Image by (Joenomias) Menno de Jong from Pixabay
What is a green company? It’s a company that allows its decisions to be guided, in part, by concerns about the environment. Businesses are increasingly turning to a more sustainable model, but misconceptions and myths about the reality of green business persist and keep even more companies from following this route. Below are just a few of the most common ones. Going green might not be the right choice for every company at this time, and there are certainly pros and cons to doing so, but it’s important to make your decision with accurate information.
It Costs You Money
Will switching to a greener model cost you money? There may be some upfront costs. If you’re changing from a traditional to an electric fleet, you’ll need to replace your existing vehicles. You’ll also need to learn more about installing EV chargers, associated costs, and charging networks. Along similar lines, in some cases, you may need to switch to new vendors to obtain sustainable materials. However, green is more efficient, and less waste means spending less over the long run.
No One Cares
You may have heard that moving to a sustainable model isn’t worth it because employees, customers and investors don’t care. Especially with huge topics like rising interest rates, inflation, and an impending recession, it might be easy to believe that sustainability is no longer a top concern. It’s true that you can’t pass off substandard products or services with the claim that they are green. However, all three of these groups appreciate a commitment to sustainability if quality remains high.
Some investors specifically look for environmentally conscious companies. The belief that consumers won’t pay for it is often more about poor products and services or poor marketing than a rejection of sustainability, and many customers will even pay more for a green guarantee. Finally, employees, particularly among younger generations, are often more motivated and more loyal to a company that shows dedication to protecting the environment.
It’s Too Difficult
It’s true that making a switch to sustainability may not be easy, but plenty of worthwhile things aren’t. You also don’t have to do everything at once. You could trial a single product, or you could make just one or two changes and continue to shift gradually over a period of years. Take a careful look at each of the concrete changes that you could make and consider what it would take to complete each one. You might decide in the end that some or all of them are too difficult at this time, but it’s still better to do assessments of each idea instead of simply dismissing them out of hand.
The Drawbacks Outweigh the Benefits
What are some of the potential drawbacks? There’s some truth in many myths. It may in fact cost you too much money, be too difficult or be met with consumer indifference. However, there’s no reason to assume any of this without doing a serious assessment. The biggest drawback that you need to watch out for is one you have control over, which is giving the illusion of sustainability without genuinely making any changes. This one can lead to a serious backlash that could harm your business. Make sure that your claims are genuine ones.
