ESG’s, EDI, SDG’s, CSR, Sustainability, Environmental footprint, Climate control, Climate action, Waste, Renewable, Biodiversity, Biodegradable, EV’s, PV’s, Solar panels, Recycling, Water harvesting, Circular economy, Greenwashing, etc. etc. etc.
These are all the buzz words that companies and businesses must add to their daily vocabulary to cope in today’s fast-moving world. This is a daunting task for SME’s and small businesses. Company owners ask themselves “where do I start” and “where will it finish.”
I am no expert in this space, but like many others I feel the want to do something. I want to do it from a personal perspective, from a business perspective and mainly to protect the planet for future generations to come. Like all things in life there is of course a cost element involved for SME’s to engage in any of the above mentioned areas. There are many experts out there that can help SME’s cope with this onerous task, however, there are also many non-experts operating in this sector.
My advice to any SME would be to engage with reputable organisations or companies who have a track record in this space. Work in the PDCA (more acronyms) cycle, which is to Plan, Do, Check, Act. This type of process is used by the ISO 14001:2015 Environmental management system. You do not have to implement this management system into your business but follow its guidelines and operate to this type of standard. This structured format will allow SME’s to ensure that they implement what is practicable for their business, whilst wisely spending less money, less time and less resources to achieve results.
I would also encourage SME’s to look at support and grants that may be available to them to aid in achieving their desired outcomes. Some available options below:
https://www.seai.ie/business-and-public-sector/business-grants-and-supports/
https://enterprise.gov.ie/en/what-we-do/supports-for-smes/
https://www.iso.org/standard/60857.html
George Bulman.
Rubicon Centre.
