As a business in the digital sphere, we’re always looking toward the future for new technology and information. One way we stay future-focused is by practicing sustainability to preserve natural resources. For businesses, sustainability is an integrated approach to maintaining ethical practices at every step of the supply chain. By committing to sustainability, we become committed to protecting resources for generations to come. We can all take steps to live a more environmentally sustainable life. Organizations can implement sustainability through a top-down approach, while employees can help enforce everyday best practices for sustainability.
Here are 3 ways to practice sustainability in your business:
1. Reduce Carbon Emissions
Carbon emissions come from using electricity, heat, and transportation. Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane trap heat in the atmosphere. This drastically harms various species and contributes to wildfires, droughts, and disruptions in food supply. Reducing the need for things that release carbon emissions can help the environment. At LDM, we have a virtual office, reducing travel for commutes and meetings. This allows us to drastically cut down on the greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere.
2. Source Materials Responsibly
Businesses have the power to make sure their suppliers are sourcing responsibly, avoiding harmful methods of production like unsafe working conditions, human rights violations, and environmental factors such as air and water pollution. Having a responsible sourcing program eradicates sustainability risks within the supply chain. For LDM, it is an ongoing process of checking and auditing to ensure best practices are being observed. For any given supply we use, if we cannot tell its full chain of custody, we don’t procure it. Period. A simple but effective way to vote with our dollars.
3. Reduce Waste
Businesses play a big part in waste. Poor waste management has many negative effects on the environment, such as climate change and air pollution. It can also directly affect many ecosystems and species. Landfills release methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. Although eliminating all waste is often impossible, there are steps businesses can take to limit the amount of waste they add to the environment. Ensuring that you do not support the creation of unnecessary waste can help immensely. Much of the work we do here at LDM is done digitally, cutting down on paper waste.
Sustainability is a commitment to the future. We’re driven to find new ways to develop, and sustainability allows us to do so without harming the earth and exhausting natural resources for future generations. The United Nations Brundtland Commission defines sustainability as “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” Sustainability is absolutely necessary in ensuring we do not run out of fossil fuels, harm the atmosphere past repair, and damage our earth and the living beings that share it with us.