10 Tips for Achieving Sustainability in Business with Time Tracking

Alla Chernets -

In the past few years, there has been a surge in the call for businesses to embrace sustainability and be responsible for their impact on the environment.

According to a study conducted by McKinsey and NielsenIQ, analyzing US sales data spanning from 2017 to 2022, it was discovered that:

... products making ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) claims averaged 28% cumulative growth, versus 20% for products that made no such claims.

Business Sustainability Factbox

💡It is a startling fact that 95% of companies have yet to assess their effects on the environment.

💡Meanwhile, nature has a considerable impact on the global economy, with over $44 trillion, which accounts for more than half of the world's GDP, being moderately or highly dependent on it, as reported by the World Economic Forum.

💡Sustainable businesses have been found to outperform their peers financially over the long term, according to a study by Harvard Business Review.

💡Consumers are showing a growing desire for products that are more environmentally friendly.

💡The circular economy, which involves reducing waste and maximizing resource use, is becoming increasingly popular as a sustainable business model.

When assessing sustainability practices, metrics related to environmental, social, and governance must be taken into account. At the same time, it is important to factor in metrics that focus on time and resource usage in a business context.

No doubt, managing time can be difficult for a lot of businesses.

But did you know that time tracking can help your business become more sustainable?

Moreover, time tracking can aid businesses in improving their efficiency and further reveal prospects for reducing waste and preserving resources.

Let's take a look at some time tracking tips contributing to sustainability in business that might be interesting to you.

Reduce Paper Waste

The use of time tracking software leads to automatic tracking of time spent on projects or tasks, thereby eliminating the requirement of manual time cards or paper timesheets. This results in a reduction of paper waste produced by your business.

✅Businesses can reduce costs related to paper, printer ink, and storage, while also decreasing their environmental impact, by adopting a software solution that captures data in real time and utilizes electronic records.

Maximize Energy Efficiency

By utilizing time tracking software, you can monitor and evaluate your energy usage, pinpointing potential areas for enhancement.

This can aid in the recognition of which devices or segments of your enterprise are consuming the most energy, thereby enabling you to implement changes aimed at reducing your overall energy consumption.

✅For example, businesses can use time tracking to schedule work around peak energy usage times, reducing the load on the power grid and helping to conserve energy.

Furthermore, by tracking the time spent on specific tasks, companies can identify processes and energy-intensive tasks, such as printing or extensive video conferencing, and find ways to optimize them, which can contribute to overall energy savings.

Optimize Employee Productivity

Utilizing time tracking software, businesses can efficiently monitor employee productivity and locate opportunities for enhancement.

Through tracking the duration of tasks completed by employees, managers can pinpoint processes that might be redundant or ineffective and implement modifications to enhance productivity.

✅Analisis of employee time tracking data can help organizations decrease their energy consumption by unlocking areas where reallocating their resources will be most effective.

Gain Greater Insights into Performance

Data-driven insights from time tracking can provide valuable information about employee performance levels.

With up-to-date reports on how individual team members are performing, managers can adjust workloads while reducing energy consumption and identify areas where further training or coaching may be beneficial.

✅This level of detail also makes it easier for managers to reward employees with recognition or rewards when they exceed expectations – providing greater incentives for sustainable practices without needing additional resources.

Improve Accountability

Monitoring and analyzing work data is a key factor to measure productivity and identify areas for improvement. Therefore, employees are empowered to prioritize tasks efficiently, identify time wasters, and allocate time for more impactful projects.

✅With a time tracker, employers can keep their employees accountable and give them a clear view of their daily or weekly accomplishments. This not only sheds light on their employees' working habits but also aids in maintaining their focus and motivation.

As a result, businesses can reduce the amount of energy used on tasks that aren’t productive. It is a win-win approach that positively impacts the company's bottom line and helps prioritize sustainable practices.

Save Money

Using time tracking software can help businesses:

  • create a lower-cost environment
  • save businesses money in terms of both resources and labor costs.

By optimizing processes and ensuring projects are completed as efficiently as possible, businesses reduce their overhead costs and avoid overconsumption while maximizing their return on investment (ROI).

✅Optimizing business practices not only enhances efficiency but also improves the likelihood of achieving sustainability goals.

Reduce Commuting


Commuting is known to harm the environment, as well as cause economic losses due to traffic congestion.
Time tracking can help businesses:

  • manage work time effectively
  • monitor their employees' work hours for creating accountability.

It results in a reduction of unnecessary commuting time. With appropriate scheduling, employees can work remotely, thus decreasing their carbon footprint from transportation.

Additionally, time tracking can help businesses to reorganize work hours, ultimately leading to less traffic. Hence, implementing time tracking to lessen commuting time can help businesses to be more sustainable and reduce their environmental impact.

✅Remote work has become increasingly popular in recent years, and time tracking can help businesses take advantage of this trend. By allowing employees to work from home, businesses can reduce office space requirements, travel time, and associated carbon emissions.

Improve Productivity

By leveraging time tracking tools, businesses can identify inefficiencies and improve productivity, supporting their sustainability efforts. It is crucial in:

  • minimizing waste
  • driving cost savings
  • improving environmental performance.

Through accurate tracking, businesses can assess how they can allocate their resources more effectively.

This process leads to:

  • routine time wasted identification
  • redundant processes elimination
  • productivity gains.

Time tracking enables companies to manage their projects and meet their timelines better, reducing last-minute rush situations that lead to energy consumption and carbon emissions.

✅Increased productivity enhances business operations and enables companies to deliver value to stakeholders, safeguard the environment for future generations, and meet growing customer expectations without adding to their carbon footprint.

Encourage Sustainable Behavior

Time tracking can help businesses promote sustainable behavior among their employees. Use time tracking to:

  • educate employees about the impact of their work on sustainability efforts
  • encourage them to find ways to be more sustainable in their work.

✅By setting goals and targets for productivity and efficiency, businesses can create a culture of sustainability and encourage employees to make sustainable choices in their work.

Reduce Waste in Business Operations

When you track time spent on tasks, you can figure out what's not working well and reduce waste.

For instance, a printing company figured out it was using too much paper and ink, so they started tracking time and pinpointed the issue. By doing that, they saved money and resources.

The same relates to a transportation company - they found out their drivers took longer routes than needed. After tracking time, they addressed the issue, which helped with reducing fuel consumption and the company's carbon footprint.

✅ Implementing time tracking software is an effective way to monitor and manage employee productivity, while also helping to conserve resources and improve efficiency.

Conclusion

Businesses are taking a more proactive role in addressing climate change and environmental degradation as global awareness of their impact increases.

It means that companies must regard sustainability as a vital aspect rather than an optional addition to their operations.

Businesses can significantly contribute to the promotion of sustainability by utilizing time tracking as a powerful resource in this effort and reaping its various advantages.

In particular, time tracking allows companies to:

  • track paper usage
  • monitor energy consumption
  • minimize commuting time
  • increase productivity
  • foster sustainable behaviors.

By adopting time tracking practices for achieving sustainability in business, you'll be doing your part to create a better future for our planet and its inhabitants.