Products have a lot of areas they can (and I’m gonna say should) improve on, when it comes to climate considerations.
- Packaging: they can reduce/minimise, or switch to recyclable/compostable options
- Raw material: they can use alternatives like non-animal products, non-petro based, recycled materials, etc
- Supply chain: they can move production from multiple locations to a single location, ideally in the same country/state/region as distribution
- Distribution: they can look to send stock to retail locations, as well as ship to customers, in batches on certain days through the week or month, as opposed to on demand every day
- Unglobalise – Switch from allowing purchases from anywhere on Earth to only selling locally
- Workforce: pay fairly, treat people well, ensure they’re safe at work, give them plenty of rest time, don’t take advantage of them (you know, all the stuff everyone deserves always)
Products have lots of levers they can pull.
But what about if you sell services instead of products?
We don’t have the same levers as products, but we still have lots:
- Money: have all of your transactions and banking move through an ethical bank account that funds projects like renewables
- Digital footprint: low-carbon-ify your website by following “Sustainable Web Design” practices, and moving to a green web host
- Apps & tools: find alternatives to your preferred apps that also follow SWD practices, and consider switching to them if they’re a good substitute
- …also, audit you app stack and cancel or consolidate subscriptions you’re not using
- Resources: Opt to meet/converse with people via the least-resource-demanding option, eg: phone instead of video; video instead of in-person if they’re long distance; in-person instead of video if they’re walking distance.
- Influence, guilt, shame and mockery: Bring enough reusable coffee cups for everyone if you have an in-person meeting (and maybe shout the coffee with your ethical bank cash 💸).
- Recommendations: suggest all of the steps above to your clients, eg: if you’re a financial advisor, consider only recommending ethical banking products; if you’re a web designer, only offer SWD sites (unique!)
Our levers are different, and we have to think more creatively to find them – but there are bucketloads.
