Sustainable businesses make a conscious effort to minimise their impact on the planet wherever possible.
By creating a product or service that considers greenhouse gas emissions, energy efficiency and waste reduction, you can help make the world a better place.
There’s just the simple matter of choosing a sustainable business idea and then going ahead and setting it up to take care of first.
EcoSend is the world’s first sustainable email tool and we’re here to lend a helping hand. These are our top steps you’ll need to cover when setting up a sustainable business.
Look To Solve An Existing Problem With A Sustainable Solution
All of the best businesses are those which solve a problem for customers.
But with a sustainable business, it’s even more essential that the problem relates to reducing waste or pollution in some way.
Example: At EcoSend, we launched our email marketing platform to provide a sustainable alternative to Mailchimp, Klaviyo, Brevo and Send In Blue. Our servers run on renewable energy sources to reduce the CO2 produced by email campaigns. We also plant trees on behalf of our customers.
Whether your business will be selling software or socks, what’s important is that your solution will offer customers a greener alternative.
Crucially, there should be an obvious need for your product or service.
You may also enjoy: 17 Ways To Be A More Sustainable Business In 2025
Conduct A Life Cycle Analysis To Determine Environmental Impact
Since your business idea relies on being sustainable, it’s vital to determine the environmental impact of your product or service over its life cycle.
Sometimes referred to as the ‘gate-to-gate’ impact, the life cycle analysis is as it sounds—a calculation of the emissions generated from the sourcing of the raw materials to the end of the product’s life.
Naturally, no two products or services work the same. That’s why life cycles should be unique to what you actually provide including how you do so.
For instance, shipping products internationally will have a higher carbon footprint than selling items locally.
Or, if you are a service provider, then everything from your company vehicles, office buildings and employee transport (depending on what’s applicable) will need to be calculated to determine your environmental impact.
Identify Your Target Market
Every business dreams of having ‘everyone’ as their customer. But unless you have a solid target market to pitch to, you could end up wasting money on selling to the wrong people in the wrong ways.
So now is the time to create a customer profile outlining some key demographics. As part of this, it’s also vital to ensure there is a target market for what you plan to offer in the first place.
After all, even if an idea sounds great in your head, you aren’t the customer. Instead, you’ll be relying on other people to buy your products and services.
An obvious place to start is to Google to check the competition. Ideally, your idea shouldn’t have been done by someone else. There should also be high search volumes (SEO) for the product or service you are looking to offer.
Launch Your Business Idea
Hopefully, you have put in quite a lot of groundwork before launching your business to ensure it’s not only truly sustainable but that you can back up your environmental claims.
From there, it’s time to focus on some of the more generalised aspects of setting up a business to make your business both legal and fully operational.
Some top aspects to sort out usually include:
Business name
Logo
Website
Social media presence
Physical mailing address
Government registration (i.e. in the UK this would include HMRC or Companies House)
In a nutshell, this stage is about ensuring your business is properly registered and looks legitimate to potential customers.
When it comes to choosing a website or branding identity, take the time to research how your product or service will be represented. If you have the budget, enlisting professional help is highly recommended.
P.S. In search of some inspiration for a sustainable business idea? Check out some of our customers here at EcoSend.
Customer Education - Making Your Unique Value Proposition Clear
Creating a sustainable business isn’t just great for the planet, it can also be a smart idea for any business looking to grow into a profitable company.
Some stats from Business Insider which back this up include:
There are a combined $26 trillion of economic benefits for businesses that go green
Products marked ‘sustainable’ grow 2.7 times faster than non-sustainable alternatives
Environmentally and socially responsible brands are trusted by 92% of buyers
55% of consumers are willing to pay more for eco-friendly products
While all of that holds fantastic potential for your sustainable business idea, it's of little use if you don’t communicate your sustainable USP (unique value proposition) to your customers!
Therefore, you need to invest in green marketing strategies to educate customers on how they can reduce their own carbon footprint by using your sustainable product or service.
Choose Your Digital Marketing Tools Carefully
Before you send that mass email blast on Mailchimp, did you know that the internet has a carbon footprint?
Even if your sustainable business idea offers the most innovative solutions, how you market your products or services online can have a hidden carbon footprint.
Simply put, it requires energy to power the servers which makes the internet possible. This includes hosting websites, posting social media content and even Zoom calls.
To make your sustainable business as green as possible, consider these eco-friendly digital marketing alternatives:
Green web hosting
Low carbon website design
Environmentally considerate SEO strategies
Optimised video and image content
Additionally, you should look to power all devices via renewable energy sources. Likewise, it’s also essential to reduce and eliminate e-waste (i.e. devices you no longer use) wherever possible.
Ensure Accountability For Emissions Tracking & Innovating In Response
Sustainability reporting is important for every business. But, when your whole business idea hinges on being better for the planet, it could be more important to be tracking and reporting your emissions and overall environmental impact.
Beyond ESG reporting, some businesses are also required to publish CSRD reports.
Always make your environmental reports public so that your customers can be fully informed about your performance. Each year, the aim is to reduce your emissions and waste to the lowest possible amount.
EcoSend - Maximise The Potential Of Your Sustainable Business Idea With Our Planet-Friendly Email Platform
If you are considering starting a sustainable business or making your existing business more environmentally friendly, you are doing something good for the planet.
So why not continue your fantastic work, by making your email campaigns environmentally friendly?
You can do just that by sending your email campaigns through EcoSend.
As the world’s first sustainable email platform, we’re here to help support your business growth in a way that also supports your sustainability efforts.
New to EcoSend? Try us today with a free 7 day trial.
If you have any questions about EcoSend, please drop us a message and we’ll be with you shortly.
