ISSUES
: Business and Trade
Chapter 2: Corporate responsibility
25
Successful manufacturers have
built their reputations on delivering
a consistent supply of faultless
products to consumers. This has
required sophisticated demand-
forecasting
models,
efficient
production lines and stringent
quality assurance protocols. But no
business is perfect, and as demand
and supply fluctuate, errors occur,
strategies change and ‘unwanted’
products still emerge. More often
than not those products are in
perfectly usable condition but don’t
pass the brand test. Sometimes
the packaging is not quite right,
there is a slight imperfection in the
product or the ‘best before’ date is
approaching. Manufacturers are
left with a dilemma between selling
on to wholesalers for pennies in the
pound, re-processing, or worse,
sending usable goods to landfill. All
options come at a cost and because
the products are seen as ‘unwanted’,
the priority is all too often to minimise
loss rather than create any value.
More businesses could reverse
this approach and begin thinking of
surplus product as an opportunity
for delivering social impact.
Last year alone, over £11 million
worth of goods were distributed
by In Kind Direct. This included
everything from clothing and toys for
women and children fleeing violence,
toiletries for homeless young men,
or essential cleaning supplies for
families struggling to make ends
meet, to IT equipment helping elderly
people become more digitally savvy.
The effect doesn’t end there either.
Businesses are starting to realise the
positive effect socially responsible
activities can have, not only on the
organisations and beneficiaries they
directly support, but also on their
own workforce, their customers and
even their shareholders. Employees
In 2015...
£3.2
The alternative finance market
grew to £3.2 billion
Equity-based crowdfunding
is 15% of total UK seed
and venture-stage equity
investment
15%
109 million people
invested, donated
or lent via online
alternative
finance platforms
in the UK
Source:
Pushing Boundaries, The 2015 UK Alternative Finance Industry Report
,
University of Cambridge Judge Business School & Nesta, February 2016
who are proud of their company’s
charitable initiatives are likely to be
happier and more productive in their
jobs. With the rise of social media,
customers are increasingly expecting
a one-to-one relationship with
businesses and giving preference
to companies which operate in a
responsible way. More and more
investment is going into sustainable
practices in order to face the huge
challenges of climate change,
resource scarcity, overpopulation
and inequality. Sustainability is not
just about ensuring the environment
is preserved and your workforce
is well treated. It’s about taking
a global view of the ecosystem
in which businesses operate and
understanding the virtuous circle
started by doing what is right.
By giving a new lease of life to
products that would otherwise have
been sold off at a fraction of the price,
remanufactured or sent to landfill,
companies can instead create
social value. As products are used
by charities and their beneficiaries,
these donations make a tremendous
impact on local communities, and in
turn, on consumers and employees,
giving the circular economy a brand
new spin.
Though every company should aim
for zero waste, there is still a long
way to go before surplus and slight
seconds completely disappear.
While companies grapple with how
to develop a circular approach,
product giving is something to start
doing today. It’s efficient, simple and
it changes lives.
16 October 2015
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The above information is
reprinted with kind permission
from 2degrees. Please visit
www. 2degreesnetwork.com
for further information.
© 2degrees 2016
