How a rebrand can affect your sustainability

Be cautious not to neglect your sustainability policy during a rebrand

Rebranding is inevitable for a lot of Aussie organisations, and many will undergo at least one fairly significant update in their lifetime.

For Australian-based SMEs, rebrands are often littered with surprise costs that can largely be avoided with some proactive planning.

One of the factors that is often overlooked until the final stages is waste management.

Waste management during rebranding

Depending on the size of your organisation, rebranding can produce significant amounts of waste not just in production, but in the disposal of old collateral.

If your organisation operates physical locations (office spaces, stores, warehouses) then something like signage alone can add a significant waste footprint.

Any positive work you’ve done to minimise your carbon footprint or offset emissions can easily be reversed by a single act of negligent waste disposal.

“Every supplier you use becomes part of your supply chain.”

Suppliers will often help you deal with waste by removing and disposing of old assets for you, but it’s always worth looking into their practice and ensure that salvageable material isn’t just being dumped. Remember, every supplier you use becomes a part of your supply chain and affects your overall footprint, so it’s always worth the effort to research them.

Some factors to consider during your rebrand planning stages

• Once you’ve taken inventory of all your brandable assets, create a plan for the next-stage-of-life for your expired assets, and consider suppliers who have a clear waste management process.
• Use local suppliers where possible – the positive impact of using recycled materials can be reversed by things like shipping and packaging.
• Cost is not your only consideration when it comes to suppliers – shopping based on cost alone can be misleading, as low sticker prices from suppliers can be a reflection of shortcuts taken elsewhere in their process. So be prepared to consider entire lifecycle pricing where the suppliers tick all of the right boxes.
• Research suppliers who use environmentally responsible materials and processes.

Go in with your sustainability policy top-of-mind

There is no perfect process and you’ll likely have to make some compromises during your rebrand. But going in with a mentality of waste minimisation from the start will ensure your rebrand stays true to your sustainability policies and avoids senseless waste – both in material and in outcome.