In 2020, Market Research Future estimated that the global sustainable packaging market was valued at approximately 305 billion dollars. It is projected to hit a valuation of 473 billion come 2027! From personal care, beauty, and natural foods, the sustainable packaging market is growing exponentially. This means a great opportunity for you to promote your brand as being an environmentally friendly company and a steward of the environment.
While you may see every other product on the shelf tout it’s eco friendly packaging, there are few who make genuine, structural commitments to sustainability. We’ve spoken a lot in previous posts about how to showcase and use more sustainable packaging materials and what those are, but today we are going to focus on how to truly make organizational change which is committed to sustainability.
Foster and Promote a Culture of Sustainability
It can be difficult to measure your actual carbon footprint, and there are countless sustainability metrics to subscribe to. While it is a challenge to try and implement cultural changes to an organization, you are able to set tangible goals with respect to reducing your carbon footprint. Some examples are setting a target date to be “waste free”, and researching ways places like cities and municipalities define “waste free”. Having a strong commitment to recycling, or setting a goal to only use recycled cardboard, vegetable based inks, and so on.
Host Open Dialogues to Define Sustainability
Gather employees and stakeholders to define what sustainability means to them. This helps to give employees agency over their own actions and increases culture buy-in. Use these definitions and conversations to help guide your sustainability practices. Using employee conversations to guide decision making can really give you a diverse company voice which reflects the needs of your staff.
Don’t Be Afraid to Seek Advice from the Experts
Sometimes looking to other companies, governments, specialists, and educators who are well-versed in the subject of sustainability can help to bring new, fresh ideas. Many times our tried and true practices actually come from years of research, testing, and development. So why not look to those who have experienced success in this field! It might be that little tid of advice you get from a friend, or an expert opinion that you seek out. Regardless, don’t be afraid to ask when you need help.
Utilize Generalists
Depending on the structure of your company or small business, you may not have the human resources to permeate and encourage cohesive culture. As departments can at times be segregated, it’s sometimes a good idea to hire generalists to promote a culture of sustainability. If it is not feasible to hire on more folks, have people from various departments volunteer to be part of committees with the goal of implementing your sustainability goals – they can therefore take this info back to their respective teams.
Kirsten Crisostomo is a freelance copy and content writer based in Vancouver, BC.
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