My definition of total bliss is walking on dewy soil with my eyes closed. My doggos running around me sniffing the smells of the night gone. The breeze in my hair and clothes and the sun just coming up on the horizon. 

Perfect.                     

Nature is the basis of our being, our life. Soil is our nurturer. Unfortunately, also the very things we take for granted.

If you have not realized yet, climate change is real.

Floods ravaging South Asia, hurricanes in the United States, earthquakes in Indonesia, typhoons in China and Japan, droughts in South Africa, wildfires in Australia, California, permafrost regressing in Siberia and so much and so on. The list doesn’t end.

In the last 30 years, these climate catastrophes have tripled. We are way ahead of the time where we had the luxury of pointing fingers at others.

I want to talk to you as a small business owner and what we can do for the environment. 

The role of businesses and business leaders is hugely underestimated in the context of saving the environment.

For long enough businesses have evaluated their standing in terms of profits and revenue. The definition has to change completely. 

Conventional definitions of a business leader have to change. Those roles have to weave in empathy for the environment.    

No-one, absolutely no-one, has the privilege to say, ‘Not my Job’, in this case. With that said, leaders have additional responsibility to lead with actions. 

In my experience working across nations, I have observed that our ignorance causes more destruction than our deliberate avoidance of the environment.

Let’s change that now. I have put down a few points that I feel relevant for a business to start with (it could be useful for those companies who continue to operate physically). Forward-thinking organizations have to keep a check on the definition of these changes as they evolve.

Low hanging fruit 

• ban the usage of plastic; reduce the use of paper to a minimum

• get rid of printers, and any display boards that need paper/ plastic

• use glass, biodegradable stuff instead of paper and plastic 

• upgrade furniture also to bamboo and jute 

• reward people who make a conscious effort to save electricity

Mid-level changes

• reward employees for carpooling

• increase public transport allowance 

• encourage people to stay home by giving them money for sustainable home office furniture and better WiFi

• install solar panels in office, recycled paper in toilets as tissues

• identify one day every month where people should brainstorm over ideas to protect the environment. Define actionable items.

High-level changes 

• only give and do business with companies who have something green on their agenda

• encourage existing clients to go green

• invest in technology that helps your stakeholders, including your vendors, in minimizing the usage of non-biodegradable substances. 

• conduct and participate in environmental awareness seminars and conferences

If any of that sounds too much I want you to do an exercise. The one I mentioned in the beginning.

Go to a space where you find soil. Take off your footwear. Close your eyes, spread your arms, chin up, and walk. 

Feel the ground. Feel the earth. Feel the soil.

The feeling will heal you. It’s time that soil can do with some healing.

Before I end, I have one quick realization to share. It’s the role of women here.

Women are the force of change. No society, no institution, no organization, no family can progress without involving women.

That’s the gospel truth. I urge all women, especially the ones on the leadership front to put this on their agenda. 

Let’s all do that. For no-one else. For our own survival.

If you wish to discuss more on how you can help your business be climate-sensitive, write to me at antje.bauer@strengthminer.com.