Why Carbon Accounting is Important for Your Business and How to Set it up

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article |Carbon accounting|Why Carbon Accounting is Important for Your Business and How to Set it upGreen accounting is an important managerial tool, whose implementation can benefit businesses now and in the future. Keep reading to discover why green accounting matters, what are the benefits, and how to implement it.

What’s carbon accounting?

Carbon accounting is the process of quantifying the environmental impact that a given entity emits. For example, carbon footprint calculators and national inventories use carbon accounting methods to determine the greenhouse emissions of organizations and entire countries.

Carbon accounting isn’t new in corporate settings, since environmental reports have been in place for a few decades. But as global sustainability concerns continue to grow, so does the need for businesses to become more accountable in this respect.

The development of platforms devoted to helping business owners decarbonize their company, like Greenly, confirms the growing importance of carbon accounting.

In this article, we’ll look at why green accounting matters and will offer a three-step carbon accounting guide to help you get started.

Why green accounting is important for your business

Improved decision making

Quantifying the environmental cost of business operations gives access to granular data relevant to both financial and environmental goals. With this information, decision makers can define or redefine the policies, practices, or operations that will bring the highest impact in the medium and long term.

A value-driven business

New values are emerging as a result of growing environmental concerns. Through green accounting, you can better align your business practices and corporate mission with current social values.

This can help highlight your contribution to sustainable community development and offer maximum transparency to all stakeholders.

Support your CSR strategy

Green accounting and corporate social responsibility are a natural match due to the importance they place on the true impact of business practices.

Thanks to its quantitative nature, green accounting can be a valuable tool that provides insights and facilitates decision making. Green accounting data can help determine how to best fine tune your CSR strategy, so that your business makes a valuable contribution to society while remaining profitable.


Better compliance

Implementing green accounting can facilitate compliance with regulatory requirements. Such requirements are only expected to become more stringent in years to come, so acting now is vital in order to build a future-ready business.

Three steps to set up green accounting

Essentially, the process of implementing green accounting in corporate settings involves setting up tools and practices that facilitate the systematic collection, organisation and reporting of data.

The first step is to determine where exactly your business is in the path towards full implementation. This means knowing where your business stands in terms of carbon dioxide emissions.

To do this, you can use one of the following green accounting methodologies:

  • The spend-based method, which estimates the carbon footprint of purchased products and services relative to their cost.
  • The activity-based method, which quantifies the emission output of each business activity.
  • The hybrid method, which combines spend and activity-based methodologies for better accuracy.

Secondly, become familiar with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol’s tools and standards, created to help organizations develop an accurate and comprehensive approach to measure emissions.

And third, choose the right tools. Dedicated software can simplify the green accounting set up process by:

  • Consolidating all your data in a single platform.
  • Using the latest technologies to reduce the risk of errors and miscalculations, which cost time and money.
  • Providing expert industry-specific recommendations on how to minimize your corporate carbon footprint.

Implementing green accounting can help your business stay relevant in a changing world. The keys to successful implementation are systematizing your approach to data collection, organization and reporting, and supporting your efforts with dedicated software tools.

Now is a good time to take the initiative and embrace green accounting to ensure your business is future ready.

How Small Businesses Can Make Their IT Department More Efficient

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article |IT department|How Small Businesses Can Make Their IT Department More EfficientRegardless of the sector, your business operates in or the size of your organization, small, mid-sized, and large corporations lose hundreds and hundreds of dollars each year due to inefficiencies. So much so that the market research firm IDC has calculated that businesses lose 20-30% in revenue each year due to poor decision-making.

Whether using better technology than needed, incorrectly marketing, having more staff than required, or simply poor tracking of expenses, inefficient decision-making can damage your company in many ways. Unfortunately, your business IT department is no different, and providing that you are not forward-thinking with your decisions, your IT department can cost you significantly.

However, the key to avoiding unnecessary costs in your business IT department is to use IT proactively and determine ways to make the department more efficient. Fortunately, there are many ways that small businesses can improve their IT department’s efficiency, from using outsourced IT services to improving communication; we list several of the best practices below:

Optimize Communication In Your IT Department

A communication breakdown is one of the biggest obstacles in your IT department’s path. Understandably, it can be hard to describe a problem if the individual describing it has no idea how to communicate this to another person or if they are particularly tech shy. Yet, failure to communicate correctly can cause frustrations, resulting in a potential conflict between employees.

In addition, if a problem isn’t communicated effectively to your IT department, it can cause other issues such as misunderstandings, lower productivity, an unwillingness to co-operate, and many more. You can make communication easier between your IT department and your other employees by granting them access to more robust communication tools such as Slack, Microsoft Teams, and many more.

Through more robust communication platforms, your IT department has a range of tools at its disposal to assist other employees with any technical issues they might be experiencing. For instance, some of the best team messaging applications have tools like remote access, screen-sharing, audio calls, etc., which makes the communication process much more straightforward and eliminates the need for detailed explanations since your IT department can see the issue first-hand.

Access to better communication tools makes it easier for your IT department to resolve issues, especially for employees who work remotely and cannot visit the IT department in person to discuss the problem they are experiencing. As a result, you’ll find that members of the IT department resolve issues more effectively and have more time to invest in more critical areas of IT.


Invest In Outsourced IT Services

Another way businesses can improve their IT department’s efficiency is by investing in outsourced IT services. Sometimes the best way to help your IT department is to relieve them of routine, everyday IT tasks or auxiliary services that take time out of their day and enable them to filter the time that would have been wasted into more critical areas that need their attention.

Depending on the needs of your business, you might decide to use outsourced IT services to take care of one aspect of your IT department like cloud management, cyber security, project management, help desk, etc. On the other hand, you might want to turn to outsourced IT services to take care of all the issues within your IT department.

Whichever option you choose, outsourced IT services can offer various benefits for your business, from quickly implementing new technology, reduced labor costs, increased efficiency, reduced risks, and much more.

For more inspiration, look at the outsourced IT services from Solution Builder, which provide small and mid-sized businesses with a range of IT services from cloud management and migrations to cyber security. Consider visiting their website or contacting a team member directly to learn more about their outsourced IT services and how they could help maximize efficiency in your business.

Perform Regular Software Reviews

Performing reviews is essential in every area of your business, so much like you wouldn’t skip an employee performance review, ensure that you don’t forget to perform periodic checks of the software your workforce is using and whether it is still suitable.

Especially if you’re paying for a monthly package, it’s vital that you conduct regular reviews to ensure that the package is still relevant for your business needs, as there is no point in paying for something unsuitable for your needs.

Ensure that you conduct the same checks with any software your business might be using, as you might be keeping an older platform around for a handful of users or a specific department, which can soon burn holes in your budget.

Start by making a list of all the packages or software that your business pays for, then go through the list and evaluate whether replacing or canceling the subscription would make your IT department more efficient or if it’ll be more cost-effective for your business.

How to Incorporate Cloud Technology: 5 Steps to Success

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article |Cloud Technology|How to Incorporate Cloud Technology: 5 Steps to SuccessIn this day and age, is a business complete without using some form of cloud technology? No longer a trend or buzzword, “the cloud” has become an integral component in how many companies function.

There are various reasons organizations add cloud technology to their repertoire, including how it saves time and resources and makes them more productive overall.

Are you itching to also experience these benefits? Below are five steps to successfully incorporate cloud technology.

1. Understand your requirements

The first step is to fully understand your business requirements and how cloud computing can help. In general, cloud technology has the potential to dramatically improve the efficiency, security, and cost-effectiveness of your business. Yet you need to select the right service for your business. There are three primary options available:

  • Infrastructure as a service
  • Platform as a service
  • Software as a service

Is the plan to incorporate cloud technology for every element of your business? How will the future growth of your business affect your cloud-related plans? These are the types of questions you have to answer before moving forward.

2. Put in the research

Once you know your requirements, the next step is to put in the necessary research. You have to understand cloud technology, what it provides, and how it can help your business. With this knowledge, you’ll have a much better idea about which areas of your company would benefit most from the cloud – and also the areas that don’t necessarily require adopting this technology.


3. Understand the risks

Your focus will be on the advantages gained from cloud computing. That’s understandable. However, there are certain risks involved with integrating and using this technology. Ensure you are fully aware of these risks before adding cloud technology to your company’s operations.

For instance, once you put your data on the cloud, it’s important you have the necessary backup options and threat prevention policies in place.

4. Use the right technology solutions

Cloud technology incorporates a wide assortment of software and solutions. Different companies will use different technology, and it’s important your business selects the right options that fit your requirements.
As an example, say your company creates and manages its own APIs. If you’ve got numerous APIs under your belt, it can be hard to keep track of these effectively without the right approach. That right approach can be found with an API management platform. With the help of a management platform, it allows you to monitor, manage, and utilize your APIs with ease.

5. Educate your employees

It’s not just you who has to research and understand cloud technology. It’s imperative your employees are also on the same page. After all, if work is now being performed on the cloud, you don’t want staff members to struggle with completing their tasks due to a lack of understanding about how the technology works.
Even before migrating, you should explain to employees why it is beneficial for your company – and them – to make the move to the cloud.

Tips To Help Your Business Succeed

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article |Help your business succeed|Tips To Help Your Business SucceedAs a business owner, you always want your company to succeed and flourish as much as possible. This involves being as organized as you can, preparing for every eventuality, and keeping your employees happy – among other things. Having your own business is one of the best things that you will ever do and that’s why you want to make sure it does well. If you find that your company is floating through and doing ok, but you want it to do better, or that it isn’t doing as well as you hoped, there are many reasons why this might be. Here we take a look at some top tips to help your business succeed.

Always have back up plans

A back up plan is vital, it means that if something were to inevitably go wrong – which let’s face it, happens all the time, no matter how prepared you are – you are ready. From having spare engine parts for machinery such as Navistar Engine Parts, to contingency plans for if the internet goes down or if people can’t get into the office for some reason, it is all-important. Having plans in place means there’s no panic if something happens, you all know exactly what to do and can get back on track in no time at all.


Keep your employees happy

Your employees are essentially the backbone of your business and if they are happy, the business is more likely to be a success. Without them, the integral cogs would stop turning and you would find it near impossible to run all the necessary operations of the company. Keep them happy in ways such as acknowledging their work when they do well, offering perks such as finishing early on a Friday, and keeping in touch with them if they have any concerns. Offer good career progression and always be approachable and let them know you are there for them and to help their career grow and flourish.

Innovate as much as you can

While you might think your company is doing well, it’s always important to stay ahead of the game. Be sure to innovate and come up with new ideas as much as possible. Don’t shy away from new technology or be afraid to switch up the way you do things. It’s the companies that are afraid of change that often find themselves lagging behind the competition and unable to get ahead. Embrace differences and try something new – if it doesn’t work, it’s better that you tried and failed it rather than always staying the same.

These are a few top tips that should help you to ensure your business does well. Businesses are something that once you’ve started, become a part of your daily life and almost like a child to you – so you want to nurture it and watch it grow. What are some top things you like to do in order to help a business to flourish? Let us know in the comments, we would love to hear from you.

Key aspects of business relocation management!!!

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article |Business relocation|Key aspects of business relocation management!!!Moving a business is not a one-day job. It requires a lot of time, planning, and strategy and can only be completed in an organized manner. Hiring movers from Pricing Van Lines is just the best way to handle the relocation process. Charting a successful relocation plan is crucial before the start of the process. One needs to consider all the important aspects of it. if you are looking for the key elements that help you to manage it well then check out this content:

Finances

Relocating a business is not cheap at all. It requires huge money. If you don’t prepare a budget and go for a business relocation plan then the costs will rack up immediately and you might find yourself out of money in no time. So, first of all, you should create a budget and then should be stick with the same. Be sure you don’t just prepare finances for the relocation process but also consider downtime and operating costs at the new place.

Reduced downtime

Higher downtime can impact the productivity of a business at worst. Therefore, creating a timeline is crucial. Create a timeline according to a plan or strategy and then work according to the same. Higher downtime means there is no productivity which will hurt the financial condition of the business. Plan everything to minimize the stoppage of business operations else your business won’t be able to afford the big loss.

Assess all your leasing options

Be sure you are aware of all the commercial lease terms and conditions before signing these. It is recommended you assess all the options and then pick the best one. Most landlords offer good deals for multi-year leases so you should be ready to find a space where you can successfully establish your office for the next few years. This is the time when you should consider things like upsizing or downsizing the space.


Hire a reputable moving company

It is important to hire the best moving organization so that there is low downtime and also you can easily and successfully relocate your equipment and furniture items. Office relocation requires a huge number of items to relocate from tables to chairs, machines to IT equipment, and much more. IT equipment requires special care because of its fragility and no business can afford to lose these. Be sure you took moving quotes from more than two to three companies to reduce the costs and to find out the best organization in your area. Before you hire any organization, you should check out the ratings and reviews on their websites and also at websites such as Yelp, Better Business Bureau, and so on.

Personnel relocation strategies

Employees are the most important asset for any business. They help in smoother operation of any company and all the organizations are required to relocate with them. Employees will be ready to relocate when they get proper compensation and offer for it. Therefore, prepare relocation strategies that assist employees to relocate with ease while considering the needs of not just the employees but also their family members. Also, allow them to have some time to make their home moving easier for them.

Customer base

Customers are most important for any business therefore before relocating, considering how your customers will access you is an important element. These days, companies need to be in access to the customer because there is high competition in the market and customers easily get other options. Remember that in the end, the purpose of any business is to generate more and more profit and this can be done only when you consider your customers as the most important asset.

Stay abreast of changes

Planning for any relocation is very important. It takes enough time. Things will not remain the same and will not work as you have planned therefore being flexible to the changes is very important. You should have a plan B for everything. Be sure you have everything ready for all the uncertainties that the process has.

Wrapping it all up!!!

Managing a company relocation process is not the play of the kids and one should prepare everything in the right manner in advance to tackle the huge and complex process.