not met, so check that they are feasible.

5. Circulate the policy

Distribute the policy to suppliers and customers. Display it in staff areas to ensure everyone understands its importance and supports the improvement programme.

What to Include in Your Policy

An environmental policy will be highly relevant to your business. It typically tends to consider the context of your business and mandate specific changes.

In line with good practice, many businesses focus on both environmental objectives and the specific actions required to achieve them. When writing the environmental policy statement, the following tend to be included:

Policy statement
Policy Scope
Roles and responsibilities of the people involved
Information on how progress will be measured and monitored
How the policy will be communicated

Keeping your environmental policy up to date

If your organisation consistently meets its environmental targets, consider updating your policy document. Many businesses will hold regular review sessions to gather feedback from different departments on progress towards performance indicators, to ensure sustainability is maintained.

As operations evolve and new environmental insights emerge, the policy can be reviewed and updated accordingly.

Adding to your environmental policy

A robust environmental policy can underpin your corporate social responsibility and sustainable development initiatives. For businesses in heavy production or machinery-intensive industries, there is a strong link between community and environmental responsibilities.

Similarly, your sustainability policy will align closely with your environmental policy. This evaluation can be integrated into your EMS planning processes, helping to identify improvement opportunities. Consider reusing, recycling, or even selling waste as a resource, and exceeding legal obligations for sustainable business operations.

Demonstrating a commitment to a clear environmental policy goes beyond setting targets to reduce harmful practices; it reflects your organisation’s mindset and culture.

Support Sustainable Practices with ISO 14001

Environmental responsibility could help to set your business apart. It is also important to remember that an environmental policy needs to have a management and implementation section that focuses on how the policy is actually delivered alongside effective systems for measurement.

This is where implementing the requirements of a standard like ISO 14001 excels, as it requires organisations to establish, implement, maintain, and continually improve an environmental management system. This includes an environmental policy, objectives, and processes for monitoring, evaluation, and improvement. Read our detailed guide to ISO 14001 to learn how to implement the standard and contact our helpful team for more information.