As you consider what your business can do to protect the environment, consider performing a sustainability audit. This is a process that reviews your current policies and procedures, looking for areas in which your company operates sustainably, and where it could use some changes or improvements. Completing a comprehensive audit can help you and your team establish a realistic sustainability plan.

Pollution prevention or more simply, P2, is the “ounce of prevention” approach to environmental protection. Instead of generating waste materials that then have to be carefully managed and disposed of, business can look for ways to avoid waste generation in the first place. For example, switching from incandescent to LED lighting minimizes energy use and the pollution associated with generating electricity. Companies that have traditionally used toxic solvents for parts cleaning often find that hot water can work just as well. Beer-makers have discovered that organic materials left over from the brewing process that used to be discarded can actually be used as animal feed. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has an entire program devoted to encouraging P2 practices in industry and at home.