February is the month of St. Valentine and the month of love. In this Cawley's Marketing Manager, Nicky Severn takes a look at how you can encourage customers to love your business through your love of the planet.

Is your business ready for the eco-revolution?

As environmental issues become more and more pressing, individuals are increasingly savvy when it comes to engaging with businesses and brands. The internet has bought more choice to our purchasing decisions than ever before and in such a crowded market businesses need to consider more than just product and price to stand out.

Whilst brand has always been important to customers, the values that they expect from a brand are changing.

Historically, traditional factors such as ‘quality’ and ‘value for money’ were most important. Today, fair-trade credentials, a commitment to sustainability and strong ethical practices are taking over.

Go green or go home

Eco-factors are beginning to have a tangible impact on a customer’s decision on whether to buy from an organisation or not.

Recent research from the Shelton Group backs this up. The group has been polling Americans for 12 years to understand attitudes to sustainability. They have found that a whopping 90% of millennials (who control the future of the consumer market) will only buy from brands who have trusted social and environmental practices.

It is becoming obvious that millennials (and the rest of us) don’t want to be caught dead shopping from a company that harms the planet.

With this in mind, what can your business do to boost its green credentials?

Don’t waste the opportunity

There are many actions a business can take to show that it cares about the planet. However, one of the easiest to tackle in the short term is waste. We all know how much media coverage is given to the plastic ocean, landfill and food waste. This is an area that your business can make a real difference.

Choosing to reduce, reuse and recycle and publicising these practices among your customers is a sure-fire way to get buy-in for your brand.

Working with a waste management company that recoups as much reusable materials from your waste as possible is a great start. At Cawleys our materials recycling facility on-site segregation bins do just that. We ensure that everything that can be recycled is recovered and recycled. What’s more we offer an infinity scheme that will allow your business to go one step further by segregating waste at the point of disposal. This not only makes your waste easier to recycle, it also has the potential to save you money.

Whatever type of business you operate, the waste it produces can be recycled. Those in the hospitality sector for example could focus on glass, plastics, coffee cups and coffee grounds. Logistic companies could recycle wood pallets and cardboard, whilst manufacturing organisations could focus on WEEE and metal waste.

Raise your recycling profile

The possibilities for recycling are far reaching and could save you cash, but that’s only part of the story. Organising sustainable waste collection is the start but the trick to tell your customers about it.

Using your website, press releases and social media are all simple and effective ways to communicate with your customers. All of these methods can get the message out that your company cares about the environment and uses a waste company that is committed to the circular economy.

Cawleys are always happy to be included in any social media posts that supports our clients’ eco-friendly messaging. Other companies such as bio-bean provide free accreditation stickers allowing cafes and coffee shops to advertise their sustainability credentials in their shop windows.

If you would like some help or advise on how to raise your business’s recycling profile, or you’d like to find out more about sustainable waste collection contact us today.