The New Face of Sustainability

There should be no surprise to anyone today that climate consciousness is a hot topic. It’s equally important for our businesses, the world we live in, and the customers we serve. This is not just a corporate responsibility; it’s a global necessity. As businesses, we have the power to influence positive change and guide our customers toward more sustainable choices. It is what consumers want.

Companies that effectively communicate their commitment to the climate can gain customer trust and drive sales. By leveraging data and transparency, businesses can bridge the gap between business and consumer needs, making sustainability a core part of your value proposition.

Let’s address how to bridge business needs while meeting the expectations of your customers.

The New Face of Sustainability

If you were to look attentively at people just walking down the street, at face value, it is unlikely that the first word to come to mind describing them would be "sustainable." For example, you would likely see people wearing leather shoes, the production of which comes with ecological challenges. And perhaps t-shirts made of cotton which is not locally sourced. Being sustainably conscious doesn’t mean that you must go to extremes. In fact, the largest group of individuals with a strong affinity for sustainability might surprise you. They aren't hardcore activists living in tiny houses off the grid. They are, in fact, everyday consumers like you, who simply want to contribute to global sustainability goals through small, manageable efforts daily. They seek choice to do so.

The Power of Consumer Choice

Imagine you're in a supermarket, having decided to bake an apple pie. You have two options: apples grown locally to where you live, for example in the Netherlands or apples imported from further afield, from Costa Rica. Given your geographic location, one choice has a higher climate impact, but what prompts you to consider this? Customers often must examine labels and infer from context to understand the potential climate impact of their choices. This underscores the need for transparency.

Consumer Demand for Transparency

Sustainability has already gone mainstream in consumers' minds. According to VML's Future Shopper Report; which we publish annually and presents a truly global view of online shopping behavior to help retailers and brands understand the trends they need to act upon today, and strategically plan for in the future, to succeed online; we found that environmental concerns do impact purchase behaviour. 67% of consumers demand more transparency on climate impact and favour carbon labelling.

Yet, many companies struggle because revenue often takes precedence over sustainability. Our report also found that 59% of shoppers believe companies aren’t doing enough to offset their environmental impact, and 58% feel too much of the burden of responsibility for being sustainable is placed on them rather than the companies they purchase from.

At a Glance

67%

of consumers demand more transparency on climate impact and favour carbon labels.

At a Glance

59%

of shoppers believe companies are not doing enough to offset their impact on the environment.

At a Glance

58%

believe that too much responsibility is being placed on consumers rather than businesses when it comes to sustainability.

Legislative Pressures

Businesses must also prepare for sustainability legislation.

Key examples include:

Digital Product Passports (DPP) which provides comprehensive cradle-to-grave supply chain transparency, which enables consumers and businesses to access a detailed record of information about a product's lifecycle, origin, and overall lifetime environmental impact. DPP’s ensure transparency and traceability for consumers and regulators.
Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) which measures the environmental impact of a product throughout its entire lifecycle, serving to help businesses identify areas for improvement and reduce their overall environmental footprint. PEF focuses on quantifying metrics to evaluate sustainability performance.

Given the anticipated regulatory requirements surrounding DPP and PEF, it is advisable for companies to proactively begin incorporating these standards into operations. Early adoption will not only ensure compliance when the regulations become fully mandatory but also provide a competitive edge in demonstrating your commitment to sustainability and transparency to your customers. At VML, we work with key partners who specialize in this area.

Calculating the Carbon Footprint

Calculating your carbon footprint to a high confidence involves more than just ERP or PIM data. It includes order management systems and distribution data; every bit of data generated along the supply chain.

Under the hood, this data is unified and flattened to comply with requirements, then used to calculate the carbon footprint score for example, which is visualized in a dashboard. Further to this, scenario modelling allows you to see the impact of potential changes before implementing them, enabling data-driven decisions.

A t-shirt might have a carbon emission of 6 kilograms over its lifespan, equivalent to everyday activities like driving a car 29.3km. Demonstrating these equivalences make the data more tangible for your customers.

It All Starts with Data

Our solutions are designed to be practical and actionable, helping businesses make informed decisions that align with sustainability goals.

By leveraging existing data, you can drive sustainable solutions and meet consumer demands.

Sharing data externally can be daunting, but starting with internal ESG (environmental, social and governance) reporting can ease the transition. ESG reporting is the disclosure of your company's performance and impact in environmental, social, and governance areas; the purpose of which is to provide transparency and accountability to all stakeholders on your sustainability and ethical practices. You can begin making changes now, improving scores before full transparency is required by legislation.

Bridging Needs

Consumers want transparency to inform their purchasing choices and contribute to sustainability goals. This is where VML can help, by transforming every customer interaction into a sustainability journey.

Our ambition is to help you build the data foundation necessary to measure sustainability outcomes while meeting customer needs. We believe that data-driven insights are the key to achieving your sustainability goals.

Carine Thomas

Sustainable Commerce Lead, VML NL

How to Bring Your Sustainable Product Strategy to Life

To get started, you only need two data points:

Product name
Product category

This gives an initial carbon footprint calculation score, which can be refined with more data points over time. This incremental approach allows businesses to start creating carbon labels and improve their scores through scenario modelling and reduction strategies.

Beyond carbon accounting scores, we can also help with:

Compliance reporting
Digital product passports
Amazon Climate Pledge Friendly certifications

VML is focused on product data, offering a simple option to help customers choose sustainably for a better future. We provide choice and transparency, for consumers to be able to make informed decisions quickly. We look forward to helping you on your sustainability journey.

Talk with out experts

Carine Thomas, Senior Business Consultant at VML

Carine Thomas graduated from the London College of Fashion, University of the Arts London in BA Fashion Design and PGDip Fashion Artefact, and has an MSc in Entrepreneurship Management and Innovation at the University of Bath in progress. Today, Carine works at VML NL as Senior Business Consultant and leads the Sustainable Commerce team, advising brands on strategic, tactical and operational level.

Curious to learn more about sustainable commerce?