What is Sustainability in the ethos (business) ?
According to Harvard Business School, Sustainability in business refers to “ doing business without negatively impacting the environment, community, or society as a whole.” The goal of a sustainable strategy is to make a positive impact on the environment, society and economy. When companies fail to take responsible actions then issues such as inequalities, environmental degradation, and other social issues can arise. The more climate crisis and other social issues take place, more urgent actions are required by all aspects of society.
The three pillars of Sustainability
Often when one mentions sustainability, the initial thought is directly associated with the environment. But, the more one delves into the world of sustainability, the more one begins to understand it as the interconnectedness of life as we know. But for the blog, I'll keep it light. 😊
Sustainability stands on three pillars (there are some references to four pillars but I'll focus on the three). These three pillars are the environment, society, and economy. They are also referred to as ESG in business which stands for Environment, Society, and Governance (economic = reporting).
Environmental: focuses on environmental preservation, natural resources, and damage caused to the environment. The aim here is to have the lowest possible impact on the environment.
Societal: it refers to the human capital and ways to improve the citizens’ quality of life. It assumes that a sustainable society is a well-cared and healthy society. This pillar focuses on equality. Here you will find a focus on employee wellbeing, placing Diversity, Inclusion, and Justice strategies, and so forth.
Economic: focus on responsible and ethical business practices. Here is where you may hear terms such as circular economies and creating the shift from linear systems. Linear systems create waste and often human exploitation. Think of Fast Fashion …
It’s important to note that these pillars do not stand alone. They interact to create harmony in and doing so one can move into a thriving state.
Additionally, the United Nations has also developed a framework that goes a bit deeper. They are the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals and offer ways to create sustainable development across businesses and societies.
Why a sustainable strategy for See Mōs?
“The world is reaching the tipping point beyond which climate change may become irreversible. If this happens, we risk denying present and future generations the right to a healthy and sustainable planet – the whole of humanity stands to lose.” Kofi Annan, Former Secretary-General of UN
Not only is it the right thing to do as we are reaching tipping points – we need all hands on deck – approach which will allow us to continue to enjoy the abundance the planet offers us but it is also good for business.
It adds brand value and a competitive edge, meets consumer demands (81% of global consumers feel strongly that companies should help improve the environment), it increases efficiency and reduces cost, attracts talent and creates new opportunities. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2021/02/10/why-corporate-strategies-should-be-focused-on-sustainability/?sh=55a93b557e9f
How is See Mōs sustainable?
As with anything else, we are on a journey to being sustainable. I’m sure there will come a time when we will have to shift in one of our systems. It’s important to note that this is an evolving conversation. The more critical the climate crisis becomes; the more agile businesses and the world must become. The need to adapt to newer concepts and systems will be one that we must pivot to quickly. But, in the meantime here are actions we take on this “sustainable journey”
Packaging: 99% plastic-free packaging company. All of our consumer-based products are packaged in biodegradable + compostable packaging. This includes our labels.
We only supply sustainably harvested sea moss. As we’ve mentioned before, our sea moss is grown on ropes using a sustainable method that was designed in the 80’s in Saint Lucia. We ensure that we’re being responsible in the production of sea moss.
We ensure we are being ethical through the reduction of materials and ethical business practices. Although branding on shipping materials is great benefit of brand recognition, we feel that in order to stay true to what we’re saying “less is best”.
We ensure that we are paying a fair price to our farmers. We do not exploit them. With the explosion of the sea moss industry in Saint Lucia and the reduction of prices to stay competitive, we ensure that we pay our families fair so they can build stronger economies in Saint Lucia. We also work with small businesses here in the United States who are equally ethical in their practices.
In closing
As nature lovers, we wanted to ensure that if we were creating a consumer product, we would also find a way to close the loop of waste. We wanted to offer a product that could eliminate the possibility of ending up in landfills or polluting the ocean and, make sure that we were being ethical accross the board. We believe deeply in the planet + people + prosperity for all of us.
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