4-step guide on making your brand environmentally friendly
We’ve all seen the social media campaigns with celebrities like Rihanna and Leonardo DiCaprio using their fame to bring environmental issues into the spotlight. But what about big brands? What role should they play in tackling climate change? More importantly, can engaging in more sustainable practices benefit them financially?
That’s an important question that requires some serious research. Fortunately, the experts at Trucost recently released a report on behalf of The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) program that highlights how businesses stand to make more money by curbing environmental damage. This is not just through being “green” or appealing to environmentally conscious consumers — it’s about focusing their efforts on making their businesses more sustainable.
And let’s face it, being sustainable makes good business sense. ShopParty feels strongly about brands’ sustainability and partners with those who see the green future. But the question is how to get started to join the ShopParty movement? Here are four steps you can take to make your brand more environmentally friendly and boost your bottom line.
1) First things first: measure green performance
Before you start improving your green performance, you need to know where your business stands. What impacts does your company have on the environment? Where is it spending money that might be environmentally damaging, and what areas are ripe for improvement?
Once you’ve determined this, look at creating a plan of action. This could be anything from reducing waste, training employees in environmental best practices, or improving the packaging of your products. Whatever it is, remember that you’ll need to prioritize the areas with the most impact.
2) Look after people and the planet
It might seem obvious, but one of the best ways to protect the environment is by ensuring any actions you take benefit both people and the planet. That means focusing on renewable energy and biomass, reducing waste, and reducing your carbon footprint.
By involving your employees and the community in these efforts, they will feel more engaged with your goals and may also provide better insight into what needs to be improved. It’s a win-win situation that will make you more sustainable and drive up morale within the workplace.
3) Talk it up!
Don’t be afraid to shout about what you’ve achieved. If done correctly, this should help your green efforts and improve sales and drive increased conversation around your brand or product.
So what should you do? The first thing is to start to measure your green performance — if you can show your results publicly, you’re much more likely to get people talking. Another way is to create a product that helps consumers become more sustainable. For example, the Mercedes-Benz F-Cell vehicle powers its electric motor through hydrogen derived from water and renewable sources — that’s pretty cool!
4) Collaborate with suppliers
Lastly (and most importantly), you need to look at your supply chain — this is where most of the damage can be done. Therefore, it’s essential to establish strong relationships with suppliers, encouraging them to provide sustainable options for the materials they are supplying you with.
It might sound daunting, but this won’t negatively impact your bottom line. It will help improve your relationships with suppliers, resulting in savings, better service, and even faster delivery times.
As you can see, becoming more sustainable is not about having to make radical changes to your business. All it takes are a few simple steps that are likely to impact how consumers perceive your brand or product positively. And isn’t that worth it in the long run?
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