Three things I learned working with eco-friendly businesses
by Gyöngyvér Szabó I plantconfident.com
Through my years as a digital consultant, I have been in touch with eco-friendly, mostly plant-based businesses that work for a greener, safer and healthier planet. I always say that my clients are business owners who are self-taught, driven, passionate people, and that shines through how they build their businesses.
Here are three of the traits of eco-friendly businesses:
Messaging: they stand tall with their values
When it comes to messaging, I see businesses be honest and intentional about caring about the planet, ethical business practices, their customers' and stakeholders' well-being. That puts them on a slightly slower growth rate (because it's a lot of work) initially, but it does good for their integrity and supports stability in the long run.
Supply chain: they don't settle for good enough
Greening the supply chain presents a significant challenge to the businesses I have worked with so far because there are so many extra 'layers of care'. As soon as they integrate environmental thinking into the entire value chain, they have to meet higher standards in product design, material sourcing and selection, manufacturing processes, the product's delivery to the consumers, and end-of-life management of the product after its useful life.
Business model: they strive to become a B Corp
B Corporations are a new kind of certified business that balances purpose and profit. They must meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, transparency, decisions on their workers, and legal accountability.
Green entrepreneurs take on a more complex mission than traditional businesses that stay in the grey zone of transparency, environmental effects, and ethics.
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