12 green solution providers for your small business

Renewable energy providers help small businesses become more energy efficient

In the United States, about 65% of total electricity generation is produced from fossil fuels like coal, natural gas, and petroleum, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. When these fuels are burned, they release carbon dioxide (CO2) and other harmful gasses, contributing to the greenhouse gas effect and negatively impacting the environment.

Improving energy efficiency by investing in renewable green energy reduces air, water, and land pollution while saving money in your business. In fact, the U.S. Department of Energy estimates that something as simple as widespread LED usage could save 348 terawatt-hours of electricity, saving more than $30 billion within the next five years.

These solution providers can help you transition to renewable energy and become more energy efficient.

Octopus Energy for Business

What is your mission?

Our mission is to use technology to drive the energy revolution globally, bringing 100% green power and exceptional service to UK businesses of all sizes. We are the only tech company in energy retail and have built our very own tech platform—Kraken. Kraken is like a robot, it automates much of the energy supply chain whilst supporting innovative time-of-use tariffs, allowing customers to benefit from times when energy is cheaper and greener.

Why are you committed to sustainability?

Because not only is it crucial for the survival of our planet, it also makes good business sense.

What will the world look like in 30 years?

In 30 years the world will be running off a renewable energy system that is customer centric, flexible and responsive to real-time price signals. People will be using technology to access cheaper and greener power that comes from their local wind turbine or solar panels, smart meters will be installed in every home or business, we will be witnessing a mass switchover to low carbon heating and electric vehicles will be the most common form of transport.

EnergySage

What is your mission?

Our mission is to empower people to make smarter energy decisions through simplicity, transparency, and choice. EnergySage helps businesses, homeowners, and renters research and comparison-shop all things solar energy. We’ve facilitated over $630 million in lifetime savings on electric bills for our customers, and produced nearly 300 TWh of electricity each year in solar panel installations—enough to power 30 small countries!

Why are you committed to sustainability?

“A code red for humanity.” That’s how the recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change summed up the situation we’re in. We’re committed to doing our part to help speed up the transition away from fossil fuels by educating people about their renewable energy options and providing simple tools for taking action.

What will the world look like in 30 years?

We have a vision of a world powered by abundant, affordable, clean energy. EnergySage believes in the power of solar and renewable energy, and its place in our future, brought to life by millions of empowered, individual energy decisions made every day. We‘re passionate about safeguarding our environment and helping people take steps, big and small, that get us closer to a healthier, more sustainable planet.

Allumia

What is your mission?

To make energy efficiency and sustainability accessible to businesses of all sizes by removing the barriers that all too often prevent them from taking on these projects: complexity, time, and capital.

We help companies decarbonize their operations by providing energy efficiency as a service. In this model, we design, fund, manage, meter, and maintain lighting, HVAC, and refrigeration upgrades for our customers so they can focus on what’s important to them — running their businesses. Our software optimization platform means we can deliver projects quickly and affordably, and our knowledge and experience in energy efficiency means that we are always delivering the best technology for the job.

Why are you committed to sustainability?

We believe that we all must take responsibility to use energy more efficiently. Energy efficiency is an effective and proven technology that has historically had a challenging delivery process. It typically requires too many stakeholders for the typical commercial customer to manage while they are trying to manage their business. Allumia’s software platform solves the delivery challenge and allows the implementation of efficiency technologies to more commercial entities without taking time away from the commercial entities primary job of running their business.

What will the world look like in 30 years?

We hope that people take more responsibility in owning their carbon footprint and are willing to do what it takes to help them minimize their footprint. We hope that the tools to make this happen are more prevalent and available so that everyone can do their part.

Green transportation providers allow users to travel “net zero”

Freight and transportation are among the largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. with nearly 30% of greenhouse gases coming from vehicle emissions. Commuting to work, sitting in traffic, delivering packages, and managing a mobile fleet all contribute to your business’s environmental impact.

Investing in green transportation options for your business and your employees reduces your carbon footprint by reducing the number of private vehicles on the road, decreasing congestion, and emitting less pollution per person.

These solution providers offer commuting and travel options that reduce your carbon footprint.

Goodwings

What is your mission?

Goodwings is a sustainable hotel booking site enabling businesses, organizations, and individuals to travel Net Zero easily, and without extra costs. Every time you book one of the one million+ hotels available on Goodwings, we calculate and remove the full CO2 emissions from your trip.

We aim to turn travel into the single largest force for climate mitigation, and make Net Zero travel easy and affordable for everyone. We have set a clear goal for ourselves; we want to turn 1 billion trips Net Zero by 2030, thereby removing 0.8 billion tons of CO2 from the atmosphere.

Why are you committed to sustainability?

Being a Net Zero focused hotel booking site and a Certified B Corp, Goodwings combines a love for travel with a passion for creating a more sustainable future. For a lot of people, travel emissions are unavoidable. Until we have technological solutions to eliminate our travel emissions completely, the best thing we can do for the planet is to reduce what we can, and remove what we can’t.

By enabling Net Zero travel for both business and leisure travelers, we believe we can turn the travel industry into a driving force for positive change. With the travel and tourism industry pumping out almost 5 billion tons of CO2 every year, it’s a change that needs to happen.

What will the world look like in 30 years?

Of course we are hoping for emissions-free airplanes, high speed trains, and sustainable and affordable transport and lodging for everyone. Most of all, we are hoping for a Net Zero future! We hope that in 30 years, we will have achieved the goals of the Paris agreement to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees celsius. To achieve this, we need a global shift in habits, the way we live, the way we do business, and the way we travel.

Edenred

What is your mission?

Edenred is the nation’s only comprehensive commuter benefits provider and the number one resource for commuter savings. Since 1985, we’ve served more than 10,000 companies, offering benefits to more than 10 million eligible employees. We are committed to making the business world a connected ecosystem that makes work safer, more efficient, and more rewarding for employers and employees, every day. We also help employers of all sizes save on average 7.65% on payroll taxes, and help employees save up to 40% on their commute.

Together we help the planet by adopting smart commuter choices.

Why are you committed to sustainability?

At Edenred, we believe great connections are an unstoppable force. We channel these connections to strengthen businesses and foster inclusive solutions. We craft local ecosystems that create more wealth and health, not only for people, but also for the environment.

What will the world look like in 30 years?

We envision a connected world where we all live and work productively and joyfully. Today and in the future, we will not stop enabling human connections.

Reducing waste saves people and the planet

Every year, approximately 133 billion pounds of food in the United States is thrown away, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. That food waste most often ends up in landfills, where its decomposition produces methane — a harmful greenhouse gas.

What’s worse, when we waste food, we waste all the time, effort, and energy that went into producing it — including water, transportation, and packaging. And food that is currently being thrown away could be used to help feed hungry people and reduce food insecurity around the world.

These sustainability partners can help you prevent excess waste from contributing to a landfill.

Too Good To Go

What is your mission?

We have a simple mission: to make sure all food gets eaten, not wasted. Too Good To Go is a social impact company fighting food waste at scale. Our app helps businesses in 17 countries sell their surplus food directly to 44 million customers. So far, Too Good To Go has saved over 100 million Magic Bags of food from going to waste. That’s over 100,000 tons of food and 250,000 tons of CO2, the equivalent of saving the CO2 of flying 49,200 flights around the world or of the yearly CO2 emissions of 29,400 citizens.

Why are you committed to sustainability?

When food is thrown away, all the energy and carbon gone into producing that food goes to waste. But small changes make a big difference. Every Magic Bag of food saved from the bin is equivalent to 2.5kg of CO2—that’s the same as running a hot shower for eight minutes or fully charging 440 smartphones.

What will the world look like in 30 years?

We hope that in 30 years, we will be living in a world with little to no food waste. At Too Good To Go, we’re a group of passionate Waste Warriors fighting food waste at home, in the kitchen, and at work. We encourage ourselves as well as our friends and family to adopt sustainable behaviors in their day-to-day lives--from planning meals to make sure no food goes to waste, to organising our kitchen or being creative with our leftovers, we believe every step counts in the fight against food waste and climate change.

Rheaply

What is your mission?

Our mission is to make resources more discoverable, transferable, and valuable in the global economy. Rheaply’s Resource Exchange Platform connects people and organizations with resources to those who need them. Rheaply curates a resource exchange network made up of corporate and government entities, small businesses, and nonprofits.

Why are you committed to sustainability?

We want to empower people to transform their companies into climate-centered organizations, in order to establish a connected, circular economy. One of the biggest challenges facing businesses today is idle resources. Studies show that $630 billion of commercial resources are sitting idly every year. When we aren’t aware of what resources exist and where they are, we end up purchasing duplicate resources, which leads to inefficient procurement practices, resource shortages, and crisis scenarios where 60M tons of commercial workplace assets enter the landfill, each and every year.

What will the world look like in 30 years?

In 30 years, we hope that >75% of commercial net zero emission commitments have been achieved and/or replaced with net negative goals. Additionally, other carbon removal pathways to reverse climate change are funded and in place, and the global economy almost universally adopts circular economy principles to safeguard against future climate disasters.

Tradewater

What is your mission?

Tradewater’s mission is to improve our environment and create economic opportunity through the collection, control, and destruction of potent, high impact greenhouse gases.

We have a special focus on refrigerants that are both ozone-depleting substances and potent greenhouse gases. We provide a direct financial benefit to businesses of all sizes in exchange for these refrigerant gases. We then aggregate the gases and, depending on the type, either destroy them through incineration or send them through a regulated recycling process. We also help businesses find safe alternatives to potent refrigerants to make their operations more sustainable.

Why are you committed to sustainability?

We simply don’t have a choice. The world is releasing more and more greenhouse gases, year over year. And the consistent, clear message from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is that we must keep our planet from warming to more than 1.5 degrees celsius above pre-industrial times. While we wait for strong climate policy to be enacted around the world, there are actions businesses and individuals can take to prevent the release of potent greenhouse gases.

What will the world look like in 30 years?

We hope the world will have avoided catastrophic climate change and that the solutions to it will have generated opportunities for communities around the world.

Copia

What is your mission?

Copia's mission to remove hunger from the plates of our neighbors remains at the forefront of why we exist and it has never been more urgent. Food waste happens and, while it can be reduced and prevented, hunger can be eliminated and climate change can be slowed. Americans waste 3x more food than there are mouths to feed. We believe that hunger is not a scarcity issue but rather an ineffective redistribution of surplus food.

Copia is an easy-to-use app that helps businesses reduce food waste and matches surplus food with neighbors in-need. Copia’s specialty is supporting a triple bottom benefit—helping businesses improve their bottom line, reduce their carbon footprint, and feed people in need. We also help put money back in the pockets of our customers by providing access to enhanced tax deductions and data that helps inform better purchasing decisions.

Why are you committed to sustainability?

Copia’s commitment to sustainability is rooted in our desire to protect the planet and every person and creature living on it. Food waste is a major contributor to climate change. When food rots in the landfill, it produces methane. Methane is about 28x more potent than carbon dioxide. Choosing to donate surplus food instead of sending it to landfills will greatly reduce carbon footprint and overall impact on the planet.

What will the world look like in 30 years?

Before single use plastic, and the convenience store lifestyle, there was the milk man and the bring-your-own glass container for refill at the local store. At Copia, we envision a future where technology is used at the forefront in the fight against climate change. Futuristic technological solutions will hopefully be making sustainability more and more convenient and accessible. In 30 years, we hope those living on this planet will be committed to sustainable, low-waste lifestyles. We hope that both big corporations and small businesses will choose to use tools that lessen their footprint, like reducing their wasteful packaging and excess plastic. We hope that this world will have changed for the better—but it has to start now.

Combat climate change with sustainable shipping and supplies

Simple things like efficient shipping practices and sustainable supplies play a major role when it comes to combating the negative effects of climate change. After all, UPS alone delivered over 21 million packages every day in the second quarter of 2020. Fleets of delivery trucks are a near constant presence on our roads--and many of those trucks are carrying too much empty space.

When it comes to office supplies, the EPA estimates that the average office worker uses 10,000 sheets of paper each year--and nearly half of those papers are thrown away within 24 hours. By the way, did you know that styrofoam takes anywhere from 500 to one million years to decompose in a landfill?

These sustainability partners can help you make the switch to eco-friendly supplies and carbon-neutral shipping options.

Red-Inc

What is your mission?

Red-Inc is a specialist sustainable office supplies company. In a world that’s on the cusp of a climate crisis, innovative businesses are needed to help tackle climate change. In the vast majority of companies, their supply chain is the cause of most of their environmental impacts. Meaning, that the determining factor in reaching their climate goals is to transform and create a fully sustainable supply chain. That’s where Red-Inc comes in.

Why are you committed to sustainability?

We believe businesses should lead with purpose and be all inclusive. At Red-Inc, we’re committed to changing the mindsets of our customers. Showing them that the focus shouldn’t only be on the bottom line. That consideration should be given to all impact areas of a business including how their activities impact the natural world.

What will the world look like in 30 years?

We’d like to see a world where business and industry work in harmony with nature and the planet. We’d like to see humanity giving nature the space to recover and see our planet’s precious ecosystems growing rather than shrinking. We’d like to see businesses having risen to the challenge posed by climate change and leading by example by having; a green agenda as standard operational practice on top of embracing fairness, accessibility, diversity and inclusion. With less focus on profit and more value placed on what really matters this can happen.

Sendle

What is your mission?

Small business shipping that’s good for the world. Sendle has been 100% carbon neutral since day one, and will continue to offset every package we deliver. We achieve this by investing in worthy environmental projects every year and purchasing carbon credits to ensure every ounce of carbon generated is accounted for and canceled out. We’ve already offset the equivalent of 13 billion miles of deliveries.

The shipping industry accounts for 17% of carbon emissions generated globally. If we can lead a sea change in the industry, it would be possible to eliminate over a tenth of global emissions.

Why are you committed to sustainability?

CEO James Chin Moody started his career as a satellite engineer. As he worked on the technology to communicate worldwide and view Earth from orbit, he began to see that our planet is a closed ecosystem. Resources are limited so we need to operate with the mindset that we can thrive in scarcity by being efficient and conscious of our impact. We have one home and it’s essential to ensure it’s one where we can continue to live.

What will the world look like in 30 years?

Our dream is for a world where we have decoupled resource consumption from progress and economic growth. At the end of the day there are ways to have what we need without needing to create waste, or at the very least waste from one process becomes feedstock for another. What does this look like? Basically, nature already does this: no one way chemical reactions, only renewable energy. Indeed, this is the foundation on which we have built Sendle. In linking resource efficiency with progress, the more efficient we become, the better we do.

Your journey to carbon neutrality starts here

Despite your best sustainability efforts, running a business still emits a certain amount of carbon. Manufacturing products, operating a storefront or office space, and transporting people or products all add to your carbon footprint--no matter how small.

Carbon offsets can help you balance or “cancel out” the emissions of your business by investing in projects and initiatives that reduce the carbon in our atmosphere. When you invest in carbon offsets, you invest in the health of the planet and the success of your business. Plus, you might just get a tax write-off.

These sustainability partners can help you balance your carbon emissions and make your way to carbon neutral.

Aspiration

What is your mission?

Aspiration offers “Sustainability as a Service,” helping people and businesses build climate change-fighting action into what they do every day in ways that make it easy, automated, engaging, and yet still enormously powerful. Over the past year, our individual and business customers have funded the planting of over 35 million trees—as many as there are in Central Park every 5 hours.

Why are you committed to sustainability?

We only have one planet to leave for future generations. Today, most people and most businesses want to do something about climate change -- but don’t know where to start or how to do something real. So many of us are demanding that the places we spend our money as consumers and spend our time as employees do their part for sustainability.

What will the world look like in 30 years?

A world better than we found it -- and a world that got there because each of us stepped forward as citizens and consumers to make it so.