A lot of us are thinking more carefully about where and how we spend our money these days. For a lot of us, it’s important to spend our money with companies with sustainable business practices and who are working hard to operate in the greenest way they can. Unfortunately, businesses know this, so the less scrupulous businesses out there often make claims of being green that aren’t strictly true. How can you tell which businesses are really green so you don’t waste your money?
If you’re going to tell if a company really is green, you’re going to need to do some research.
Start by looking at the company says about their practices. Is this information vague and full of green buzzwords that don’t really mean anything? A good sign is a company like Superior Farms whose website has a lot of information about what sustainability means to them and what practices they have in place to hold up these values.
Of course, companies can claim anything they like, so don’t trust their company’s website alone. Look for third-party authentication too. Have they won any awards or received recognition from green organizations? Look on the company website, and the website of the awards bodies to see what they’ve been awarded for.
Look into affiliations with recognizable organizations. Does the company that you’re considering shopping with have any kind of green business certification icon or membership with an association that is known for social responsibility or sustainable practices? Make sure the organizations are reputable ones that reward genuine green policies and aren’t lists that positions can be bought on.
Find reliable sites that evaluate the green performance of different businesses. There are several different websites that you can use, that provide scorecards on the efforts that companies make in order to address climate change. If you can’t find the company you’re thinking of buying from on a list like this, then read up on some of the companies that are listed. Learn about what actions different businesses are taking to be more sustainable in their work.
Access reports on sustainability or social responsibility. A lot of companies who take this kind of work seriously are now publishing reports about the efforts they are making to be more socially responsible and more sustainable. Take a look on the company’s website to see if you can find a link to a report like this. If you can’t find a report about what is being done, you could try searching for one. Do a search with the name of the company, and keyword options like ‘sustainability report’, ‘corporate social responsibility report’, or ‘environmental report’ to see if you can pull up a report. You could also look at report databases to see if anywhere else has a report for your target company.
There are lots of signs that a company really is making every effort to be as sustainable as they can be, and the best way to find them is to research thoroughly and make careful choices.