Why should businesses make sustainability a priority? Aside from the obvious positive impact sustainable business practices have on the environment, customers demand it.
To be blunt, not adopting sustainability initiatives will drive away your customer base and, ultimately, negatively impact your bottom line.
Consumers Expect Sustainability
The facts don't lie and they tell a compelling story about how consumers view environmental concerns. A global survey from HP involving 20,000 participants found a whopping 61% believe sustainability is mandatory for businesses.
Mandatory. Not just a bonus or a perk, but consumers expect businesses to develop initiatives to lessen their impact on the environment. In fact, in that same study, 56% of those interviewed believe that ignoring environmental impact in the workplace is as bad as ignoring diversity and inclusion (source).
Sustainability has been a guiding principle since the inception of Smiling Tree. Environmental impact influences every decision we make!
Profits vs. Mother Nature
It used to be that sustainability came at a great cost, literally. But thankfully this is no longer the case! Businesses do not have to sacrifice profitability in order to be sustainable. We believe that businesses can absolutely do both – and have a responsibility to do so. That's why we created Smiling Tree Gifts in the first place! To help businesses in their sustainability journeys.
Developing Sustainability Goals for Your Business
The solutions can be simple. Sourcing sustainable materials is a huge first step, and more and more eco-friendly options are available every day. Energy costs are another area where businesses can have a significant impact on the environment. Make a commitment to switch to clean energy by a specific date – and then stick to it!
Smiling Tree Gifts can help, too. Inexpensive plastic promotional items are often quickly tossed in the trash, making your investment in these kinds of products useless. Instead, give your customers, clients, and employees gifts that are not only highly desirable and meant to last (therefore staying out of a landfill), but are sourced from sustainable materials too. And guess what? - We already did all the work of creating sustainable products, all you need to do is decide which gift to choose!
Transparency
After you've made changes to become a more sustainable business, shout it from the rooftops! But do so in a completely truthful and fully transparent way, and be accountable to it. Many businesses publish impact reports fully communicating their efforts. Others provide updates online that tell users exactly what impact their support has, similar to the Smiling Tree Gifts tree counter that we update regularly.
In Conclusion
Sustainability is no longer an option for businesses hoping to grow or even simply maintain their customer base. Customers want to feel good about where they're spending their dollars, and businesses have the power to do just that!
