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The 2010 NGIA Conference had a clear theme of both environmental and economic sustainability dominating many of the presentations.
Building a sustainable business is something that most successful businesses aspire to, with the ability of the owner then being able to step away from the business for any given period.
Confusion is often common when it comes to defining the meaning of a ‘sustainable business’. To clarify, sustainability may refer to a businesses social, environmental or economical impact of their operations. These three factors are often referred to as the triple bottom line, and is increasingly important with larger corporations who are committed to corporate social responsibility. This is evident across most industries, and the banks are a good current example whereby they are marketing their change in operations by focusing on community and environmental impact to steer consumer perception of the banks being solely money hungry.
A successful business means a lot of things, and this article looks to identify opportunities for independent garden retailers to harness ‘sustainability’ trends and environmental awareness.
A case in point: Plastic Bags
Ok, so I admit, my personal carbon footprint is pretty high for one sole reason - I love to travel. In a recent trip aboard Virgin Blue, I was reading their in flight magazine (2) and found an article on the impact of plastic bags. It made the following key points:
1 – Australia uses over 6.9 billion plastic bags a year – 326 per person.
2 – The production of plastic bags produces less carbon emissions than paper, yet plastic bags take up to 1,000 years to break down and are made with oil, a non-renewable resource.
3 – Paper bags are no better than plastic – de-forestation, habitat destruction, fossil fuels produced by machinery – and that’s before the bag is produced and transported around the world.
The ‘green-bags’ which we see for sale at a nominal fee in supermarkets is one of the largest corporate bluffs of the past decade. In most consumer minds, the thought that they are doing a good thing for the environment is engrained into their psyche through strong marketing techniques. In fact, recent research by RMIT University shows ‘that a green re-usable bag is only more environmentally friendly than a plastic bag when it is used more than 100 times because it uses more material and energy to make than a plastic bag’ (2). Essentially, for most users – they are far worse in their environmental impact than the plastic bag of last millennium.
I say last millennium because there are now suitable alternatives, that while seemingly costly should be strongly considered by industry as a means of taking a proactive lead in tackling such environmental issues. One thing to be aware of though, is that over time it will be government legislation that leads such a debate as we have seen recently take place in South Australia. South Australian Minister for Environment and Conservation Jay Weatherill re-introduced state legislation on September 24 2008 to ban lightweight plastic shopping bags throughout SA. This legislation passed in both houses of the SA Parliament .
It is highly likely that in the near future Biodegradable and 100% Compostable bags will be the only option available. With improved manufacturing technology (reduced emissions and overall environmental impact), a reduction in the cost of production will occur. In moving forward, there are numerous options available to you that are a step up from plastic:
Degradable bags are widespread, and many garden centres have these, but they are still a mixture of plastic and other additives that degrade through reacting to environmental conditions (such as oxygen, light and heat) at land fill (3).
Biodegradable Bags are becoming more common, with an increasing differentiation between biodegradable and compostability too. The key difference with biodegradability is that they are manufactured from farm products such as corn starch. To meet international standards, they must break down within 6 weeks and fully biodegrade within 6 months (3). Biodegradable bags utilize microbial processes meaning there is a biological component to the degradation process.
Throughout this evolution, Standards Australia has developed a standard for biodegradability to aid decision making and ensure product quality with respect to biodegradability and toxicity claims. “In order to comply with the AS 4736-2006 Australian biodegradability standard - and thereby be considered compostable - plastic bags need to achieve or meet the following requirements:
• minimum of 90% biodegradation of plastic bags within 180 days in compost
• minimum of 90% of plastic bags should disintegrate into less than 2 mm pieces in compost within 12 weeks
• no toxic substances should be formed during the composting of plastic bags
• hazardous substances such as heavy metals should not be present in plastic bags above the accepted levels
• bag should contain more than 50% organic materials.” (1)
While 81% of Australians are currently using plastic bag alternatives (3), you need to question why you still offer plastic given the ‘green’ thinking of the average garden centre customer. Being ‘sustainable’ is incredibly marketable. We have seen this with the way ‘green bags’ have become almost trendy with Gen X and Y. With this group of consumers in mind, they are also the next generation of gardeners, and are attracted by sustainable living principles. Gearing your business to being environmentally sustainable also makes you an incredibly attractive employer, as you represent and stand by the values of that particular generation.
Industry Resources to Assist Your Business in Becoming Sustainable
1 - AGCAS environmental modules – Those who are already Australian Garden Centre Accreditation Scheme accredited will be aware of the environmental modules within the AGCAS manual. There are four modules which focus on Chemicals, Water, Weeds & Waste Management. These, combined with the increasing focus on environmental impact written into the program and audit checklist are key areas that will increase in their value of return on investing in proactive environmental management within your business.
2 – Education and Training with NGIV - EMS
The NGIA have developed a training program titled ‘Environmental Management Systems for Retailer Garden Centres’ and looks to identify areas of environmental improvement within garden centres, and how you can make changes that will pay a return. Dr Anthony Kachenko (Environmental & Technical Policy Manager NGIA) administers the program, and NGIV is currently in discussion regarding running the workshop in Victoria later in the year.
A Final Word
With regard to plastic bag alternatives, I have spoken to retailers who feel that making the change to a more environmentally friendly corn starch based compostable bag has no return on investment. The marketability of such a move, combined with the fact that the cost of supplying the alternative could easily be made up elsewhere, causes for no reason not to be considering other options.
It is amusing to watch large corporations toy with words of popularity and see corporate social responsibility be twisted into a marketing venture. There is honest and true environmental value in the production of plants, and it is for this sole reason that the Nursery and Garden Industry, which means your business, needs to start looking at opportunities to sell yourselves as some of the most truly sustainable around. At the same time, it is also evident that in many areas our industry has opportunity to take a lead role in demonstrating environmental responsibility on a grand scale. Remember, it is about ‘cooling the planet, one backyard at a time’.
When selling the sustainability ideas of industry, keep these two key words in mind – environment and community – they will be the driving force of independent garden centres as educational hubs of the future.
References
1 - http://www.banthebag.com.au/
2 – Virgin Blue Voyeur – April 2010 #105
3 – http://www.noplasticbags.org.au/ - has an exhaustive list of suppliers of various plastic bag alternatives.
