Companies need to be taking steps to become more sustainable for a number of reasons. Firstly and most importantly, because the planet needs them to – urgently. The planet is running out of non-renewable resources and the earth’s temperature is rising. Because business is responsible for the vast majority of carbon emissions, it is imperative that it take responsibility for their reduction. Many governments are putting into place incentives for them to do so in the form of taxes on carbon emissions and policies requiring them to phase out the use of non-sustainable materials such as polystyrene. Other reasons are more commercial. Customers are demanding that the companies they support with their spending be more environmentally responsible. Investors in companies also want to know that their funding is not going towards activities that harm or degrade the environment. Larger companies are increasingly being required to have an ESG (Environmental, Social & Governance) Policy and Reporting in order to access bank or investment funding.