This Earth day, make sure your business is sustainable in every way

To us, sustainability is not just about reducing paper and saving energy costs, it’s also about building businesses that can prosper for the long term and continue to grow. This could be by ensuring your workforce is well looked-after right through to making sure your cash flow is looking healthy. This Earth Day, we’re teaming up with our new Partners at Hexa Finance to chat about different factors affecting sustainability in UK businesses. The team at Hexa are experts on all things commercial and asset finance and gave us some great tips on investing in renewable technology or assets to help boost your growth. Here’s what they had to say:

Costs Affecting UK Businesses

Businesses across the UK are no strangers to dealing with adversity in recent years, but it could be seen that the latest cost of living crisis is pushing the light further down the tunnel. With rising energy costs and fuel shortages coming at a time when the UK government are also raising National Insurance, Council Tax and Interest rates, Businesses are having to work harder to cover their overheads and more importantly are having to think smarter to achieve their growth objectives.

Invest to grow or consolidate?

During challenging times, Business owners always face a balancing act when deciding whether to consolidate or invest to grow. This sentiment is as true now as it has ever been, but the added complexity now is that standing still with increased cost base is challenging. Notwithstanding these challenges, standing still simply isn’t an option for many businesses and in particular the SME sector which is the lifeblood of the UK economy. Investing to grow is extremely important in pushing through these challenging times but identifying how to invest is now the key.

Smarter Lending Solutions

Often investing in growth means acquiring assets or equipment that will help transform your business and ultimately the service you provide your customers. These assets can be purchased using traditional budgets and cash flow but can also be paid for over time using a range of finance products. Whilst any business-critical asset or piece of equipment can be financed in theory, there is certainly a rise in energy efficient products that businesses are investing in. With products such as Solar PV, Biomass, LED Lighting and Electric Vehicles there are several products that can provide instant reductions in energy bills whilst also generating an income through different tariffs. If you also apply finance products to the acquisition of this type of equipment, businesses can benefit from immediate return on investment but also associated tax benefits as well. After all, working smarter is the key! Not only will you need an Accountant to answer the tax questions like whether you should be a sole trader or a limited company, but you’ll need to know the right way to finance any investment you make into your business. And that increasingly includes funding your sustainability.

Compliant IT Asset Disposal

With green investment at the forefront of our minds, acquiring new equipment often means the need to dispose of the old and it’s no wonder that e-waste is the world’s fastest growing type of waste. Experts believe e-waste will reach 60 million metric tonnes by 2022, with recycling rates stagnating. But there’s a hassle-free alternative in which everyone wins, even the planet.

Many organisations who promote the circular economy can purchase these obsolete devices from you. For organisations with more than 50 devices including Mobile, Desktop, Laptops and Monitors, these can collected, securely wiped and refurbished for reuse. You’ll reduce your carbon footprint, plus you’ll get market value for old devices.

What next?

We’re working together with Hexa to ensure that if our clients are looking to fund asset purchases such as renewable technology, their accounts are ready to take to potential funders and they fully understand the tax implications. If you’d like to know more about what finance your business might be able to access, speak to the team at Hexa Finance now on 01633 415449 or visit their website here: www.hexafinance.co.uk.

If you’re not yet a Mazuma client, get a quote today to get your accounts up-to-date and prepare you for your next step.