The Importance of Environmental Management for Businesses
As of 2020, the concentration of CO2 in our atmosphere is at 416 parts per million. This is the highest that it has ever been in recorded human history. Businesses emit a great deal of waste that ends up in landfills, pollute the air at higher rates than individuals do, and have an overall enormous carbon footprint that most companies are unaware of.
Luckily, creating and maintaining a sustainable environmental management system for your organization is nowhere near as challenging as it sounds. Read on to learn why you should invest in resources that make tracking and reporting environmental metrics easier for your business.
Reduction of Your Carbon Footprint
Environmental management is critical to business specifically because of the impacts that it has.
When you use Safety Data Sheets (SDS) to manage your environmental data and compliance with regulations, you can see what exactly your business is doing to go green. If you look at these organized sheets and realize that there is more to be done, you can implement more strategies to be eco-friendly.
The ultimate impact is a reduction in your carbon footprint. Since environmental management for business focuses on resource consumption and the generation of trash and biological waste, you will be able to divert this waste from landfills when you have good regulation.
Let’s take a closer look at how this can shape your business model and growth.
Reputation Improvement and Better Marketing
Reducing your waste emission isn’t just good for the world around you; it also can boost profits for your business itself. In fact, one in three consumers report that they would be willing to pay up to 25% more to get products that were made sustainably. 5% of people went so far as to say that they would be willing to pay double the original price.
When you develop a better environmental management system that generates results, you boost your brand’s reputation to new heights. This is especially the case if you’re transparent about your methods and devote a section of your webpage to educating visitors about your eco-friendly practices.
Because people will be more likely to frequent your business than less sustainable competitors, they are likely to leave you positive reviews. 95% of people read reviews and testimonials before selecting a good or service, so this is a great way to boost your marketing campaigns. Take your best testimonials that highlight your green practices and include them in your PPC ads- you’re sure to get more clicks.
Compliance With Laws and Regulations
Most states have environmental regulations in place for businesses that operate within their region. Additionally, more large companies are pushing for increased sustainability regulations, so it’s best to remain on top of things.
These laws are regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and include:
- Having a permit for operating spall sources of air pollution such as incineration, chemical manufacturing, and metal processing (via the Clean Air Act)
- Following zoning ordinances regulating the discharge of materials into bodies of water (via the Clean Water Act)
- Having an NPDES permit if your business eliminates wastewater by discharging it to a municipal sewer (via the Clean Water Act)
- Treating hazardous waste (chemicals, sewage, etc) before disposal (via the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act)
These are but a few of the regulations in place. Permits take time and money to obtain, so it generally is best to avoid doing any of these things when possible. If you do not follow laws, your business will be subject to potentially steep fines.
Possible Tax Benefits for Your Business
On the flip side, businesses that go out of their way to use sustainable practices often get a multitude of tax benefits. Both tax credits (a dollar-for-dollar reduction in your business tax bill) and tax deductions (calculated from net income rather than gross income) are available for green initiatives.
Some of the biggest benefits that your business can get for implementing top-notch environmental management programs include:
- Credit for solar power investment
- Reductions for having a ‘green’ building that uses efficient building envelopes, HVAC and hot water systems, and beyond
- Credits for using eco-friendly vehicles for transporting goods and employees
- Tax credits for purchasing ‘green’ investments to your business, including solar panels for sustainable energy, small wind energy property, and qualifying fuel cell property
To keep track of the tax benefits that you are owed, you need an SDS management service that works for your organization. This eliminates the need for multiple spreadsheets and stores your accumulated data directly on the Cloud. You can access it via mobile devices anywhere, so even if you are out of the office around tax time, you can see the benefits that you are due.
Overall Higher Profits and a Boost in ROI
Between the lack of fines from the government and the granting of tax breaks, it’s clear that environmental management can save your business a lot of money. However, it’s also critical to consider the ROI boost that good management software can get you.
You will no longer need to pay for multiple spreadsheet technologies when you have SDS management. This will save you money on technology and the resources needed to configure them to your computer system.
You also can serve multiple sites with this software and share your environmental data with other branches of your business. There is no need to waste valuable time entering environmental data over and over again.
Additionally, because nothing will go unentered, you will not waste time and resources unwittingly trying to comply with the same laws that you already have met the requirements for.
Strengthen Your Environmental Management Today
Now that you know the importance of having a solid environmental management system for your business, it’s time to begin building a more sustainable business. Contact us to learn more about how you can streamline the process of tracking, recording, and reporting your facility’s environmental impacts.
Our Safety Data Management services are completely customizable, integrate well with other systems, and eliminate the need for complicated spreadsheets and individual management of multiple sites. We look forward to working with you to ensure that your business complies with all laws and regulations in your area.