Nowadays, starting a business shouldn’t only be about earning profit. Businesses should also think about the kind of impact they’re making on the environment. More people are becoming aware of how companies are destroying our environment. Ninety companies are already responsible for two-thirds of man-made global warming emissions. The effects these companies have made are almost irreversible. In a few years, we will be in a state of climate calamity if we don’t do something about it. If you’re planning to start a business, why not consider ideas that’ll help save the environment. Such as these:
Beekeeping
Bees are one of the most important creatures on our planet. They are responsible for pollinating ⅙ of the flowering plant species in the world. They are also in charge of pollinating over 400 agricultural plants. Bees alone produce $19 billion worth of crops in the United States. That’s $9 billion more than any other pollinators (combined) can produce. Bees are responsible for ⅓ of everything we eat. Without bees, the world would be a different place. Pumpkins, blueberries, watermelons, apples, cranberries, and cherries are only some things that wouldn’t exist if not for bees.
Now you know how important it is that bees exist, why not try beekeeping? It isn’t your usual job, and it doesn’t make as much money as a “normal” job would. But it’s an important job and a good source of extra income, even if you’re only doing it as a hobby. Beekeeping needs patience and plenty of TLC. During your first year of beekeeping, don’t expect too much as bees need time to produce honey.
But when they do, the rewards are worth it. Once you’ve got the hang of running your business from a small scale, you can then expand into a larger scale business. You could even sell more than honey and make use of the beeswax. It’s great for lip balm, hand cream, candle wax, and even soap.
If you need help with your beekeeping, there’s this great beekeeping application you can use. It can help you record and plan activities, manage priorities, collect, analyze, share data with your team, and plot your locations. The app is available on Apple, Android, Windows, and any web browser.
Upcycling or Reworking Clothes
The fashion industry is the second-largest polluter in the world, next to the oil industry. Fast fashion is becoming a big problem. Fast fashion clothing is usually made to wear a few times before disposing of. It’s created to go with the trends, and once it’s not trendy, people throw it away. This is a very unsustainable practice and is very harmful to our planet. A great way to combat this problem is by promoting a circular economy.
A circular economy means that instead of disposing objects right away, you either recycle or upcycle them. This is very doable with clothing. Put your creativity and sewing skills into good use by reworking some old clothes. There are tons of online businesses that profit from upcycling old clothes.
Paper Recycling
A lot of people have issues with recycling. Some say that recycling isn’t efficient. People are being fooled into thinking that using plastic is okay because it gets recycled anyway. But the truth is, you’ll help the planet more by avoiding plastic completely. Instead of relying on plastic recycling to do the job of “saving the planet.” But paper recycling is another thing.
Paper is much more efficient to recycle than plastic and glass. And you can do it at home. All it takes is used paper, a blender, some water, some cloth, and a silkscreen. It’s a time-consuming business to do at home, but it’s still beneficial to the environment. It helps reduce gas emissions, lessens cutting down trees, and cuts energy. The Environmental Protection Agency says that recycling one ton of paper already saves 17 trees and 3 cubic yards of landfill space.
Edible Landscaping
If you’ve got a green thumb and an eye for designing landscapes, edible landscaping could be the job for you. The average garden landscaping can cost anywhere between $50 to $100 an hour. The price can change depending on the project’s size and how many people are working on it. Why not take it a step further by doing edible landscaping instead. Not only is it beautiful to look at, but it also promotes sustainability. It’s a great business idea because you earn a lot from doing it and help others save money by planting fruits and vegetables in their garden.
Environmental Vlogging
If you’re not afraid to be in front of the camera, why not try environmental vlogging on YouTube? There are tons of YouTube channels that earn money by educating others on the environment. Take Planterina, Self Sufficient Me, or Epic Gardening, for example. These are some of the best environment-related YouTube channels there are. Why not try it out to see if it’s for you? This won’t directly help the environment, but you still make a big difference by educating others.
Before starting a new business venture, ensure that it makes the right kinds of impacts on the planet. Money may make the world go round. But there’s no point in making money if you don’t have a planet to live on to make use of that money in the first place.