How can a small company go green without going broke? Ania Lichosyt, one of our mentees from Poland, wrote a guide that answers it with concrete steps.
Ania joined the Amazons Mentorship Programme this year and worked on environmental leadership from several angles. She watched and analysed the Echoes of the Amazon videos, took part in the Sustainability Heroes project in El Padul, Spain, finished the Amazons online course and built a Self-Development Plan that gathers her key materials and lessons.
Along the way she also started a campaign called “Zielony Biznes” (Green Business), with a Facebook page and a first post. The campaign didn’t take off the way she had planned. Together with her mentor, Karolina, she decided to put everything into one article that holds the foundations and the whole idea behind it. The result is Zielony biznes bez ściemy (“Green Business Without the Fluff”), a practical guide for small and medium-sized companies.
Start with small decisions
The guide opens with a simple claim: going green in a small company doesn’t require big investments. Ania suggests starting with observation. What do you use most often, where does waste appear, and which tasks can be simplified? She gives three rules. Use what you already have before buying anything new. Choose solutions that fit your daily work. Pick consistency over impressive declarations.
“Ecology is expensive” is a myth
Energy-efficient equipment and office renovations are only part of the picture. Many changes start with how work is organised and cost nothing. Ania lists five zero-złoty (złoty – Polish currency) changes:
- Digitise documents and decide what really needs printing.
- Switch off computers, printers and other devices at the socket at the end of the day, with a simple checklist by the door.
- Set up a simple waste segregation system with clearly labelled bins.
- Use daylight by opening blinds and moving desks closer to windows.
- Cut plastic in the kitchen with your own cups and bottles, and tap or filtered water.
Customers see more than the product
Customers notice how a company works: the materials, the packaging, the delivery and how problems get solved. Ania warns against greenwashing. Empty slogans lose credibility fast, especially when one small action is presented as the solution to a whole problem. Her advice is to say what the company has actually changed, to be open about what it hasn’t done yet, and to show what it is working on now. Her own summary: a modest, specific statement sounds more trustworthy than a promise with nothing behind it.
Ecology depends on the industry
There is no single list of mandatory actions. The guide shows how the same thinking looks in three kinds of business:
- Service salons: water-saving aerators on taps, biodegradable or cotton towels washed with eco-friendly detergents, and refillable packaging.
- Gastronomy: paper, sugarcane or compostable packaging matched to the dish, purchases planned along less-waste principles, and cooperation with local suppliers.
- Online and brick-and-mortar shops: recycled cardboard and paper tape, eco-friendly alternatives to plastic packing fillers, reusable bags and e-receipts where possible.
Whatever the industry, Ania recommends telling customers why the company uses a given solution. That way, ecology becomes part of the service standard and stops being an add-on.
Your move
The guide ends with a call to action. You don’t have to change everything at once. Pick one or two changes and put them in place this week. Name a person responsible, set a simple date to check progress and choose one sign that it’s working. Ania also leaves three questions for readers. What can you cut without buying anything? Which process produces the most waste or unnecessary cost? How will you tell your team and your customers about the change?
Read the full guide (in Polish)
The complete guide is available to download below.
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