In this episode, Shelby highlights the importance of adopting an environmentally friendly approach to day-to-day business operations. She shares insights on how businesses of all sizes can work more proactively and efficiently to reduce their carbon footprint.

From reducing energy consumption in buildings and reducing carbon emissions through transportation, Shelby also discusses the benefit of working with suppliers who follow eco-friendly practices. She emphasizes the need to embrace a business culture that prioritizes green practices at its core and suggests ways that businesses can align with organizations that work to nurture and protect the environment.

Shelby outlines the benefits of remote working for employees to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that are the result of their daily commute. As a virtual assistant providing support to businesses, she outlines how her business also operates with a low carbon footprint by working remotely and using digital tools such as online document management systems, online file sharing, email, and digital invoicing. She encourages businesses to transition from paper-based processes to fully digital solutions and offers virtual assistance support in these and many other areas.

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Contact Shelby Joines | Joines Administration: 

• Website: JoinesAdministration.ca
• LinkedIn: Joines Administration
• Instagram: @JoinesAdministration
• Facebook: @JoinesAdministration

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Transcript:

Shelby 00:07

Welcome back, everybody, to another episode of She's Got This: A Journey to Success. Thank you so much for being here. As always, I am so grateful for all my followers and listeners. If you haven't already, subscribe to this podcast on any of your favourite channels such as Apple podcast, Google podcast, Amazon music, or Spotify— whatever tickles your fancy, it would be greatly appreciated. Now, today's episode is going to be something that is really important, especially in today's economy, and the way that the world is moving in regards to greenhouse gas emissions, and businesses and companies that are really stepping up to reduce their carbon footprint. So buckle up, we're gonna be talking about some exciting initiatives and exciting ways where you can decrease your carbon footprint in your business, no matter what industry you are in. 

Shelby 01:07

When you think of greenhouse gas emissions and carbon footprint and being green and helping the environment, what usually comes to mind? Personally, big corporations, corporations that deal more so in industries that require deforestation or oil and gas, logging, transportation supply chain, things of that matter. A lot of us automatically go directly to those big corporations, the ones that you hear about in the news. Those are the heavy hitters, personally, for me anyways, when I think of greenhouse gas, carbon emissions, things along those lines, there are multiple other areas that could probably come to your mind too. But as a small business owner, are you thinking about your carbon footprint when it comes to your operations? Probably not. This is one of those things that we may not be thinking about on a regular basis. We think this is something that bigger businesses can do. What can the smaller, littler guy be doing to make a big impact on the environment and help reduce their businesses or their company's carbon footprint? Now, this is going to be an exciting episode, because this is a topic that I've really gotten super interested in in the last couple of months. This is something where I feel like my business Joines Administration is really going to take strides in the administrative world when it comes to supporting businesses in reducing their carbon footprint. 

Shelby 02:46

So today, we're going to be talking about all things that relate to that and how an administrator that is virtual such as Joines Administration, can support your business when it comes to helping you reduce your carbon footprint. So, to start off, what is a carbon footprint? This is something and a word and a topic that gets thrown around so much, whether it's media, social media, the news, you name it, it is everywhere. But really, what is it? 

Shelby 03:29

So, a carbon footprint is the measurement of the total amount of greenhouse gases emitted directly and indirectly by a person, organization, event or product. It is usually expressed in the equivalent tons of carbon dioxide or CO2. Now, a lot of people think that when it comes to carbon footprints or greenhouse gas emissions, or whatever the word that you may want to use means, they are very interchangeable. We think about businesses that have a product, sell a product, a physical product that needs to be created, designed, packaged, shipped, and whether that shipping is via rail, trucks, boats, air freight, emissions are being let out into our environment. But there are ways where you can help reduce that and make more conscious decisions on where your business is going and how you can help reduce that carbon footprint. So why does knowing and understanding your business's carbon footprint matter? 

Shelby 04:39

For one, it can help you avoid regulatory penalties. Now, these penalties more so come into the bigger industries I mentioned before, such as oil and gas, logging, trucking, things like that. But by proactively adopting eco-friendly practices, businesses can avoid potential fines and penalties that are associated with current environmental regulations. Now, here in Canada, we have the carbon tax, there are ways that you can reduce that if you are in a more product-based business, or one of the bigger industries that will receive penalties from regulatory and environmental regulatory platforms if they are not reducing in a certain timeframe. But as a business, you can make the conscious decisions to really look into your supply chain management, who is the company that you are using to ship your products from? Are they personally taking any initiatives to really reduce their carbon footprint and reduce the emissions that their business is taking. Doing research like this and making tweaks to service providers or vendors that you were using based on these items can help you save in the long run and help you do a little bit to help our environment. Another reason why it matters is you want to experience the long-term financial resilience. Now this can apply to any business, whether you’re product-based, service-based, you name it, digital-based anything. 

Shelby 06:19

But sustainable business practices can lead to greater long-term financial resiliency, by mitigating your risks associated with resource scarcity and climate change impacts. Now, when it comes to reducing your carbon footprint and becoming more eco-friendly as a business, it is not a race. It is definitely 100% a marathon, and this is something that you constantly have to be building on, evolving with, and helping to grow long term. But by taking these steps now early in your business, or just at any point in your business, just starting with it, you will, in turn, be able to see long-term financial gains from this in the long run by making tiny tweaks and adjustments to the way you operate now. So, what contributes to your carbon footprint? Other than the obvious things that you can, maybe be thinking of right now, I'm sure one or two are probably coming to mind. But from an administrative standpoint, what can contribute to your carbon footprint are things like commuting and business travel. So, frequent business travel, especially by air, can greatly increase a company's carbon footprint. You can consider having more Zoom meetings, digital meetings, things along those lines. Now, I'm not saying to completely stop meeting in person or anything like that, but being conscious and aware of how much you are actually travelling, what the distance you are travelling is, the method of transportation and taking those into effect and consideration, can really help lower your carbon footprint as a business owner.

Shelby 08:06

Energy use in buildings and facilities— now this is another big one for people who are not so much on the virtual side but actually have real estate and office space where they go and are in-person, working all the time. 

So offices, warehouses, and other business facilities consume a significant amount of energy for heating, cooling, lighting, and operation of equipment. Whether that is things that you plug in and you use on a daily basis, such as external hard drives, things like that, or if we're talking about more heavy operating equipment, such as compressors, or other tools that may run off of gasoline, diesel, whatever it may be, just being aware of how much you are using and consuming your energy in your buildings and your facilities can really make an impact. These can be tiny changes such as switching out your light bulbs to more energy efficient things, being aware of how many items you have plugged into outlets at any given time or power bars, making sure that any type of electronics that you may have, do have that energy efficient sticker on it. Little things like that, as well as the standard of making sure that you're doing your recycling and any kind of shared kitchens, doing your part on composting, things like that can really make a difference. And as I mentioned before, you also want to evaluate your supply chain operations. 

Shelby 09:40

Now, the carbon footprint of a business is not limited to its direct operations but also includes the environmental impact of its supply chain. Now, as I mentioned before, this is how products or services or anything like that is shipped, whether that's again trains, air, truck transportation, boats, you name it, being able to evaluate who your supply chain operators are, and seeing what they are doing to offset their carbon footprint will in turn benefit your business's carbon footprint as well.

Shelby 10:13

Business practices and culture— this is one of the topics that people don't normally think about. So, a company's culture that doesn't prioritize sustainability can lead to higher carbon footprints. This includes practices like unnecessary printing, lack of energy-saving measures, and poor resource management. Now, this can all get tied into, again, just doing those little things, making sure that if you do have to print a document, really ask yourself, is it crucial that I print this, what is the most effective way to print this, instead of printing it in full color, maybe go the route of being more print ink friendly and doing it in black and white, or sending out digital copies of any material to the attendees, and they can decide if they would like to see it virtually or digitally, or print it on their own time. Little things like this can really make an impact as well as can be huge cost saving measures in the long run. Businesses today spend an outrageous amount on printing and ink-related documentation. So not only are you helping the environment, but you are also saving a whole bunch of money in the long run for your business. 

Shelby 11:40

Now, what are other ways that you can reduce your footprint as a business owner, we've mentioned a few of these before, but energy efficiencies, improving the energy efficiencies in your business operations is one of the most effective ways to reduce your carbon emissions. Now, whether this is at your home office, you have a physical office you go to anywhere you are conducting your business really, you can achieve this by upgrading to energy-efficient lighting, getting your heating and cooling systems checked regularly and making sure that they are up to date with the latest energy saving technology, as well as ensuring that you have proper insulation and ventilation in your business or your buildings, home, away. They will greatly save you again in the long run.

Shelby 12:25

Remote work options. This is what we are here for and all about. By allowing your employees, or contractors, subcontractors to work from home, reduces the need for commuting, office heating, cooling, lighting… the list honestly goes on, thereby reducing the overall carbon footprint of your business. Now, this is a huge topic, and one that I don't think gets discussed about, talked about, or even just kind of brainstormed about really. Remote workers can save you so much on your energy bills, not only then as a subcontractor, for me, for instance; I take on my own carbon emissions footprint, all of the fun taxes and bills that come along with that onto my shoulders. Now, I am as energy efficient as I possibly can. In the new year, I'm looking to become more energy efficient and implement ways that I can help reduce my carbon footprint. But those things all fall on to the subcontractor, leaving you with lower bills, more cost savings, and a lower, smaller carbon footprint. 

Shelby 13:45

And, like I mentioned before, supply chain management— making sure that you're choosing your suppliers who are also committed to sustainability and reducing their emissions can have a substantial impact on your own carbon footprint and the process of lowering that. And another fun option that you can do to help reduce your footprint as a business owner is carbon offsetting. And this one is super exciting. I do a bit of carbon offsetting myself in my business. I like to plant trees for my clients, customers and vendors at Christmas time and other times throughout the year as just a little thank you to help with reforestation across Canada. Not only does it make me feel really good, but I am making a small impact on helping our environment grow, while giving something of value to my clients, customers and vendors that's not necessarily going to increase my carbon emission. Don't get me wrong, gift baskets are great. But if you really look into it, the amount of products that are being built and packaged to have this basket, then for it to be shipped or delivered or courier to a client, it all ends up adding up. So that is my little bit of carbon offsetting. 

Shelby 15:10

But what you can do, while reducing your admissions as the primary goal, you can also invest in offset carbon offset projects, such as reforestation, like I mentioned renewable energy development or community projects that really help support developing countries. Those are just a few little options to help you offset your carbon footprint. There are countless ones out there. If you're looking to go green and implement some carbon offsetting, I highly recommend you take a look at the amazing options that are out there. If you're looking to hear more about a company that I use for myself for planting trees across Canada, feel free to send me an email to info at joinesadministration.ca. and I will definitely pass that information along to you. 

Shelby 16:07

Now, how can a virtual assistant help you offset your carbon footprint? This is an amazing little section, I had so much fun putting this together for you guys. So, on average, virtual assistants can help you save 10% + per year through reduced commuting emissions. Now, Joines administration works remotely, and by doing that we eliminate the need of daily commuting to an office, which is reducing our greenhouse gas emissions associated with our transportation, particularly from vehicles that are powered by fossil fuels, which a good majority of us are still running on because, just haven't gotten to that nice EV just yet. 

Shelby 15:00

But, another great way that I can help offset your footprint or virtual assistant period can help you offset that footprint, is by decreasing your resource usage. Now we're specifically talking about paper right here because this is one of the biggest, biggest emission-producing things that businesses do, and a virtual assistant can help you reduce your paper usage by 20 to 50%. And for businesses that traditionally rely on a lot of paper-based processes, transitioning to a digital workflow with the help of Joines Administration can significantly reduce your paper consumption, thus saving the environment, one tree at a time. 

Shelby 17:47

Now, we can also help you by supporting your business in implementing more green initiatives. We can do this through research, helping plan, and implementing eco-friendly practices within your company. Now this includes identifying sustainable suppliers that you may need to use, managing any green projects or initiatives, or tracking your overall carbon footprint. Another one, like I mentioned earlier, is carbon offsetting initiatives, we can help assist in identifying and managing those initiatives, such as investing in renewable energy products, reforestation efforts, or other environmental projects that compensate for your company's unavoidable admissions. We have to say it, sometimes these emissions can be unavoidable, but being able to really offset those emissions can do wonders for your business. 

Shelby 18:45

Oh, I hope that you all found so much value in this really, carbon emissions isn't just something that is specifically targeted to big businesses, small and medium-sized enterprises or businesses can absolutely do their part as well in helping to go more green, be more eco friendly, and support the environment through sustainable, eco-friendly practices. And that can all start by very little initiatives that can lead to big and amazing things.

Shelby 19:31

All right, everybody. I hope you had the greatest time listening in on this episode. This one was truly one of my favourites and I really hope that some of the tips and tricks I provided will help you in your business become more environmentally friendly, more eco-conscious, and just overall of little bit greener in your business. As always, if you haven't already, I would super appreciate if you would like, subscribe and share this podcast with any female entrepreneurs who you think this would bring value to. Be sure to follow like and subscribe on all the major platforms and podcasts such as Apple podcasts, Google podcasts, Amazon Music, and Spotify. We’ll see you next time.