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Guess Blog by Tess Young
Tess Young is an environmental activist and professional ‘green’ advisor for small businesses. She spends most of his time advising local businesses on how they can go green and help their customers help the environment. If you are interested to know how your eco-friendly Retail Packaging can help going green here is 27 Ways to Prevent Climate Change: a Guide for Independent Retailers.
Retail is a cut-throat industry which ebbs and flows like the ocean tides. Every retailer always needs to look at the latest advantages to get ahead of the competition. Building a loyal clientele isn’t easy, but with the topic of the environment remaining as prominent as ever this offers an opportunity.
Since customers are becoming more aware of environmental issues, they’re tailoring their shopping habits accordingly. As the article 27 Ways to Prevent Climate Change: a Guide for Independent Retailers outlines, major corporations like Starbucks and Tesco have already adopted green pledges; and Tesco has just had over 20 straight years of profit.
Find Out Where You Are
You can’t act if you don’t know what you need to do first. Request an energy audit to find out what you’re using energy on and how much you’re overusing energy. It’s nothing to feel ashamed about. Most people use more energy than they think, but if you know where you’re using this energy you know how to act.
Simply ask your utility company to carry this out. Most utility companies offer energy audits completely free of charge.
Energy Concerns
After you’ve had the results back from your energy audit, you should immediately set to work on reducing energy. Retailers have this habit of leaving the lights on, regardless of how light it is. At the height of midday when the sun is shining through your window you don’t need the lights. Turn them off and see the difference.
Just by turning them off for a couple of hours around midday can save you thousands of dollars each year, and it’s a clear sign you’re concerned about green issues. What most retailers never do is show their clientele they’re going green.
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Make a Scene
What’s the point of going green to build a bigger clientele if you don’t tell anyone about it? Make it clear you’re going green. Put up a sign or two in your premises and broadcast it around your website and social media channels. The trick to sustaining this push is to maintain consistency.
Avoid releasing every piece of news at the same time, though. If you’re deciding to use low-energy light bulbs and recycle, give them separate entries. Not only does it give you something to talk about to keep the concept fresh in people’s minds, it highlights how you’re in this for the long haul.
Packaging and Recycling
This is a double whammy way of encouraging growth in your clientele. Start by looking at alternatives for your packaging. Retail packaging is one of the main testing grounds for green packaging initiatives. See if you can swap it for better materials. And if you can’t, consider redesigning it so you use less.
Combine this with a recycling drive. Place green bins on your premises and encourage people to recycle. This drives growth on two fronts. Firstly, you’re showing your green credentials and, secondly, you’re looking to get people involved by changing the packaging. They’ll appreciate it if you’re doing the work for them. Rather than cleaning jam pots, they can just toss their packaging in the trash as is and feel good about themselves.
Take note, going green can only do so much. Your clientele will always choose the retailer with good products and good service over this. You have to have both of these things in place before bringing your green initiatives to bear.
