Three green business technology tips to help SMEs and the planet

Adopting green business technology is something that many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) consider, but often isn’t the priority. According to a study by Sage, more than two-thirds of SMEs don’t believe they have time to get started with sustainability efforts.

This is understandable. Business leaders at SMEs have countless priorities to contend with. Yet efficiencies that benefit business and the environment don’t have to compete. In some cases, they go hand in hand.

If there is one day a year when thoughts could turn to green business technology, it’s Earth Day. Running since 1970, Earth Day seeks to drive positive action for the planet. To mark this annual day of awareness, let’s take a look at some of the green business technology tools and approaches that could save you money and help the environment.

Green tech tip 1: Look to the cloud

One of the most common ways to cut energy consumption at a business is to reduce the reliance on on-premise hardware and infrastructure. By moving from physical servers to the cloud, you’ll be reducing capital expenditure and maintenance costs, paying as you go instead.

There are three types of cloud you can choose: public, private and hybrid (a mix of public and private). Public cloud is provided by a third-party company, where you’ll pay by subscription or by usage. It’s a highly scalable solution, giving you greater flexibility and efficiency in the long term. Microsoft Azure is a popular public cloud platform.

Public cloud is ideal for those businesses that need more customisability, control and assurance of security and compliance. It can also be a great choice if you’re looking for an environmentally friendly solution. For our own Thinc Cloud, for example, we use 100% renewable energy with a full carbon offset to power our data centres.

Want to learn more? Read:

• Energy efficiency in cloud computing – your options explained

Green tech tip 2: Track your carbon footprint

It’s becoming more and more common that suppliers are being asked to evidence their greenhouse emissions. In the opinion of the Federation of Small Businesses, as large enterprises sharpen their net-zero pledges, it’s an inevitability that small businesses will be asked to report on their own impacts. That’s on top of compliance requirements that many businesses in regulated sectors already face.

Green business technology has enabled big businesses to begin tracking their emissions – and the good news is that these types of tool are now becoming more accessible to smaller ones too. Carbon accounting platforms such as Zevero and Sage Earth are used by SMEs alongside their ERP systems to help them measure their outputs.

We recently teamed up with Zevero to deliver a webinar on this topic. To access this, and to read more of our tips on sustainability, visit:

• SME sustainability: how technology can guide you to net zero

Green tech tip 3: Embrace efficient processes

Saving energy isn’t just about reducing consumption. It’s also about reducing expenditure. Finding more efficient ways of operating will cut carbon emissions, reduce waste and free up your people to spend more time on the things that deliver more value for your business.

This starts with your core business systems – you want to be managing your business from one place, not multiple. ERP and finance systems such as Sage 200, Sage 300, Sage Intacct and SAP Business One give you flexible, modular platforms that can easily scale as you grow.

But it’s also about taking a holistic, end-to-end view. Ask yourself:

• If your business relies on several core systems, can they be integrated, saving your teams time on entering and outputting data between them?
• What are the most common processes that your teams manage – can they be streamlined or automated?
• Are there any systems or pieces of functionality that you pay for but don’t actually use?

If you’re unsure whether your business is working in the most efficient way, a good place to start is by talking to our team. We’ve been helping SMEs find simpler, more sustainable ways of working for more than 30 years.

To learn more about integrating systems and automating processes, visit:

• Business process automation with BPA Platform

Start your green business technology journey

Businesses have a lot on their plate, and for many, there isn’t the bandwidth to manage environmental considerations on top of everything else. But as organisations of all sizes are increasingly asked to play their part in protecting the planet, technology can unlock efficiencies that are good for the earth and the bottom line.