Removing the Confusion of Sustainability in Business.
Becoming a sustainable business could give business owners nightmares after trawling through the miriad of information available and worrying about new legislation or future compliance. In this series of blogs, we will attempt to simplify the reasons why every business, large or small should be, or can become, a sustainable business.
How many companies have started to look at environmental ownership as a higher purpose and not prioritising profit as the only driver of success? There has been a definite shift over the last decade of companies understanding that client satisfaction and employee engagement are good indicators of improved sustainable practices. But what are these practices?...and what are the benefits to business owners?
Simply put, these paractic’s should involve three things:
People.
Product
Process.
People
Employee’s are certainly motivated by a sense of purpose and commitment to the company’s sustainability vision, mission and goals. There is a pride in belonging to a business that has shared and connected values to their own individual cares and caring for the environment is now firmly at the front of most peoples priorities. Remember…you cannot force someone to engage with your company values unless those values are also important to them.
Product
When Hygienic Concepts was conceived twenty years ago this year, environmental sustainability was at the forefront of its purpose and values and this was from product to process to operational practices. Around this time business sanitary and nappy waste would end its journey at the landfill site. No matter how offensive this type of waste would be, the founder of Hygienic Concepts had a vision of this type of waste being streamed into either new product or heat for energy and now it’s standard practice to stop all of our waste going to landfill. Innovation is another key factor and another practice that wasn’t helping our environment was the waste of gallons and gallons of precious water being wasted by our clients in flushing toilet urinals to dispose of uric salts that not only caused blocked pipes but was the cause of urinal odours. With the introduction of Uri-bug all those years ago, our clients were able to save this waste of water by using our culture of microbial strains that digest organic debris at the source. In addition to this sustainability bonus, business owners were able to stop the whiffs of urea along with invoices from plumbers for blocked pipes!
Process
Along with products, we had to make sure that our operational practices and processes helped to improve our records of environmental achievement. Hygienic Concepts are the proud holders of the ISO 14001 accreditation. Our clients and employees are familiar with this achievement as it’s helped us to set sustainable objectives, give us a clear plan and create the infrastructure needed to operate in a sustainable way. In this first blog, we’ll explain why our people are important to the process of becoming a sustainable business and the sustainable practices we can use to recruit, retain and motivate our greatest asset.
Recruitment
Our work colleagues are very important to us and selecting the candidates who have the same environmental values as the company’s is paramount to our success. 67% of respondents are more willing to apply for jobs from environmentally sustainable companies. It’s a fact, and we want every one of our team to be proud of our environmental achievements. At every induction we explain what sustainability means to us as a company and why it’s important to us, themselves, our clients and our communities. We even have a separate Environmental Handbook to help our new recruits to understand what our purpose and values are and also to what our short term and long term goals are and how we’ll achieve them. Honesty is the best policy where sustainability is concerned and all of our new recruits are informed of our up to date carbon footprint and told that not only is sustainability good for the planet it also enables us to keep our costs low, increasing our profit. They are also introduced to the structure around our ISO9001 achievement. This helps them to think about quality in everything they do such as ‘doing it right the first time’ and thereby conserving resources and reducing waste.
Clear communication and transparency
These are key to helping our team understand the vision, objectives and progress made. It’s important for them to know what their role is in driving sustainable practices. By giving them information about initiatives, their impact and success gives them a sense of connection and contribution to improving environmental impact. Keeping it simple makes sure that everyone understands what it’s about, what should be done and why it should be done. Our 4 R’s initiative helps the team understand whether a product should be Reduced (less product ordered) Re-used (clean it and put back to stock) Refurbed (Keep spare parts and fix) and Recycle (Instead of landfill, stream waste into new product or energy) and it works. These simple processes have been instumental in reducing our carbon footprint for good.
Leadership
Commitment and involvement are very important to achievement. It plays a pivotal role in inspiring and driving team engagement in sustainable practices. Our leadership team demonstrate commitment with leading by example and placing sustainability at the very forefront of initiatives. This sends a powerful message to not only our team but to our clients and the community. As part of our ISO structure our team leaders meet regularly to discuss and review what was good, bad and the lessons to be learned so that progress can be made. The minutes from these meetings are cascaded to every person within the business along with educational information such as new legislation and compliance such as the introduction of scopes one, two and three. Above all, the leadership team should have a vision of where we’ll be short term and most importantly long term by researching, planning, implementing, monitoring and deciding on its benefits or consequences.
In the next blog, we’ll examine:
How your products and services affect the environment, your clients and your community.
Product innovation to match your environmental and customer needs.
Partnering with Hygienic Concepts
Partnering with Hygienic Concepts Environmental Services means investing in a greener and more responsible future that leaves a lasting positive impact. Our expertise in sustainable practices and environmental management ensures that your operations not only comply with regulations but also promote eco-friendly initiatives, creating a healthier planet for everyone. We offer a wide range of high-quality, sustainable solutions tailored to your brand's identity and environmental goals, helping to improve your ecological footprint and operational efficiency. With our advanced technologies and customised approach, Hygienic Concepts guarantees consistent and effective implementation of sustainable practices throughout your facility.
Contact us today to find out more information on the services we offer and how our experienced team can take care of your washroom needs.
🌐 www.hygienicconcepts.co.uk
✉️ info@hygienicconcepts.co.uk
📞 01543 495030
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