3 simple ways to make your business more eco-friendly

At Newborn Mothers, we pride ourselves on running an environmentally friendly business. In the early days, when it was just me, that meant small things like running a paperless office and avoiding unnecessary packaging.

Now, we are a growing team, with permanent employees, contractors, guest teachers…and many more opportunities to be more environmentally friendly in our everyday working lives.

In recent years the scale of the climate emergency has prompted me to evaluate my business decisions more deeply. Avoiding plastic straws isn’t a big enough step to protect our children’s future (although it’s a good start!)

As my team grows, we’ve been looking for bigger and better ways to impact the daily operations of the Newborn Mothers business.

We know many postpartum care professionals are very conscious of their impact on people and the planet. If you are one of these, you might like to consider what changes you can make to your business.

Tidy up your finances

Market Forces is an Australian organisation that exposes the institutions financing environmentally destructive projects. Unfortunately, Australia’s big four banks continue to play a critical role in supporting the fossil fuel industry, but lucky for you, it’s pretty easy to find out who and switch banks.

You can check whether your bank is in the red or green column by visiting the Market Forces Bank Comparison Table.

If your bank is in the red column, you can click a link to send them an email to either “tell them to stop” or “put them on notice.” If you aren’t happy with their response, choose a bank from the green column and open an account with them instead.

If your bank is in the green column you can click to “thank them.”

You can do the same thing with your superannuation here and check on your insurance here.

It may seem like a small thing, but if Australians move only 7.7% of our superannuation into renewable energy, we can create a 100% renewable energy power sector in Australia by 2030.

If you’re located in the United States, you can use a similar tool called Mighty Deposits. You can browse sustainable banks and also look for banks not financing fossil fuels.

Several other countries have similar resources. To find one that’s relevant to you, type “ethical banks” or “sustainable banks” into a search engine.

Use cleaner energy

Even when you are busy with clients, much of your postpartum support work will involve computers, smartphones and other power-hungry devices. If you have the option to install solar panels, then go for it. Solar prices are coming down fast in Australia, and even if you are renting you may be able to take your solar panels with you if you have to move house! Get a price comparison on solar panels here.

If not, then visit the Green Electricity Guide, choose your state and see if there is a better-rated energy provider that you can switch to.

The GreenPower Program is a government-managed scheme that enables Australian households and businesses to displace their electricity usage with certified renewable energy, which is added to the grid on their behalf. 

Since 2009, more than $500 million has been invested back to generators through GreenPower purchases.

If you are in a different country, do some research to find out what your local options for cleaner energy might be. Sometimes you can even find government grants or non-profit organisations that will help you reduce your impact on the environment.

Limit air travel to the necessary

At Newborn Mothers, our team members all live in different Australian states and countries! Air travel has not been necessary, we communicate online every single day and work closely together even though we are physically far apart.

While aviation is not the largest emitting industry, it is the fastest growing. If aviation growth continues, it could contribute over a quarter of the world's carbon budget by 2050. Flying also emits carbon into the upper atmosphere, where it can stick around longer and do more damage than it would closer to the ground. Not flying is one of the top three things individuals can do to reduce their carbon footprint.

If you’ve ever wondered why air travel is so cheap, it’s because airlines don’t pay any taxes on their fuel. So, while train travel and car travel both get more expensive, flying doesn’t.

Learn more about what you can do about the aviation industry here.

If you are considering flying somewhere for a training course, professional development, or other work-related reasons, consider the alternatives. These days there are typically online options for most high-quality training and professional resources.

Use sustainable products

As a bonus, here’s a fourth way you can make your postpartum support business more eco-friendly!

The manufacturing processes for items like printer paper, toilet paper, and other paper products can have quite a harmful impact on the environment. To minimise this impact, seek out products that have been made from post-consumer or pre-consumer waste. Nowadays, there are many good options for less harmful products that are just as affordable and effective.

If you often provide your clients with printed resources like checklists and educational materials, you could consider whether you need to print everything. Your clients may be just as happy with digital resources or links to videos.

Some of our graduates have told us that they like to give new clients postpartum care baskets filled with snacks, heat packs, hand lotion, warm socks, and breast pads. This is such a lovely idea and another great opportunity to source local and handmade products that are likely to be more sustainable.

What changes have you made in your business to have a better impact on people and the planet?

At Newborn Mothers, we have trained over 1500 postpartum professionals.

In the same way that we have childcare workers, disability workers, youth workers, and aged care support workers… we are developing Postpartum Education and Care Training as a mainstream career.

We want our children to attend a career fair at their school and see postpartum professionals as a recognised career pathway and avenue for bringing their compassion and skills to the world.

Imagine: the day arrives when we see government-funded Postpartum Education and Care Professional positions.

This is the postpartum renaissance!