In January 2023, the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs announced its plan to
ban single-use polluting plastics from October. This will include single-use plastic plates, trays,
bowls, cutlery, balloon sticks, and certain types of polystyrene cups and food containers. If this
affects your business, then it’s time to take action and to start considering sustainability marketing.
For many consumers, the ban will be a welcome initiative. In the last 12 months, 64% of consumers
have limited their consumption of single-use plastics (Deloitte, 2022). The same piece of research
discovered that the Top 5 environmentally sustainable or ethical practices that consumers want
brands to demonstrate are:
- Producing sustainable packaging and products
- Reducing waste in manufacturing process
- Committing to ethical working practices
- Reducing carbon footprint
- Respect for human rights
With this in mind, how does your business need to adapt to move towards more eco-friendly
practices? Sustainability marketing should form part of your communications strategy to
demonstrate that you’re a responsible brand. Whether you source local produce, your products are
100% recyclable or you donate to environmental causes, then you need to shout about it!
Messaging on this subject could earn you new customers, as well as retaining the loyalty of your
regulars.