Climate change has become one of the most significant issues facing our planet today. As we continue to use fossil fuels, greenhouse gases build up in the atmosphere, causing temperatures to rise and weather patterns to shift.

You may not think you have any control over climate change as a business owner, but you do. By reducing your company’s carbon footprint, you can reduce your environmental impact while helping others worldwide.

A growing number of companies, like us at Uncommon, are taking steps to reduce their environmental impact. For example, we are implementing sustainable practices such as recycling, using renewable energy sources, and reducing waste.

Why does reducing your business’s carbon footprint matter?

Reducing your company’s emissions helps protect the environment and supports sustainable development. When you consider the negative impacts of climate change, such as rising sea levels, increased drought, and extreme weather events, it becomes clear why reducing your company’s carbon footprint matters.

In addition to protecting the environment, reducing your company’s carbon footprint also benefits society. For instance, less energy is used to power your operations if your company reduces its emissions. That means fewer resources are needed to produce goods and services, allowing companies to pass savings to customers.

Reducing carbon emissions will reduce global warming and climate change. But on the other hand, reducing carbon emissions could increase economic growth and create jobs. It would also allow us to use less energy, saving people money.

How to reduce your business’s carbon footprint?

There are many ways to start reducing your company’s carbon footprint. Some of them require little effort, while others take a lot of time and planning. However, regardless of whether you choose to implement some or all of these ideas, it would help if you always strived to reduce your company’s emissions.

1. Conserving Energy

One way to reduce your company‘s carbon footprint is to conserve energy. There are many things you can do to save electricity and natural gas, including

• Installing smart thermostats

• Turning off lights and appliances when you leave a room

• Using timers to turn lights and appliances on and off

• Switching to LED bulbs

• Making sure computers and printers are turned off when not in use

• Unplugging unused devices

• Choosing energy-efficient cars and trucks

• Recycling old electronics

Combining these simple steps with other green practices, such as using renewable energy sources, recycling materials, and purchasing eco-friendly products, can significantly reduce your company’s carbon footprint.

Conserving Energy is very important to us here at Uncommon and as our journey to be Carbon Negative by 2023 we are taking big steps to improve this;

• All our heating/boiler and cooling/air condition equipment is A+ rated

• Sensor lighting throughout our spaces

• Limited or no use of electric heaters

• Zip Taps on all floors

• Dishwasher – Eco cycle

• Sensor taps installed

• Shower water reducers

• Water butts installed for plant maintenance

• All bulbs are to be replaced by LED

2. Investing in Renewable Energy Sources

Another way to reduce your company’s carbon footprint is to use renewable energy sources. Many types of renewable energy exist, including solar, wind, hydroelectricity, geothermal, biomass, and biofuels.

Each form of energy produces no air pollution or greenhouse gas emissions during production. Renewable energy sources are becoming increasingly popular as their prices drop and governments begin offering incentives to encourage their use.

All Uncommon energy is provided by 100% green energy

3. Reducing waste

Waste management is another way to reduce your company’s carbon footprint. Companies that recycle their materials and use less packaging tend to consume fewer resources and emit fewer greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

Also, eco-friendly products have become increasingly popular over the past few years. They are made from recycled materials, contain low amounts of toxic chemicals, and are produced without using fossil fuels.

So reducing waste by using eco-friendly products and recycling materials is one way to reduce your company’s carbon footprint.

Here at Uncommon 0% of waste goes to landfill and all our coffee grind waste is collected separately and repurposed by Bio-Bean.

4. Educating employees and customers

As business owners, we should always strive to educate ourselves and our staff about environmental topics. We should also encourage our clients and customers to learn about sustainability too. By educating them, we can ensure that they’ll continue to support us long after we’ve left the scene. At Uncommon, we have hosted and continue to host talks, workshops and spread communications to our members and partners on our ESG strategy and how we want to make our workspaces more sustainable.

The benefits of reducing your business’s carbon footprint

There are numerous reasons why reducing your business’s carbon emissions is beneficial.

• First off, it’s just good business sense. By reducing your company’s carbon footprint, you’re showing your customers that you value the environment.
• Second, it’s good for the planet. By cutting back on your business’s carbon emissions, you’re helping to slow down climate change.
• Third, it’s good for your reputation. People love to support businesses that are concerned about the environment.
• Fourth, it’s good for employee morale. Everyone loves working for a company that cares about the environment.
• Finally, it’s good for business. Consumers are increasingly looking for eco-friendly options. You’ll stand out among competitors if you offer green products and services.

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At Uncommon, we believe that our role as a business should be to contribute, in whatever way we can to finding and supporting solutions to challenges. This is why we have set out an ESG Strategy with truly ambitious market-leading targets – across environmental and social themes – and our approach on how we will deliver these targets over the coming years.

We are excited to have started this journey and invite you to be a part of it over the coming years for positive change.