After two years of pandemic, the economic impact caused by COVID-19 imposed significant changes in the culture and strategy of companies. The main one, which was already growing last year and promises to become even more established by 2022, is the ESG concept, which influences brands and consumers to adopt sustainable production and habits, respectively.
But what's ESG?
ESG stands for Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance, which aims to unite behaviors in all stages of a company in order to achieve socio-environmental improvements. One of them is NET Zero, responsible for reducing greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere from the generation of a product to its final consumption.
ESG is also linked to sustainable marketing, which promotes effective (and proven) actions that companies are generating a reduction in the emission of pollutants and in waste production, in addition to resignifying themselves, either through simple changes such as making their product packaging recyclable or through partnering actions that aim to help needy communities. And, in this way, companies also influence their consumers to adopt sustainable practices.
And how to build a relationship with the community based on sustainable practices?
The socio-environmental concern has become global due to the awareness of how the impact of non-sustainable practices, habitual in the processes of several brands, is potent and disastrous for the environment. Therefore, in the last decade, it has become indispensable for companies to commit to these responsibilities.
However, there are several difficulties encountered in adapting this process to the brand scenario, or even, how to communicate this change in a way that the public identifies with. Whether by the movement required with their suppliers, or to avoid transmitting messages that look like the company is just riding an opportunistic wave, or even by the process that must be worked out together with the brand's customers.
For the reduction to be effective, it is necessary that this also happens during the use of a brand's good or service. It is not enough just to think about sustainable manufacturing, but also about how the consumption and promotion of your product will not generate negative impacts on the environment. This requires consumer awareness for sustainable consumption and the search for non-polluting digital and physical advertising avenues.
That is why at Rentbrella, the entire chain of production and experience has as its final consequence the culture of shared consumption.
And why is sharing so important?
The idea of shared (or sustainable) consumption is that people reduce the acquisition of products that can be obtained at specific times and when needed. It is focused on the experience of using a good or service, without the need for its possession, which can be used later by other people. This collaborative form generates positive results for the environment, with a significant reduction in the use of natural resources, as well as producing a dynamism in the relationships of a community.
In the case of conventional umbrellas, for example, the incorrect disposal annually produces a quantity of waste capable of building up to 25 Eiffel Towers, according to a study. Imagine these numbers in relation to other products.
So, to solve this problem, we resigned the way our shared umbrellas are produced: the umbrella fabrics are made of recycled polyester (rPET), composed entirely of recycled PET bottles. Besides the reduction of plastic in the environment (about 187 thousand bottles), the use of this fabric also allows a significant reduction of water consumption in its manufacture.
Furthermore, by encouraging sharing, the user helps to reduce the generation of more CO2 in the atmosphere. The shared umbrella, on rainy days, is an alternative to the use of private cars for trips of up to 1 km. This small substitution, in new ecosystems implemented with our business model, avoids the emission of up to 5.7 tons of CO2 per day (when considering the withdrawal and return journey of 30,000 uses on a rainy day).
Finally, when the umbrellas end their cycle, we reuse their rPET fabric in new materials such as cases, masks, and ecobags for NGOs.
We are open to share ideas and work together with companies that intend to make ESG part of their culture, therefore, we believe that the partnership with Rentbrella is a great way to expand sustainable consumption, besides adding ESG value that will be associated with the brand that is printed on our umbrellas.