Engaging in sustainable business practices has never been more important. With the scientific community and the public both in broad agreement when it comes to protecting the environment, businesses are starting to take the lead in promoting ecological awareness and environmentally sound business practices. No matter what industry you're in, operating sustainably should always be a primary goal. The five simple strategies listed below are used by businesses around the globe to help safeguard the future. 

1. Go Paperless

Those paper-strewn offices of the 1980s killed a lot of trees. That's not necessary anymore, thanks in large part to advances in automation. Accounting software can replace massive filing cabinets and books for storing a general ledger and customer relationship management programs go well beyond making the old Rolodex obsolete. It all adds up to a streamlined infrastructure that can stop the flow of waste to the trash can. 

A tangible advantage to going paperless is security. Being able to back up your data in multiple locations can prevent one robbery from resulting in data loss. It's always good to keep a hard copy of your most sensitive data, but digital security systems have become sophisticated enough to foil many intrusion attempts. Multifactor identification protocols (MFAs) such as single sign on authentication are revolutionizing identity protection, so consider investing in these powerful tools for their own sake. 

2. Get an Energy Audit

It's shocking to find out just how much energy the average American wastes on a daily basis. Most of that waste is due to ignorance, not laziness. Energy leaks can happen by leaving the lights on in an empty room, leaving doors ajar and from improperly sealed windows. A critical first step should be getting an energy audit performed to find out exactly where inefficiencies are occurring. If you have a home business, this is a doubly good decision since by default it will help to cut back on residential waste as well. 

3. Install Renewable Energy

Probably the most effective (and most visible) step that any entrepreneur can take to invest in sustainability is to use renewable energy to power their enterprise. Solar panels are a good choice for many businesses, given how efficient they've become over the past few years. By 2017, the solar industry beat its own goal by dropping the cost per kilowatt-hour for industrial-scale production to $0.06. This means it's competitive with oil for the first time in history.

Make no mistake, installing a solar power system is an investment that can take around a decade to pay for itself, but a raft of tax incentives are available at the federal, state and local levels of government if you do choose to go that route. And the good publicity that comes from helping to save the planet can't hurt. 

4. Upgrade Your Vehicle Fleet

According to EPA research, the transportation sector accounts for the largest share of greenhouse gas emissions in the US: a full 29% of them as of 2019. If you have company vehicles, consider an upgrade to the fleet. Solar cars are still a few years off, but rechargeable electric vehicles are already gaining in popularity. A lot of this is due to global government incentives for the manufacture of electric vehicles and many companies in the US are at least starting to build their fleets using hybrid vehicles in order to shave down the cost of fuel in a volatile oil market. 

5. Incorporate Biophilic Design

Biophilia is the idea that incorporating nature into a building can improve wellness and make the organizations inside it more ecologically sound. Years ago, a NASA study confirmed that certain plants could filter toxins out of the atmosphere, and the use of natural light has been shown to both save energy and boost health. Biophilic design is just one of the many contemporary design philosophies that represent the cutting edge of workplace sustainability. 

Giving our children a clean and safe world is certainly a challenge, but not an impossible one. By combining modern technology with a mindset that puts ethics and responsibility first, your business can become an integral part of building a better future.