Sustainable business wins customers
Companies like flooring distributor Jacobsen, which is carbon-zero certified, are not only helping the planet but attracting more business as well, according to new research.
As part of its sustainability initiatives, the flooring company vets its products and suppliers, donates reusable carpet tiles from refurbishments to non-profit Habitat for Humanity and provides heavy-duty bags at construction sites for discarded flooring materials which are then sorted and shipped back to flooring suppliers to be recycled.
Construction and demolition waste accounts for as much as half of New Zealand’s total waste going to landfill, and the efforts of companies such as Jacobsen towards more sustainable practices make them more likely to win business, according to a YouGov survey of 373 managers conducted in March.
The survey found that 56% of managers would be more likely to purchase products or services from a business with a net-zero target. Younger managers were more likely to choose such businesses, with support shown by 63% of Millennials, 56% of Gen X, and 39% of Baby Boomers, according to the survey.
Some 70% of public sector managers said they would be more likely to purchase, compared with 53% of private sector managers.
Jacobsen’s director of marketing, impact and innovation, Renee Jacobsen, who is the third generation of the 60-yearold family flooring business, said interest in the company’s sustainability practices had grown over the past five years she had been driving the project.
‘‘We get a lot of kudos and support for the programme, and a lot of customers who want to participate in it,’’ Jacobsen said.
‘‘In the past few years since I have been working on this project, there has been quite a shift in terms of people’s interest and understanding.’’
The survey and the related Trail to Net Zero for Aotearoa New Zealand report, commissioned by cloud-based software company Salesforce, was launched at Parliament by Climate Change Minister James Shaw on Wednesday night.
Salesforce NZ managing director Hamish Miles said business was one of the greatest platforms for change and had a critical role to play in leading New Zealand’s transition to net-zero.
The survey found New Zealand’s decision to set a net-zero emission target by 2050 resonated with businesses, with 72% of managers surveyed supporting the move. Half of the managers believed the Government should be doing more to achieve net-zero by 2020, and 49% said businesses in their industry should be doing more to address climate change and achieving a net-zero economy by 2050.