Sustainability: it’s all the rage these days. Perhaps you’re a business that’s interested in it. If so, you’re in the right place! LJP Waste Solutions, as experts in environmental sustainability and sustainable waste solutions, is here to help your business embrace it. By embracing sustainability and implementing the concept from the ground up, your business will not only gain a new aspect it can leverage for good PR, but it will also leave the planet a better place than it would have if you had not embraced the ideology.
But what, exactly, is sustainability? It’s become such a corporate buzzword these days that business executives and those who work beneath them alike often toss the term around without knowing fully what it means. Most people know that it has something to do with saving the environment, but what, specifically? Knowing what sustainability means is crucial to any business adopting the way of thinking and putting it fully into practice. Without a deep knowledge of the word, you risk turning it into nothing more than a PR bit—and a logically faulty one at that, as the term can, in some circles, mean many more things than many people would first think.
LJP Waste Solutions is here to help you fully understand the definition of this word. We’re experts in it, after all!
Sustainability in Business: The Basics
So what’s sustainability? If you are one of many who think it has something to do with the environment, you’re on the right track. Indeed, though its applications vary depending on the industry, sustainability is all about leaving the environment the same way—ideally, though, better—than you found it. The word, however (and this is what many people tend to get wrong), can also be used in social contexts. In other words, it can refer to how your business affects society as a whole, focusing more on people and less on the planet. In this context, it can imply making efforts to appeal to hires from minority demographics, focusing on local or community-building efforts, or similar endeavors that demonstrate a business’s understanding of its influential place in the world at large.
Though we’re experts in the former type of sustainability, we at LJP Solutions fully support embracing both types. Adopting sustainability into your business model as a whole shows an inspiring level of selflessness, as it shows an understanding that what each and every one of us does has far-reaching effects on others, even if we can’t see them. Businesses everywhere have a responsibility to be ethical in their operations, and wholeheartedly taking on a sustainable method of operations is one way to ensure your company fulfills this obligation.
The Facets of an Environmentally Sustainable Company
But back to the conventional definition of sustainability: environmental sustainability. It, in itself, is multifaceted. Businesses can’t just look at one way they do things, change it to be more environmentally friendly, and call themselves entirely sustainable. Indeed, adopting sustainable practices from an environmental standpoint often requires changes in the way a facility does things on multiple levels.
● Taking up zero landfill or waste-to-energy initiatives is often a requirement for a sustainable business | Landfills are a blight upon our planet. They take up acres of land that could be used as nature preserves, and they often contain countless types of trash that could have been recycled—which would have been much more energy-efficient than letting it rot. Companies can do their part to reduce or eliminate the trash that harms our planet with the help of waste solutions companies like LJP.
● Other businesses might consider their energy usage | Everything from your lights to your desktop computers consumes energy, a resource that can be nonrenewable and create greenhouse gas emissions. Switching to renewable energy sources or energy-efficient systems can help a business achieve its sustainability goals.
● Still, others might look at their printing habits | Yes, printing! When it comes to sustainability, every little bit counts, and every aspect of your business methodology and your employees’ behaviors must be analyzed. Printing uses paper, which of course, comes from trees, organisms that help ensure the air we breathe is clean and play an important role in many ecosystems. The less companies print, the better—provided the alternative is energy efficient.
Ready to Start a Sustainability Initiative? LJP Waste Solutions is Here to Help
We’d be thrilled to be your partners in creating a better planet and future. No matter if you’re searching for advice on how to create a sustainable waste solutions model or looking to go completely zero landfill, we’re here for you every step of the way. Our top-notch reporting lets you track what your company is doing and feel good about it, and our keen eye for systematic improvements allows us to fully optimize your waste processing for the least environmental impact possible. Give us a call now at 507-625-1968, and let’s go green!