Sustainability is no longer a marketing ploy or operations afterthought. Whether you run a small start-up or a growing franchise, you simply must take sustainability seriously or risk losing customers.
This sentiment is backed up by data. According to a recent survey conducted by Yale, 72% of Americans think that climate change is happening now, and the majority of Americans believe that corporations should do their part by paying carbon taxes.
As an entrepreneur, you may be tempted to market yourself as sustainable without really making the commitment necessary to brand yourself as authentically “green.” Nevertheless, savvy customers are sure to spot your greenwashing, and your brand image will plummet.
So, here are a few tips to ensure that you practice what you preach when it comes to sustainability in your business.
Community Leadership
Unless you double majored in entrepreneurship and environmental science, it’s unlikely that you have all the know-how and knowledge necessary to create a completely sustainable business plan. This doesn’t mean that you need to shy away from sustainability — you just have to reconsider your leadership style when it comes to caring for the environment.
Becoming a community leader is a great way to better understand sustainability and the issues that local people face due to climate change. Community leaders are technologically literate, culturally sensitive, and great at pulling together many different stakeholders from across their community. By taking the lead in your community, you’re sure to learn from environmental experts and can create strong, mutually beneficial relationships with local sustainability action groups.
When outreaching and collaborating with sustainability action groups, let folks know that you’re open to suggestions and change. Local climate activists don’t have to tell you what to do or what to research, but they’re usually happy to give suggestions and insights into today’s top sustainability actions.
Making Financial Sense of Sustainability
Some small business owners falsely believe that sustainability will harm their bottom line. In reality, businesses that make commitments to the environment seriously are more likely to outperform their counterparts in the medium to long term. This sounds odd, but ask yourself: why would companies as large as Mcdonald’s and Nike be interested in sustainability if it isn’t a profitable business model?
Sustainability can help your business grow in the medium to long term, but investments in sustainability can sometimes hurt your short-term profits. Fortunately, as a green business, you may qualify for energy-efficient tax credits and deductions. Depending on the nature of your business, you might be able to receive grants from various government sources and think tanks. You will need to show that your business is worthy of investment, but applying for sustainable financial assistance is a great way to mitigate any costs that may come with sustainable action.
Ethical Suppliers
You may already be doing a lot to practice sustainability at work. Perhaps you have recycling programs, carbon offsets, green packaging, and community engagement programs — but what about your supply chain?
As described in the Harvard Business Review, even large, multinational corporations have a hard time keeping track of their supply chain. This leads to unwanted, unsustainable surprises that can derail your efforts to lead an environmentally-friendly business.
The key is to dig beyond the information that your first-tier supplier gives you. For example, if you source your fabrics from a supplier that seems eco-friendly, try to investigate beyond their marketing content, and learn about their suppliers, too. You may find that the first-tier supplier practices sustainable operations, but that they use an unsustainable business for their dyes or raw fibers.
Marketing the Right Way
Using sustainability to market your business and improve your brand image might feel a little Machiavellian, but, if you’ve made an authentic commitment to sustainability, your audience deserves to know all about it.
Eco-marketing can be tricky at first — you certainly don’t want to plaster all of your branded materials with globe images and shades of green. The key is to stick to the facts, and remain honest about your ongoing commitment to sustainability and climate change.
For example, if you run a footwear company, and have recently made adjustments to become more sustainable, you can take a page out of Croc’s playbook. Croc’s current marketing materials are focused on carbon neutrality. They give consumers a series of simple, honest metrics that don’t attempt to cover anything up. They also use sustainability to tell a story with the end goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2030.
You can follow suit by recording your sustainability metrics like the carbon cost of your product and provide a future-oriented sustainability goal. By giving consumers access to your sustainability data, you market your business as an honest, forward-thinking brand that aligns with consumers’ values.
Our Conclusion…
Sustainability is a hot topic among consumers and business leaders alike — and for good reason. We’re already starting to feel the effects of global warming and need corporations to do their part in the fight against climate change. As an entrepreneur, you can learn more about climate change and sustainability by working with community activists in your local area and by digging deeper into your sustainable supply chain. You may also be able to secure additional funding for grants and tax deductions if your business helps combat climate change, and are sure to feel a bump in profits from marketing that is authentic, honest, and aligns with consumers’ growing interest in sustainability.
Photograph by Hannah Olinger
