As awareness of climate change grows, our organisations have a responsibility to create a more sustainable future for the next generations and emerging companies. Besides increasing the overall well-being of our planet, sustainable developments can also have an impact on your company individually in a beneficial manner.
Read on to learn more about the difficulties businesses in Ireland face when it comes to sustainability, and how your company’s eco-consciousness can be improved with the help of our team at KORA.
What is business sustainability?
Before you can begin a journey toward business sustainability, it’s important to know how it can be defined. The term refers to the process of developing and implementing measures to reduce a company’s carbon footprint and minimise its impact on the environment.
Business sustainability is important, as it helps develop and shift expectations of a company’s duties to the environment. With this in mind, our organisations can do better to reduce the harm we do to our local landscape and the health of the planet.
Ireland’s Environmental Challenges
The effects of the world caused by climate change are many across the globe, including the environment in Ireland. The changes in the environment have rippling effects, from impacting the foods we eat to the way our houses must be built.
Looking back on the past few decades of increased carbon emissions, it becomes apparent that change is required. Helping to reduce the carbon footprint and waste produced by our businesses is incredibly important to creating a healthy environment that we can be proud of.
The Path Forward in Achieving Sustainability
As mentioned, change in Ireland is vital to keep our environment healthy. When it comes to achieving sustainability as a company, some changes can be made to ease the path forward.
Here are some steps toward achieving business sustainability to help you along the way.
Conduct a sustainability audit
The best way to make a plan toward sustainability is to first determine how sustainable your company is before any changes are introduced. Monitoring how the company has been producing its emissions and waste will help you plan where changes need to be made.
At KORA, we can help you learn about your company’s emissions, and therefore make a plan on how to change its volume. Read on to learn how we go about this for our customers.
Learn about possible changes
Once you have managed to identify the major culprits of your increasing carbon footprint, you can start to learn about the possible changes you can make. Research is a great way to do this, helping you define your company’s version of the sustainable development goals, otherwise known as the SDGs.
In 2015, the United Nations worked together to form a list of 17 sustainable development goals which would help reach the 15-year target of creating a better world for all.
The 17 SDGs are as follows:
- No Poverty
- Zero Hunger
- Good Health and Well-being
- Quality Education
- Gender Equality
- Clean Water and Sanitation
- Affordable and Clean Energy
- Decent Work and Economic Growth
- Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
- Reduced Inequalities
- Sustainable Cities and Communities
- Responsible Consumption and Construction
- Climate Action
- Life Below Water
- Life On Land
- Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
- Partnerships For The Goals
At KORA, we want to give our customers hope and direction. That’s exactly why we developed our app. We have been proud partners of the UN Action Week Campaign since 2022, helping us to bring extra understanding into the ways we can make businesses more sustainable.
Challenges for Sustainable Development
Reducing our carbon emissions as businesses is something that needs to be considered when we develop our new eco-friendly Ireland. However, sustainable development comes with several challenges, which are important to overcome before your company can begin to start becoming more environmentally conscious.
Unsure of why you should begin
For some companies, it remains unconvincing that change is required in our current business landscape. This section should offer some explanations on how making an effort to change can be beneficial to your company as well as our environment.
- Greater client appeal – With sustainability awareness growing in our current society, many consumers are opting to purchase from companies that are conscious about their usage of money.
- Better for the environment – When it comes to becoming more green, the environment around your business will also reap the rewards.
- Reduces expenses – By conserving the amount of resources you use, your business will also benefit from the reduction in costs. From water to electricity, you need not worry about spending company funds where it won’t be properly utilised.
- Helps to retain staff – It isn’t only customers who seek out environmentally friendly businesses. Many jobseekers are now preferring to apply for businesses they know to be trustworthy in their efforts toward sustainability. By making the relevant changes for your business, you can ensure to retain your employees.
Not having the funds to make the changes you want
You might fear that money will be the deterrent that prevents you from making the changes you want. This shouldn’t be the case, however. There is no need for a large budget to start implementing change. Remember, steps toward sustainability are not ordinarily instant. Any improvement will always be better than none at all.
Here are some tips for becoming more sustainable and environmentally friendly in your business.
- Swapping out lightbulbs for lower-watt alternatives
- Ship your products responsibly and receive goods sustainably
- Opt for recycled paper
- Allow remote working for staff, reducing the production of travel emissions
- Invest in a plan with a sustainable company
Luckily, our plans for businesses at KORA are available at a low monthly cost to help you get started. We even offer a free demo, so sign up today to change your business for the better.
Not sure how to start
Another deterrent for many companies to become more sustainable is feeling unsure of how to begin. Many businesses feel as though it may become too difficult to begin, which prevents them from trying entirely. As mentioned, it is better to make some changes than none at all, but, with KORA, the process can become simple and accessible.
Getting your employees engaged
Another concern can be a worry about getting your staff on board with eco-friendly changes and sustainable developments. To help your company grow accustomed to the changes, help them to understand the benefits. You can also guide them through the exact changes that are to be made before they are implemented, as well as encourage them to get involved.
At KORA, we have developed an app which is free for personal use. The KORA app can be used to track progress towards a reduction in carbon emissions, as well as celebrate individual milestones. With the use of our app, your employees can reap the personal benefits of reducing carbon emissions in combination with your work toward sustainable development as a company.
KORA’s Vision
Making our vision a reality is paramount at KORA, which is why we developed our aforementioned accessible app for personal use. KORA KONNEKT, on the other hand, is our system specifically designed to help businesses with emission reduction.
With our service, we provide all the required tools to help your business become more sustainable:
- Crafting strategies for Scope 3 emissions reduction
- Offering a tailored dashboard or API generation
- Providing scientifically derived measurements directly from the app
- Gamifying the process to incentivise meeting sustainable development goals
- Issuing redeemable KORAS for achievements
- Establishing a transparent, localised individual carbon credit
We can also provide your company with a custom-built plan, great for your individual sustainable business needs. Build a sustainable plan for your business with our help, readily shaping the future.
Getting In Touch
Our team at KORA takes great pride in caring for both our customers and the environment. We understand the difficulty of becoming a more sustainable business alone, which is why we worked to develop our high-quality plans.
Visit our website to learn more about our team and the services we strive to provide. Our blog is also accessible for visitors to our site, giving more tips and tricks on helping you develop your sustainable business. Alternatively, to jump-start your business sustainability journey, get in touch with our team today.
