Sustainability But with quality and convenience
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, surprised many by announcing a new Bauhaus movement (in German) in the midst of the coronavirus crisis while also stating that Europe should play a leading role in developing a global circular economy.
The aim of a comprehensive circular economy is to redefine growth and concentrate on positive benefits to society at large. This includes gradually decoupling economic activity from the consumption of finite resources and eliminating waste by restructuring the system. Supported by a transition to renewable energy sources, the circular model is built on economic, natural and social capital. It is based on three principles:
- Planning of waste and environmental pollution as well as compensatory measures
- Reuse of products and materials
- Regeneration of natural systems
But the journey will be a long one: according to the Circularity Gap Report 2020, which investigates the proportion of circular systems in the global economy, such systems have decreased from 9 percent in 2019 to just 8.6 percent in 2020 due to the coronavirus crisis.
But the goal of the circular economy remains correct and the time is ripe. But what does it mean for online retail, which has long been the fastest growing segment in the global economy – this year alone it has expanded by more than 30 percent in the USA?
According to the last survey, more than half of products sold by online shops are already manufactured taking their sustainability features into consideration, and the majority of the online retailers surveyed already use recycled materials for their packaging (Trend Study in Swiss Online Retail). This trend is also apparent in other countries. The majority of retailers are very receptive to new and sustainable logistics solutions and this is also down to the increase in environmental awareness and consumer demand for sustainable solutions.
According to the trend study, providers state that the desire of consumers for information on the provenance of products has grown in recent years. A recent survey by McKinsey shows that two-thirds of all consumers are willing to pay extra for sustainable packaging.
The call for increased sustainability and transparency is omnipresent. Interestingly, however, sustainability alone does not provide a competitive advantage if it negatively impacts quality, price or service. According to McKinsey’s results, price, quality and the brand rank far ahead of packaging or environmental concerns when consumers make purchase decisions. Younger consumers are particularly geared towards high-quality service: online consignment tracking, advance notification of delivery, the possibility of managing delivery, etc.
Despite the low levels of circular systems in place today, a wave of positive measures is emerging worldwide from the bottom up. These are being driven forwards by entrepreneurs, companies and municipalities among others, which are coming together to remodel the economy on a micro and macro level. Here at LivingPackets, we use THE BOX to try and make a contribution. This is a reusable shipping box made from recycled plastic, which increases convenience and transparency for end customers and the mail order sector thanks to a range of technologies – it doesn’t cost any extra per use than a traditional cardboard box even, when taking all the underlying processes into account. It doesn’t create any waste and enables a range of new services such as donating old clothes, giving items a second lease of life, reselling old electronics – and, of course, regular sending and receiving. These are all options for reusing THE BOX and we want to make them as easy and financially lucrative for end customers as possible.
Sustainability must be understood as the overall result of corporate decisions as well as product and logistical efforts. We need to work with people and their preferences and not just present quasi-green solutions that are too expensive and/or which come at the expense of convenience.
The circular economy as a whole can only work if we avoid sacrificing service and quality. Instead, we need to offer at least the same level of convenience and quality using technical innovation and new concepts if the products are to stand a chance. The e-commerce sector is ideally placed to play a pioneering role here – especially by using the THE BOX, which can act as a catalyst.
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