5 Ways to adapt your business to climate change
Regardless of your belief or disbelief in climate change, it has been the climate that has been an integral part of doing business.
Travelling to trade your items by land or by sea, the weather had to be taken into account as part of your journey. You may only be able to travel during certain times of the year or your journey may take longer if the weather is bad.
Today the expectation is not just about you trying to do your business it is also from consumers who would like a certain type of product.
Business who are in the manufacture of plastic products should know this better than anyone as the world try to reduce its reliance on plastic. In particular plastic straws!
5 Ways to adapt your business
- Adapting your business – Think about the type of business that you have and how it will be impacted by changes to the climate. For example: How does water scarcity affect your business?
- Adapt to create value – How are the needs of your customers changing? Are they trying to buy sustainable products? Would they like to hear about how you source your products? Can you share the ways you recycle? For example, An Australian shoe brand asks its customers to bring in their old shoes (not just their brand) and these shoes are gifted or recycled.
- Adapt your assets – Does fire or flood affect your business? How does drought affect you or your customers? For example: While a fire may not burn down a business it may cause an area to have no customers for that business. How long can you survive with no customers?
- Adapt your geography – Farming is the most obvious example of this and no rain to certain parts of Australia certainly affects our farmers. However many farmers have adapted, changing their crops and changing how they do business.
- Adapt for supply – There are many people around the world who are creating products via unethical labour. Where do you source your products? Are you using ethical supplies and actually helping poor and vulnerable people.
Take the time to review your business and see how you may need to adapt to doing business in the future.
- Could your business separate its garage and recycle better?
- Have you looked at ways you could make your business not reliant on scarce products like water?
- Do you have a way you could help your customers recycle their products?
- How would fire or flood affect your business and more importantly your bank balance?
- Do you have money saved, just in case?
- Could you stock your office with washable cups and glasses instead of disposable plastic ones?
- Will you be reviewing your suppliers to see how sustainable they are?
Conclusion
I am a firm believer that when we know better we should do better. What are you going to do both as an individual and as a consumer to adapt? Don’t think that you are only one small business and what you do will make no difference.
“If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.”
― The Dalai Lama
Are you considering marketing your business but you are unsure where to start? Contact Kelly @ My Sassy Business.
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