Is your company sustainable? Actions and indicators for a sustainable and environmentally friendly company.
A sustainable company is one that grows ethically, minimizes the environmental impact of its operations and respects and promotes its community.
A company that is consistent with the resources of society and its environment is a sustainable company. Today, this factor, far from being a differentiating factor, has become basic and calls for actions that go beyond: they not only respect resources but also promote a healthier environment. Moreover, bearing in mind that the impact of business decisions is much more powerful than that of each individual, we must pay special attention to the section of our company in which we decide how we are going to behave with our environment.
When talking about sustainable business, it should be clear that a company will be sustainable if it is capable of creating economic, environmental and social value in both the long and short term. But, do you want to know if your company already complies? There are some criteria and measures that we can observe, from waste management to the materials it uses or the messages we receive within the company's culture.
What is my company doing to be more sustainable?
If you want to find out what actions or routines your company has in place to be more sustainable and contribute to its environment, we should look at some key aspects:
Do we buy sustainable products?
The criteria used by the purchasing department when supplying the company with the products it needs to carry out its activity should be taken into account at this point. This can be reflected in the type of paper used (is it recycled?),
Do you promote sustainable means of transportation for your employees?
Environmentally responsible companies should encourage their employees to adopt sustainable actions. Organizations can provide training to make employees adopt sustainable actions.
Documents in the cloud or zero paper?
Do your employees store a lot of documents in "the cloud"? Be careful, because this practice also pollutes! With every email that is sent or every document that is stored, you contribute to the systems needing more cooling and therefore more energy because the cloud is not ethereal, it is physical.
According to The Big Data Takedown, the movement designed to destroy all unnecessary data, these devices require 30 billion watts of energy to operate. Mike Hazas, a researcher at Lancaster University, explains that the carbon footprint of our devices, the Internet and the systems that support them account for 3.7% of global greenhouse emissions.
The forecast is that these figures will double by 2025, therefore, companies should make a responsible use of devices and not store unnecessary data, making a balance between what is important to have on paper and what is necessary to upload to the cloud.
Can we telework?
Encouraging teleworking or holding meetings only when necessary are two measures that reduce thousands of unnecessary trips.
Is there a coherent waste management policy?
Mealtime is perhaps one of the times when the most waste accumulates. At Moheda we have sustainable food packaging options with greater strength and flexibility than conventional products.
Similarly, the waste management carried out by the company is important. Did you know that there are garbage bags that contain 60% less plastic? Using these options instead of the usual ones drastically reduces CO2 emissions, which makes the company more responsible with the environment around it.
Are there dispensers?
The bathroom is another of the common areas where you can save the most, since using automatic dispensers of gel or hydroalcoholic gel avoids the excessive use of product saving in costs and production. In addition, Moheda offers our range of industrial cellulose with certificates that guarantee biodegradability.
Temperature or ties?
Maintaining an optimum temperature in both summer and winter and not having those areas of the office that are not being used illuminated are two of the measures that can be implemented by any company to save energy.
What are the main sustainability indicators?
As well as these small actions, companies must also comply with certain sustainability indicators.
- Environmental performance indicators, which would be all those that provide data on the company's performance in relation to the environment.
- Environmental situation indicators that are mainly used to measure the impacts of the company's activity.
Although ISO 14031 divides the indicators into these two categories, there is currently no closed list of environmental indicators as each company will have to adapt them to its needs.
At Moheda we have certificates such as the Emas Certification or the OK Compost Home that guarantee that the products comply with the necessary standards in terms of sustainability.
We are dedicated to the manufacture and distribution of materials that contain less environmentally harmful products, such as bags, urban furniture and cellulose, both domestic and industrial. We work so that more and more companies join us in the fight against climate change.
Because what future do we want to leave our children?