You can make your side hustle sustainable by making some changes. It’s also possible to build this in from the ground up, which makes it much easier. However, from knowing the business supply chain to embracing sustainable partners, here are some handy green business tips.
Consider the Materials You Use
One of the biggest considerations for any business, especially sustainable ones, is the materials used on a daily basis. Materials can cost more when not managed well, and sustainability is lowered without a close eye. For example, marketing is a necessary part of any business. But even something like custom flyer printing needs to be considered. Services like InstantPrint offer recycled and repurposed products to help with your business’s overall sustainability goals.
When it comes to packaging items to sell, choose items like cardboard boxes that can be recycled as opposed to environmentally-unfriendly plastic packaging.
Analyse the Supply Chain
Making all the efforts you can to remain sustainable is admirable. But the ethos extends beyond your direct control and into the wider industry. For example, you will have supplies that come from other businesses. Think about how these are made, packaged and transported. To be truly sustainable, you must consider the wider sector and supply chain. This isn’t as hard as you may think because all services that operate sustainably will proudly display it on their company site.
Reduce Energy to Make Your Side Hustle Sustainable
Energy usage is one of the most challenging parts of sustainability goals. However, this is also one of the few things you can directly control. And energy is also becoming an issue, as in the UK alone,30% of carbon emissions come directly from heating and electricity. With a side hustle, you will also contribute more as you work from and, therefore, use more. Smart metres can help you address how much you use. Heating timers, smart supplies and insulation also help.
Switch to Sustainable Partners
Like the supply chain, it can help to carefully consider the partners you work with when you start and run a side hustle. For example, not all logistics services are sustainable, although many are making much better efforts these days. For instance, warehouses may use electricity for lifts and recycled packaging and have their own sustainable partners. The more sustainable partners in the chain, the better the goals of your business will be fulfilled and the lower the impact. A packaging supplier such as Davpack who has sustainability at the heart of what they do is a great choice.
Apply Your Lifestyle Skills to It
Your side hustle can be an extension of your lifestyle, and these are often the most successful. So, by default, these become much more sustainable if you are also sustainable in your personal life. For example, as a vegan who uses organic products, you can extend this lifestyle and the knowledge you have from it into your business operations. In turn, both will complement each other and grow at the same time, especially when using reliable, sustainable partners.
Summary
The materials you use will help make your side hustle sustainable, among other things. These include reducing energy and increasing efficiency. Your personal lifestyle choices, such as being vegan and using organic products, can also extend into how your business will operate.