INDUSTRY COMMENT: SUSTAINABILITY
PREPARE FOR THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY:
NAVIGATING THE FUTURE OF SUSTAINABILITY
The team at the Daley Hub provide some background to the latest moves towards a more sustainable future and how you can prepare your business to transition towards and become part of the circular economy.
T
he wheels of change are already in motion if you know where to look, and power players such as
climate change concern, political support, and societal pressure all point to the same conclusion. The circular economy is coming and the transition will be fast. The amount of plastic used in packaging is already under scrutiny. Peat free growing media is more widespread. Fewer harmful chemicals in pesticides and herbicides are commonplace. Global institutions such as the UN, WHO and WEF are prioritising a corporate reset towards ESG (Environment, Sustainable, and Governance) goals. Grassroots movements to improve environmental awareness and environmentally positive actions are not only underway, but influencing the way we do business in the UK and beyond. But what do these changes mean for you and your business? And are you prepared to adapt?
For some businesses the transition to improved measures will be easy. For others it will mean difficult, significant change to their entire work practices. For the worst off, the change will simply be too much to ask.
Like the way brick and mortar
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shops struggled to keep up with ecommerce models born into a digital world. Businesses born in a circular environment will have a head start. Sustainability measures won’t have to be shoehorned into existing processes. The model they are built upon will benefit from circular thinking from the outset.
Green-washing
Public demand for reassurance about products and materials used to make them is at an all time high. Consumers care more and they’re sceptical about business intentions when it comes to environmental issues.
Information about the ethics, values and behaviours behind products and services of brands are easier to access and freely available to the inquisitive customer demanding transparency.
They want to know if your item is made from recycled or recyclable materials, and if it isn’t, then why not? Whether cheap cotton clothes were produced using slave labour or if your beauty products contain damaging palm oil or harmful chemicals, of if your food is being produced in a way that causes unnecessary animal suffering. Phoning it in and ‘green-washing’ your brand and values to appear environmentally conscious, but not actually doing anything to
support it is not just a practice no longer accepted, but mercilessly exposed by savvy, purpose driven consumers.
It isn’t enough to just appear sustainably conscious, you must back it up.
But whilst evolution may be a challenge, it doesn’t have to be seen as a negative, it can be opportunity.
Brave new world
Sustainability has become more than just improving your environmental footprint and minimising landfill waste. It is a multi-layered mission that must be woven through your entire business model.
Use market knowledge to optimise a supply chain that minimises your impact. Find the right operations for your relevant product category. Make informed choices to minimise transport costs and your environmental impact. Returns are inevitable, especially with online purchasing. But your used or faulty products don’t have to be resigned to the ever-growing pile in landfill. Reworking and reselling your overstocks and returns will maximise the lifecycle of your retail goods. Whether it’s selling them as they are, refurbishing them, or setting the right price for them. A returns system tailored to your business gives you greater control of your brand reputation and the recovery of lost value. When the future of your business is intertwined with the safe retrieval and reuse of the product itself. A heightened responsibility and economic incentives for safe disposal methods breed an improved desire for quality control. The onus of product care so often put upon the consumer or end-
user becomes a collective pursuit. Reliable longevity becomes the shared goal. Your commitment to a circular focus will make your customer relationships better than ever. You are now a team. Circular designed products do not have an end-of-life they have an end-of-current-usage loop.
Mass production and poorly made disposable products is the short-term thinking soon to be resigned to the past. Websites such as
www.libraryofthings.co.uk offers users the chance to rent, repair, relove, swap or share items rather than buy and similar options are starting to pop up in the UK. Food for thought! Well-made products created to last are the long-term circular thinking destined to be the future. With the writing so clearly on the wall, you must start adopting circular economy business models now to remain competitive. The question isn’t whether the future is destined to be circular it’s whether your business can adapt well enough to be a part of it.
Reach out if you need support
With so many business areas to focus on, you may be overwhelmed and asking yourself where to start. Daley Hub is your strategic retail growth partner focused on driving your business forward. Daley Hub – supporting leaders, customers and colleagues to drive business forward. Visit www.daleyhub. com for more information on how to grow your business today.
JUNE 2024 DIY WEEK 25
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