The sector that you are in is irrelevant here, instead the focus is about how you can ensure that your eco-friendly business – whatever the industry – is actually as eco-friendly as it could be. If you’re going to advertise your business as being eco-friendly, then you need to ensure that you are able to meet those requirements and that your company is actually eco-friendly in every aspect.
Right now, the world is constantly asking for more and more eco-friendly, sustainable businesses, because more consumers than ever before care about the environment. So it’s appealing to want to launch a business with an eco-friendly ethos at its core, however, if you’re not able to effectively meet the assumptions that come with that ethos, then starting an eco-friendly business is a mistake.
If you are going to give your venture that best chance of long-term success, then you need to make sure that you ensure that your brand ethos – being an eco-friendly business – is intertwinned in everything that you do, from your product materials to your marketing efforts. Admitedly, there’s a lot to think about, however that being said, there’s no need to feel overwhelmed as it’s easier than you might think to manage everything.
To help make launching an eco-friendly business a little easier, we have put together a guide to all of the ins and outs that you need to consider and take note of – read on for everything that you should know!
Get your supply chain right
When it comes to your business’s supply chain, if you are running an eco-friendly business then you need to ensure that you source an eco-friendly supply chain. What you don’t want to do is make the mistake of using materials that aren’t actually eco-friendly, and cause a major issue with your brand ethos.
That’s why it’s so important to make sure that you carefully research and monitor every aspect of your supply chain, from construction materials to energy efficient appliances being used. Your brand is built around the concept of being eco-friendly, and it’s your responsibility to ensure that every aspect of your processes meet that brand ethos.
Be clear about packaging
A mistake that a lot of eco-friendly businesses make is failing to think about their packaging and the environmental impact of it. If you are going to ensure that your business is known for all of the right reasons with the environmental sphere, then you need to think about every little detail of how your business operates, and packaging is a huge issue.
You don’t want to make the mistake of using packaging that doesn’t meet eco-friendly standards, do you? That’s why it’s so important that you are clear about where your packaging comes from and what it is made of.
Ensure that your communications materials are environmentally concious
A key aspect of building an environmentally consious brand is making sure that the communications materials that you are using are also eco-friendly. For instance, if you aren’t able to go paper-free, then consider using all recycled paper products instead of buying products made from new paper. If you are having a website created, consider looking for green web hosting, for example.
The fact is that there are lots of areas of communications that you need to think about when it comes to launching and running an eco-friendly business, so taking the time to research each of them properly is a good idea. You don’t want to make the mistake of not being clear about what you’re offering, do you? So it’s best to take the time to do plenty of research into what eco-friendly options are available.
Get your marketing right
When it comes to marketing an eco-friendly business, it’s important to make sure that you get each aspect of your marketing strategy right. It’s for this reason that, unless you have experience working in marketing, it might be that you outsource the task to a specialist agency. What you need to be clear about is what you can and cannot say in regards to how your marketing your eco-friendly business.
You need to be careful not to make untrue claims. You also need to think carefully about how you word things. Once you’ve made a claim, you cannot take it back, and it’s important to be aware of that. For instance, say you run an eco-friendly beauty business selling all natural, vegan products that have recycled packaging. While the packaging is recycled the products themselves are not, and you need to ensure that when it comes to marketing that you clear about this.
There you have it, everything that you need to know about launching an eco-friendly business.
