At Priory Direct, we firmly believe in using our business as a vehicle for good in order for us all and the next generations to have the best future as possible. The opportunities to do so are endless, and not only are we making positive changes for the planet, but our customers are grateful for all that we’re doing to minimise the impact which we, and the ecommerce industry as a whole, have on the environment.
Doing your bit to save the planet may feel like an impossible dream, but there’s small and simple steps which your business can take which will have a big difference on the wider scale. Here’s some of our top tips:
Review, Identify, Remove
How are you supposed to be able to reduce your impact if you don’t know what your impact currently looks like? Review the different elements of your business and see what could be done better, ask yourself and staff why they do things they way they do it – and “because we’ve always done it this way” isn’t an acceptable answer! It’s natural to have waste in your business, it’s just a case of finding it, and it’s important that you consider it from different perspectives as the impact your business has doesn’t stop when goods leave your warehouse. Could that delivery note be an email and save paper which likely ends up (recycling) bin anyway? Do your suppliers need to add outer plastic wrapping? Do you need to use void fill or just find packaging which is more appropriately sized? All of these questions will present answers to you which will improve not only your own efficiency, but your customer experience and your environmental impact.
Pack a Punch
Packaging is a huge opportunity for despatch business to tell your customers who you are and what you’re about. When you consider that in the vast majority of cases, your packaging is the first time your brand meets your customer in the physical world, it becomes a lot more than ‘just a cardboard box’. And whilst the design and look and feel of your packaging is important, ensuring it’s eco friendly is becoming a non-negotiable amongst consumers now -but being eco-friendly doesn’t mean it can’t look good too. Ensuring your packaging is as eco-friendly as possible through manufacture, and easy as possible to recycle once finished with is a sure-fire way to impress your customers and do some good.
Carbon Conscious Couriers
We all know that we need to reduce the size of our carbon footprints but doing this hand-in-hand with a despatch business can be difficult to know where to start. However, it doesn’t have to be a daunting process as some couriers offer a carbon neutral delivery service either through using electric vehicles or offsetting emissions. You may even find your existing courier is already doing this for you and it’s just a case of asking the question. It’s a really simple solution which reduces your environmental impact without you having to put in much, if any, effort at all.
Powerful Partnerships
Using our business as a force for good is largely focused on giving back. Partnering with charities has given us a real sense of purpose which we’re immensely proud of as we’ve raised over £25,000 with thanks to our customers, without it costing them a penny, and being cost neutral for us to run. There’s a whole host of ways you can partner with a charity, whether that’s donating a percentage of sales of a particular product line to a particular charity, offering the ability to add a donation to orders, or by allowing customers to donate their loyalty points. We set up our charity rewards program as a way for customers to do something meaningful with their packaging spend – it’s a fact of life for every online business, so why not do something good with it? We already offered reward points which was 1% of spend given as points which they could use to redeem discounts against future orders, but we introduced the option to donate to one of our four charity partners instead. Almost 75% of our customers have chosen to donate their points to charity – it doesn’t cost them anything, but they know they’re making a really positive difference to others.
Walk The Walk AND Talk The Talk
Doing good things as a business is important, but an element of it which is often overlooked is talking about the good that you’re doing. It may seem small or insignificant to you, but it may encourage others to take action themselves. You can spend all of the money you like on ensuring your packaging is recyclable, biodegradable, and even compostable – but if you don’t talk about it then your customers won’t know, and your hard work may go to waste. After all, businesses acting for the good of our planet is something which should be shouted about and celebrated.
Wrapping It Up
Doing good things as a business doesn’t have to be difficult, and as we’ve shown with the handful of suggestions above, they’re likely more within reach than you may have first thought. Which one will you be trying first? Be sure to let us know!
From top tips and guides to sustainable packaging solutions, supply chain audits, and BCorp certification help – our team of experts are on hand to help you every step of the way. Get in touch with us and we’ll do everything we can to answer your questions.
