Mala McAlpin Do you invest in giving back to the planet and your community? Here’s why you should engage in corporate responsibility.
For many in our industry, giving back is crucial. We’ve been warmed and humbled over the past several months to witness some incredible kindness and generosity from brands and business owners alike when it came to bush fire relief, so we’ve decided to open up a dialogue on giving back as a whole, and on a more regular basis.
Corporate social responsibility comes in many forms, from small donations to larger organisational commitments. Your options are plentiful, and can include reducing your carbon footprint, participating in Fairtrade, contributing to charities, volunteering, socially and environmentally conscious investments or introducing policies that benefit the environment. For those that would like to continue contributing to the greater good and build a more extensive corporate responsibility program, we’ve put together a few initiatives that you and your team could engage in to get the ball rolling.
- Reduce or remove single use plastics within the business – including cutlery for events or disposables like mascara wands (there are sustainable options for these!)
- Look into going solar
- Encourage staff to use keep cups, or buy them for your team as gifts
- Have a charity of the month – portions of treatment or product profits could go towards these and your team can get involved by each suggesting a new one when it’s time to rotate
- Share resources with your clients and your team – you could include these in internal and/or external newsletters, from charity information to links to petitions you are passionate about
- Some beauty, spa and aesthetic businesses are opting for digital-only menus and apps to list their service information and reduce paper – have a think about whether this might be right for you
- Host team volunteering days – again, get your team involved by having them contribute charitable organisation suggestions. You could work at a food bank, plant some trees, clean up your local community – the options are endless. This is a wonderful two-in-one initiative as it can prove a fantastic team building exercise
- Host fundraising events in-clinic for clients to contribute towards, such as Biggest Morning Tea (Cancer Council) or Cupcake Day (RSPCA). These can be done at quite a low cost (especially if your team chips in with some baked goods!), be relatively self-sufficient, and result in some impressive funds raised on a busy day
- Get your recycling system right
- Try to source recyclable gift bags for retail products
- Check to ensure your chosen superannuation fund is engaging in ethical investments
- Did you know that you can purchase recycled and compostable paper that is filled with seeds, so you can plant the sheet of paper in your garden and it will grow into various herbs? If you’re printing fact sheets or promotions in-clinic, you could consider purchasing and printing on this –an incredibly unique touch and exciting interactive experience, most of your clients will love having the opportunity to pay it forward once they get home
- Host team swap-meets, so your staff can bring in unwanted goods, clothing, books etc. to exchange, so that it may potentially go to a new loving home instead of into landfill
- Encourage your team to keep an open dialogue and always welcome suggestions on new initiatives – the more brainpower the better
But most of all, ensure your clients know about your initiatives, whether through in-clinic signage, verbally, a corporate responsibility statement on your website, or via social media. You never know how many others you may inspire to do good too!
