Who's responsible for the planet?

WHEN WE think of the environment and climate change, we can often leave the responsibility to make a positive change up to someone else. It can be hard for us to believe that one person alone can make a big difference, which puts us off even trying. 

With any cultural changes, we tend to look to business leaders and politicians around the world to make the first moves, trial new concepts and pave the way for the smaller players in the game. It’s hard for us to know where to start, so we seek inspiration from those around us.

The sustainability shift seen by this generation is no different. Yes, individuals can make small changes which can have a big impact if we work together, but businesses have the ability to make important policy changes that can alter our direction of travel for the better. 

Organisations shouldn’t overlook the impact they can have on sustainability. Business is about people and companies can work with their employees, customers and stakeholders to help them make better choices, both in and outside of work. By implementing positive policies, business can trigger a ripple effect, seeing employees bringing these newly learnt habits home with them, a one-to-many opportunity.

To have the ability to influence a cultural change for the better is an opportunity that many would wish for, but few get the chance to do and one that should be made the most of. Organisations have this unique opportunity, to set an example and encourage change and it shouldn’t be taken for granted.

To achieve Net Zero by 2050 in the UK, emissions need to be halved in the next decade. The need to adopt more sustainable ways of living is widely acknowledged, yet progress is slow. Employers can help by making significant contributions to sustainable development given their strong influence on consumer and supplier behaviours. 

Small changes made on a big scale can have huge results. For example, companies introducing the plastic bag levy or encouraging the use of reusable water bottles or replacing plastic cleaning tools for bamboo ones, has helped to massively reduce plastic waste. Operating recycling policies in offices and limiting printer use also aids the environment by saving paper and in turn, trees. 

But what do these policies have in common? They aren’t board level operations or executive procedures; they are simple everyday occurrences which involve people making better choices to protect our planet and improve sustainability. 

The important thing to note is, it is about education leading to behavioural change. These people are more likely to reuse their water bottle outside the office too, recycle at home and carry a shopping bag with them. The goal should be to make changes in business that are achievable for people to replicate in their everyday life as well.

There are many ESG decisions and operations that businesses carry out on a high-end scale which massively influences climate change and sustainability, but we cannot overlook the opportunity available to educate at a grassroots level and help people understand their individual impact on this issue. 

Water usage 

One area which organisations often overlook is water usage. We use water every single day, whether that’s to drink, to wash our hands or to clean, it is so accessible to us that we often take it for granted and don’t realise how much we are actually using. Even if you are aware of the amount used every day, you may not know the environmental effects or the money you are pouring down the drain. 

Freshwater is extremely precious, and the demand is unsustainable, particularly in water stressed countries. While the amount of freshwater on the planet has remained fairly consistent over time, the population has exploded, meaning that supply cannot meet demand. Only about 0.3% of the Earth’s water is freshwater and of that, only a fraction can be used as drinking water. 

According to the United Nations, water use has grown at more than twice the rate of population increase in the last century. By 2025, an estimated 1.8 billion people will live in areas of water scarcity, with two thirds of the world’s population living in water-stressed regions. 

Toilet flushing is a massive contributor to the amount of freshwater used every day. One person is likely to flush away as much water in a day as they drink in an entire month. 

In an average office-based business, 43% of water usage can be attributed to toilet flushing. We waste, on average, 7.5 + litres of water every time we flush after we pee, with some older toilets using as much as 13 litres. Not only does toilet flushing waste water, it also costs money and emits carbon, which is bad for people’s pockets and the environment. 

Water conservation initiatives 

In order to help tackle such a big issue, businesses can introduce initiatives such as providing Wizso tablets in the workplace which people can use in the toilets and hopefully be encouraged to use at home too. 

Wizso is a small eco-friendly tablet which is released from a dispenser into the user’s toilet bowl before or after taking a pee. It reacts on impact with the water, delivering a fresh smell while changing the colour, leaving it recognisably clean, thus giving the user the confidence not to flush. 

Each time it’s used and the toilet hasn’t been flushed, it saves approximately 7.5 litres of fresh water and approx. 6 grams of carbon from being emitted. Wizso is cheaper than the cost of water meaning that the return for the consumer is approx. 120%. It is a simple concept with huge results. 

Businesses can install fixed dispensers in the office, hotel, restaurant or school. The tablets are environmentally-friendly, as well as child and pet safe. 

Other simple ways which companies can save water can be as simple as having signs to ensure people turn off taps, swap twist-on taps for push-on taps and turn off automatic flushing of toilets. 

Rolling out an initiative like Wizso could begin in the office but then be easily replicated at home. It can help to educate employees and customers on water scarcity, encourage people to appreciate the cost of water and help them to do the right thing. It can lead to families and colleagues saving water, money and most importantly, planet earth. If we want to make progress on all of the major global challenges, we must start with water. 

Lead by example 

It is crucial to highlight that individuals are rarely the major emission contributors within companies. However, that doesn’t mean that behavioural shifts can’t make a difference when trying to help the environment. 

Businesses have the opportunity to step up and lead by example. By making positive changes in our own organisations, we can help to enable behavioural shifts. What might seem like a small and simple step in our own companies, can lead to bigger steps worldwide. 

Actions can powerfully shape the perceptions of those around you. If employees and customers see the business adopting green methods, they can feel inspired to do the same. 

Showing people how easy it can be to create such a difference can also help to encourage a wider change. Providing people with the tools and frameworks to make similar changes at home can help to ensure that sustainability goes beyond the workplace. 

You don’t want individuals to feel as though you are preaching to them or giving out to them either. This can be off-putting to some and makes them reluctant to make a change. Rather than giving out or telling people what to do, businesses can lead by example and encourage behavioural change in a positive way. 

With the water shortage and cost-of-living crises at the front of our minds at present, it is crucial that we apply these concepts whereby a simple change by an individual can actually have a massive impact on climate change and family finance. 

If we are asking ourselves the question of who is responsible for our planet and its sustainability? The answer is twofold, businesses and people. The challenge is to make the most out of the relationship between the two to bring about the cultural and behavioural changes that are so desperately needed to improve our sustainability performance. 

Mark Gilligan is director at Wizso

For more information visit www.wizso.com