From Guest Blogger Dimitris Papadopoulos: The Anthropocene Epoch: Limiting the Environmental Impact of Business

When you own your small or medium-sized business, it’s tempting to assume that allegations about the energy-guzzling corporate monster don’t apply to you. That’s a label for the multinationals and commercial giants that have the budgets to actually do something about the global climate crisis.

For you, there are plenty of other financial concerns to contend with, from rent to increasing bills. Add in tricky customers and demanding employees, and your plate is pretty full.

You might have once been forgiven for thinking that you’re busy enough without the added weight of going green. But the truth is that we all have to do our part for the environment or the future cost will be deadly. Money worries or not, it can’t be put off any longer.

Have we reached critical level?

According to experts, human impact on earth has reached such a critical level we need to declare a new geological epoch – the Anthropocene.

Changes in geological periods are defined by a global signal, such as the extinction of the dinosaurs. Authorities believe the 1950s mark the start of this new era, which has been characterised wholly by humanity – nuclear leftovers, carbon levels and plastic pollution being the biggest offenders.

Why is it important?

We’re not only teetering on the edge of a scary and potentially disastrous future; we’ve only just realised that we designed it ourselves. Our past actions have already done the damage, altering the world at a colossal level as we dominated and exploited natural resources.

The results are clear to see – Nasa has just announced that in recent decades global temperature has been rising at a level unprecedented in the past 1000 years. If we continue to deplete the global ecological system, the consequences would be devastating.

What can I do?

It’s a bleak picture at first glance. The problem might seem overwhelming, but the key is to keep looking forward. We can’t change what’s already been done, we can only learn from mistakes and limit the damage going forward.

And it’s everyone’s responsibility. You can start by lessening the impact of your business on the environment. If you work with toxic materials, prevent the escape of dangerous gases if an accident should happen – and protect your business at the same time – by installing a blast wall.

Be as eco-friendly as possible by reducing waste – recycling and disposing of it properly – and swapping to sustainable energy solutions. Costs are negligible when you look at the bigger picture, and in fact making green changes could reduce your bills overall.

We’re all responsible for the current state of the environment, and we all have to pull our weight when it comes to building a strong, sustainable foundation for the future. It’ll be the sum total of all our efforts that’ll make the difference.