Advice on Sustainable E-commerce
Many start-up e-commerce businesses are acutely aware that sustainability has to be a top priority. It has become an underpinning company value that increases interest in the brand. However, any claim to be a green company has to be substantiated. Any hint of greenwashing will instantly damage a brand’s reputation.
Sustainability as a Core Value
To be genuinely sustainable means looking beyond the product. Every element of the process has to be considered and, where possible, ethical choices made.
Setting up a business with sustainability as a core value from the start is easier than making changes further down the line. For this reason, smaller, independent brands can quickly match or exceed the environmental credentials of more established companies. However, they need to know all the elements that have to be considered when starting an eco-business. This is why we were delighted to find an informative article in Internet Retailing*.
The article includes the importance of:
- Sustainable packaging and greener delivery
- Carbon Tracking and off-setting to become a Carbon Neutral business
- Product Lifespan and Storage
Sustainable Packaging
On the first point, for cardboard postal boxes look for UK-based, FSC® certified packaging manufacturers. To achieve this standard, they have to evidence supply chain sustainability. That covers sourcing raw materials from renewable and responsibly managed forests, to minimising energy and water use in production and delivery. This can save you work when evidencing traceability.
