How Going Green Can Keep More Money In Your Pocket Environmentalism can have a positive impact on the planet and your finances.
By Eric 'ERock' Christopher Edited by Bill Schulz
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
From carbon capture to clean hydrogen, an increasing number of consumers and businesses are adopting products and practices that help them go green and reduce their impact on the earth.
While making an effort to help the planet is certainly worthwhile, companies can sometimes be reluctant due to concerns over how such initiatives could negatively impact their bottom lines. In reality, however, going green can actually have net-positive on your finances.
Appealing to consumers
A recently released report from Compose[d] and MaCher found that 94 percent of adults in the United States believe that a more sustainable lifestyle is important.
Nearly 90 percent of those surveyed felt that companies have a responsibility to increase the sustainability of their services. Most telling, 47 percent of those surveyed reported being willing to pay more for sustainable products.
Clearly, sustainability efforts can become a powerful differentiating factor that greatly influences customers' buying preferences. Consumers want to feel like where they choose to shop makes some sort of impact for good.
With appropriate messaging, sustainable efforts can ultimately increase sales and retention. As with any other cause-oriented action, the messaging must be authentic. Your brand must clearly demonstrate what it is doing to go green. Customers want to see actions, not words.
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Reducing expenses
There are many expenses that go into running a business and, quite often, sustainability initiatives can help.
"Our use of waterless stimulation technology for oil and gas well development allows us to simultaneously unlock the reservoir, while also reducing carbon emissions," says Tom Whalen, CEO of RocketFrac Services. "This improves revenue and profit potential from the oil or gas asset and even more so if it's a stranded asset, as a result of hydraulic fracturing moratoriums."
Adds Whalen: "Because our technology is energized right at the reservoir, there is minimal loss of energy in the process, plus the overall surface footprint of equipment and associated manpower is a fraction of that for conventional hydraulic fracturing operations."
With some global jurisdictions imposing taxes on carbon, lower emissions processes reduce tax burdens on energy companies — those savings are then passed on to consumers, of course.
Another example comes from the world of solar energy. When businesses install solar panels to supply their facility's power, they can greatly offset their grid dependence.
During the day, solar panels often produce an excess amount of energy, ensuring that even when businesses draw power from the grid at night, they ultimately consume roughly the same amount of energy as they produce. Excluding the cost of solar panels, this can almost entirely eliminate energy bills — a vital benefit when utility expenses are rising all across the country.
In the United States, businesses can obtain a 26 percent tax credit to offset the cost of installing a solar panel system and, by 2024, it will only be 10 percent. The sooner companies act, the greater the long-term impact on their bottom line will be.
Related: 9 Business Expenses You Can Reduce or Eliminate to Save Thousands
Attracting talent
As research from Gallup explains, millennials and Gen Z aren't just the age groups who are most likely to want greater meaning in their work.
They are also "highly worried about global warming, think it will pose a serious threat in their lifetime, believe it's the result of human activity, and think news reports about it are accurate or underestimate the problem."
Tellingly, a recent survey of 2,000 office employees conducted by Essity, revealed 51% of those polled became more eco-conscious while working from home and more than a third were disappointed their companies didn't improve eco-friendly practices during the past two years of the pandemic.
Developing initiatives to help your company go green can greatly influence how job candidates perceive your organization. More importantly, it can shape how they feel once they start working for your business.
Workers who believe that their contribution is making a positive impact on the globe will be much happier and more productive. They will be more likely to stick with your business for the long run.
In fact, a study published in the Journal of Organizational Behavior found that green initiatives could improve employee productivity by as much as 16 percent. By embracing environmentalism, you can attract more qualified candidates and create greater motivation for them to give their best efforts.
Making a difference
When your company adopts appropriate environmentally-friendly practices, you can reduce your own carbon footprint and help limit negative outcomes.
From helping you take control of your expenses to fostering stronger connections with like-minded consumers and employees, businesses that choose to go green will set themselves up for a more prosperous future.
Related: How a Diverse Team Brings More Creativity and Engagement to Your Business
