Find Funding for Your Business Sustainability Projects

Your CEO agreed in theory to the slate of sustainability projects the company’s green team developed. Installing solar panels, doing an LED lighting retrofit, installing a native plant landscape, and going for zero waste would be great. Even better, she agreed that having someone work part time for six months to manage all these projects would benefit the company. Unfortunately, your CEO isn’t sure where the money will come from for the equipment and labor costs. Time to check the couch cushions for loose change.

Every company thinks they run a tight ship, that there’s no extra money around. Here are four places to look.

1)     Pull together 12 months of energy, water and garbage bills   

This may sound obvious but operational costs are variable. Energy, water and garbage bills deserve more scrutiny. Adding up 12 months of bills will help you decide which bill is worth focusing on and whittling down. One distribution company we worked with was surprised their garbage bill was $80,000/year. We then set to work expanding their recycling program and cut that bill in half.

2)     How much are you spending to replace and train employees each year?

Companies spend 13 -213% of annual salary to replace each employee. Less for lower wage workers and more for executives. Total up how many employees left and were replaced last year. A portion of this is your potential savings. Sustainability projects help attract and retain the top people.

3)     How much would revenue increase if potential customers perceived your company as green?

For businesses that want to expand sales among Millennials and people who identify with Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability (LOHAS), a strong sustainability program helps. Competition among breweries and wineries is particularly fierce. Wineries and breweries source ingredients for their products from nearby water ways and the land. Customers have an intimate connection with these products since they go into their bodies. 

How much potential revenue does your marketing department project could be gained by growing market share with these two groups?

4)     Conduct a deeper hunt for cost savings

There may be treasure buried in your accounts payable ledgers. Careful examination of supplier expenses could yield savings that add up to real money. We start by examining 10 quick wins. Based on 25 years experience doing expense analyses, we find an average of 23% savings in each of the 10 expense categories

Questions?

Contact Appraccel by email (info at appraccel.com) or on LinkedIn for more information about how we can help you uncover savings that you can invest in a strong sustainability program.