What does Earth Day 24 mean for you, as a small business owner?
Earth Day is the biggest day of civic observance in the world – a time where we all come together to seriously consider how we can invest in our planet. This year’s Earth Day will be on Monday 22nd April 2024. Earth Day is celebrated to raise awareness and give support where possible for environmental projects around the world!
Why should I get involved in Earth Day 2024 as a small business owner?
Since Earth Day was introduced in 1970, there have been dramatic changes to our environment – now more than ever it is important to get involved in any way you can to look after the planet! As of March 2021, there is more carbon dioxide in our atmosphere than there ever has been at any point in human history. Average wildlife populations in the last 50 years have fallen by 60% due to climate change and increasingly hostile environments. It is clear that we are in a climate emergency.
You might already know about Earth Day, but the idea that you can use your ethical small business to take part and make a positive difference might be new to you. Apart from being an important way to bring awareness about environmental issues and taking action to look after our planet, Earth Day can also bring great benefits for your business. Not only will it attract your ideal customers who share your sustainable goals and values, but it increases brand authenticity as well!
Becoming environmentally aware is the best place to get started and will allow you to make changes to your business that help the planet. Something as simple as using sustainable materials goes a long way in helping the planet and attracting ideal clients and customers. Did you know that 73% of millennials (the hardest generation to please) said that they would pay more for sustainable products?
How can I get involved in Earth Day 2024 as a small business owner?
As a small business owner, there are plenty of ways to get involved in Earth Day 2024, we at Planner Bee VA Services have listed a few of our favourite ways that you can use to get stuck in and help the planet and your small business!
1. Calculate and reduce your small business’s plastic consumption
The theme for this year’s Earth Day is Planet vs. Plastics and it is all about informing people about the dangers of plastic pollution and advocating for the phasing out of single-use plastics. This is a great opportunity for you to think about how much your small business relies on plastic and how you can reduce the amount you need to use. Packaging is often where most single-use plastics are used in businesses. But plastic is everywhere, from your lunch packaging to your pens, so don’t forget to think about all areas of your business.
2. Create an eco-working guide for your small business
Where do you start so that your small business and the environment can get the most out of this year’s Earth Day? Creating an eco-working guide can be very beneficial to your brand authenticity as a sustainable small business and getting started is simple! Setting out your guide can be as easy as committing to reducing food waste, donating to local sustainable causes, going paperless or committing to working with fellow purpose-led businesses where possible.
3. Celebrating Earth Day as a small business owner
Your local community is crucial to your small business, so why not find out what local environmental initiatives there are near you that you can help out with? Getting in touch with local representatives and doing your bit for your local community is a great way to help the environment this Earth Day and attract ideal clients and customers.
Other ways to get involved locally are taking part in a cleanup near you, setting conservation goals or supporting other local small businesses that share your values. Creating a network of like-minded ethical and sustainable businesses can benefit your community as well as the environment!
What are we doing as an eco-friendly Virtual Assistant service?
- Investing in learning – information and advice around climate change is continually evolving, so it is important to us to ensure we are always learning about the sustainability space and how we can do our bit. As part of this, last week I attended Carbon Literacy training with the Better Business Network and Carbon Literacy Project.
- Reducing our digital footprint. As a virtual business, much of our carbon footprint is created by our digital activities, so we are in the process of creating an action plan to work to minimise this footprint.
- When we do meet in person, we always meet in a central location, so the team can get there either on foot or by public transport.
- Sharing our journey with you. We aren’t perfect and we are continually learning about climate change and how we can get involved in more positive climate action. But we are committed to continually working to improve and do our bit. As part of this, we endeavour to be transparent in sharing our sustainability journey and we will be doing this even more in April, for Earth Month.
Getting involved in Earth Day as a small business owner in 2024
The most important thing you can do as a small business owner on Earth Day is get involved, no matter how much time and effort you can afford to give the day. Also make sure to share your sustainability goals and values to attract ideal clients, as well as inspiring others to take part in Earth Day as well. If you are trying to make a positive environmental change, you should be letting everyone know about it!
As a sustainable business owner, you and your small business are not just environmentally friendly for one day of the year. We understand your passion for making the world more eco-friendly, and for this being an ongoing commitment which does not fade once Earth Day is over. How you prioritise caring for the environment in your small business can make it extraordinary, and Earth Day is a great chance to set in motion the sustainability changes which will push your business to the next level.