Five Things You Should Do When Starting An Eco-Friendly Business

Julie Starr • April 5, 2021



Now, more than ever, it’s important that we do all we can to keep our business practices sustainable. Eco-friendly doesn’t need to mean difficult, and luckily there are a number of unobtrusive, forward-thinking ways you can adapt your business idea to help save the planet. 

  1. Re-evaluate your approach

So you’ve decided to take the plunge with a new business idea, read up on how to start an LLC in any state , and got your team assembled. By all accounts, you’re ready to start making the first moves towards making your dream a reality- but now’s the time to take a step back from your concept and reflect. Is this a business idea that will really help people in the long run? If your concept is one that unavoidably relies on unsustainable practices or generates a lot of waste, maybe it’s time to re-evaluate your core business idea into something more sustainable.

  1. Go paperless

As you find yourself starting to put your business into motion, you may find a lot of paperwork start to pile up. While it might be tempting to stick with physical copies, digitizing your records can have a huge number of benefits. Sorting and accessing your documents will become much easier, and your company’s carbon footprint will be smaller to boot. If you choose this route, it’s important to make sure that you equip your machines with top-quality data security protocols to make sure any sensitive information you have doesn’t get compromised. 

  1. Make your business headquarters eco-friendly

If you find yourself in possession of a base of operations for your new, eco-savvy business, make sure that your sustainable ethos extends to the work area you inhabit. Invest in things like eco-friendly lighting , heating, and insulation to keep your space running as healthily as possible. Not to mention that by keeping wasteful consumption to a minimum, you’ll be saving yourself some money in the long run.

  1. Sustainable energy

One of the biggest crises our planet is facing right now is our wasteful expenditure of fossil fuels, causing levels of irreparable damage to our world’s ecology. Fortunately, there are a huge variety of green alternative power sources which can help to offset this impact, if even by a small amount. Consider looking into solar panels, wind energy, or tidal power as new power sources for your processes, and dealing with suppliers who specialize in them.

  1. Work with other eco-friendly companies

Sadly, it can be difficult trying to keep your company sustainable, which is why it’s important to collaborate with other businesses dedicated to preserving our world. For example, rather than working with a notoriously wasteful or polluting company as a supplier, consider reaching out to brands that make an effort to keep waste at a low level. Working together like this can help start to shift industry norms, and affect real change in the ways in which legislators and companies view climate change. 

By making a few small changes to the way you approach your business, it can be incredibly easy to lower your emissions and cut out unnecessary and harmful waste, while also saving some money along the way.

5 Everyday Items That Can Quietly Boost Your Brand

By Julie Starr • July 17, 2025
The best branding doesn’t always come from big campaigns or expensive graphics. Sometimes it’s the smaller stuff that leaves the biggest impression. Things people actually use, touch, or carry with them. That’s where your brand can quietly make its mark without needing to shout about it. If you’re only focusing on social media and business cards, you’re leaving a lot on the table. Here are five overlooked ways to get your name out there that feel natural, useful, and more personal. Thank-you slips If you’re already sending out orders, there’s no reason not to include a short thank-you slip. You can easily get these made through any decent online print shop , and they’re usually pretty cheap to run off in small batches. Just a simple note that says thanks, maybe with a reminder to follow you online or a cheeky discount code for next time. It’s quick, thoughtful, and makes the whole order feel more finished. Customers notice that kind of detail, especially when everything else they buy online comes with zero personality. You don’t need a complicated design either. Just something clean with your logo, a message that sounds like you, and maybe a social handle. The point is to give them a reason to come back or remember your name without it feeling forced. Branded zip pouches If you sell physical products, offer services, or run events, small zip pouches are surprisingly effective. Think of the kind you’d use for stationery, receipts, or travel bits. You can get your brand printed on the side and hand them out with purchases or include them in welcome packs. People keep them because they’re actually useful. They get tossed in handbags, school bags, or glove boxes and your logo just keeps turning up. Cleaning cloths for glasses or screens This one works brilliantly if you’re in tech, health, beauty, or anything involving screens or eyewear. A simple microfibre cloth with your branding on it can go a long way. Everyone needs one. Whether they use it for glasses, a phone screen, or their laptop, it’s something they hang onto. It’s not the kind of thing people throw away, and that means your name sticks around too. Receipt envelopes You might already use little envelopes to hand over receipts or business cards. Branding those envelopes is a small change that makes a big difference. Instead of someone getting a scruffy bit of paper in a plain sleeve, they’re handed something that feels a bit more finished. You can even add a message inside. Doesn’t need to be anything dramatic. A simple “thanks for visiting” or “see you next time” is enough to add a personal touch. Wet wipes or mini hand gels If your business is in hospitality, food, or anything hands-on, branded wet wipes or pocket-sized hand gels are surprisingly popular. People actually use them, especially at festivals, food stalls, pop-ups, or kids’ events. They end up in handbags or cars and stick around longer than you think. They don’t scream “marketing” either. They’re practical, and when done right, they make your business feel thoughtful. That’s what good branding does, it shows you’ve thought ahead.

How Student-Led ‘Energy Audits’ Are Cutting School Costs (and Lighting the Way Forward)

By Julie Starr • July 14, 2025
What happens when students stop waiting for adults to fix things and start conducting their own energy audits? Money gets saved. The lights get switched off. Data gets analyzed. And a quiet revolution in sustainability begins—inside schools that once overlooked their own inefficiencies. Across the globe, student-led energy audits are proving that change doesn't always need to come from a policy shift or a major capital budget. Sometimes, it begins with a clipboard, a spreadsheet, and a group of curious minds asking: Why are the hallway lights on at noon when sunlight floods the building? The Energy Detectives These audits aren’t science fair projects. They’re rigorous investigations, often done in collaboration with facilities staff, local environmental nonprofits, or even engineering mentors. Students go from classroom to classroom measuring electricity usage, checking for phantom loads , and identifying where heat is escaping in winter or air conditioning is leaking in summer. One high school in Ontario saved over $12,000 a year after its Grade 11 physics students ran an energy audit and suggested simple changes—LED upgrades, motion sensors in bathrooms, and smarter heating schedules. They didn’t just propose ideas. They pitched them with spreadsheets, thermal images, and payback timelines. It worked. Learning That Pays Off—Literally Unlike textbook learning, these audits blend real-world math, environmental science, economics, and persuasive communication. Students aren’t just learning about sustainability. They’re doing it. And the savings add up. From dimming overlit hallways to reprogramming HVAC systems that run all weekend for empty buildings, students are surfacing blind spots that administrators often overlook. In some districts, their findings are influencing energy policy. Elsewhere, the audits have inspired school boards to hire sustainability coordinators—often alumni of the student programs themselves. There’s something poetic about a school funding new books or laptops from money saved by students who found out the vending machines didn’t need to be plugged in 24/7. Why This Matters More Than Ever With education budgets tightening and utility costs rising, every dollar saved is a dollar that can go back into classrooms. And here’s where it gets interesting from a family finance perspective, too. If you’re a parent setting aside money for post-secondary savings, every bit of school efficiency helps. Fewer energy costs might mean more programming, better STEM facilities, or even bursaries. That raises a broader point: when families save for their children’s future, they often look into RESPs (Registered Education Savings Plans). And many wonder—is a RESP deduction available on my taxes? While contributions themselves aren’t deductible, the gains grow tax-free, and students often pay little to no tax when they withdraw the funds during school. A Movement Worth Replicating These audits aren’t just an exercise in environmentalism. They’re leadership labs. Students learn how to spot inefficiencies, speak up in board meetings, and make a business case for change. They don’t just flip switches—they shift mindsets. And they carry these habits into adulthood. The result? A generation growing up not only with climate anxiety, but also with tools to tackle it.