Protecting the future of all business

Sustainability. Another business buzzword.

What is it? The best way to describe sustainability is by mentioning what it isn't.

The classic example being Matt Groening's nuclear power magnate we all know and love to hate - the inimitable Mr Burns. Another - perhaps better - illustration is the more human (yet somehow more sinister for that) Onceler in Dr Seuss' timeless "Lorax," a grassroots entrepreneur turned greedy executive guzzling up the world's supply of Truffula trees to manufacture the ultimate consumer items, Thneeds. Even in this children's book, issues such as redundancy, extinction and species displacement are promininent themes and the marvellous Doctor pulls no punches.

A long way away from new media? Superficially, perhaps.

But the internet has been the catalyst for many commentators to proclaim this the age of the paperless office / the end of commuting / the era of the connected community.

In this life, however, we know that none of these utopias is really possible; in fact, in some ways the internet makes it less likely that they will come about. But it's the perfect tool for spreading the word.

So here we give you our top 5 tips for sustainable work:

• Use every bit of paper that comes through your workspace twice: once on the front, once on the back, then dump it in the recycle bin. A prize goes to anybody who figures out a good third use before that... One of our contacts even suggested a third use; if your twice-used paper is shredded, it makes good loose filling for sending breakable items through the post. Unless you have to file it, but remember that if it doesn't relate directly to a customer, your legal requirements for filing or good accounting practice, it probably isn't worth keeping.
  
  
• Consider digital alternatives to their physical counterparts. Taking (and sending) a digital photo, for example, cuts down on harmful process chemicals, paper use, transport and energy. And money, as if you need to be told...
  
  
• Limit your working hours. A good goal is 35 hours a week. Working too hard can't be sustained for long periods of time.
  
  
• The more disposable it is, the less desirable. If you catch yourself throwing something away, note down an alternative source or use for it next time - for example, print cartridges can be bought back and recycled.
  
  
• Try buying, or obtaining, second-hand rather than new. Ebay and Freecycle are great resources for this. And when you're done with something which still has life in it, pass it on in the same manner.
  
  
• Play well. Business is sustainable if it innovates, and innovation comes more often than not from play, research and development breaks, good holidays, new situations. Let the land lie fallow regularly.
  
  
• Sustainability isn't about being “worthy.” It's ultimately for creating good business futures and even saving money while you're at it.