How to create a sustainability page for your ecommerce business (with examples)
This year, the biggest investment we made into our web presence was revamping our sustainability page.
In the very beginning of the months-long process, we came up with five key guiding principles for talking about sustainability.
These helped our team stay on course as we went about designing the public face of our sustainability story. We hope they will also help you in telling yours.
The five features of a great ecommerce sustainability page
1. Transparency into the entire supply chain
First and foremost, be sure to consider the impact of your business throughout the entire supply chain, from raw materials to the product’s end of use.
A good example here is from Organic Basics. Their sustainability pages (yes, plural!) are some of the best in the industry. And case in point: one of the six pages is entirely devoted to the sustainability of their supply chain.
The supply chain CO2 emissions graph of Organic Basics.
2. Covering three overarching areas: people, planet and animals
Secondly, it’s key that you cover three overarching areas: people, planet and animals (if relevant).
When it comes to people, evaluate aspects such as what are the conditions of workers across the supply chain. What are the policies on and practices of child labour, forced labour, worker safety, gender equality, diversity as well as pay of a living wage.
Another favorite example of ours, Nudie Jeans, highlights the topic of living wages as a part of their sustainabilty pages, under the Production section.
What do we mean by “planet”? It’s elements such as the company’s environmental policies, resource use and waste management, the types of materials used, product durability and energy use. But also the sustainability of the business model – economics is a key part of sustainability!
Finally, animals should be covered if they are to any extent present in your supply chain. What needs to be taken into consideration are animal welfare policies, and how well the animal products are traced.
3. Consistent reporting
A great sustainability page will always include accurate and consistent reporting on what you have done, what’s in the works and what’s planned.
Unfortunately, this is where many companies come up short. Often, there’s a super thorough, dated sustainability report published one year, and then never again.
Here at Woola, we’ve solved this with a simple public Notion board. There’s a link to it at the end of our sustainability page, and we’ve tasked a dedicated person in our team to be responsible for keeping it up to date.
Sometimes it’s best to keep things simple — Woola’s sustainability reporting can be tracked with this Notion board.
4. Factual and data-based
This may sound like a no-brainer, but a key principle is to base your sustainability statements on data and facts from transparent and trustworthy sources.
We’re not going to point any fingers here, but you’d be surprised how many sustainability pages are full of generic statements and unfounded fluff. Backing your claims up with facts and data helps you steer clear from going down that path.
5. Supporting certifications and accreditations
Last but definitely not least, it should be your goal to get certified and accredited, and highlight such third-party proof on your website.
This helps the entire industry move forward in standardised ways, and educates consumers to look for such verification when it comes to sustainability.
Depending on what your company does, you’ll have to find the most relevant certifications and/or accreditations. Some more common ones are Fair Trade, National Wool Declaration Integrity Programme, Cradle to Cradle, OEKO-TEX, and TÜV Austria.
Neutral’s certifications page is one of the best ones out there — and fun to go through!
Being realistic about the scope of your sustainability efforts
All of the above may seem overwhelming if you’re a small or medium-sized busieness. It does not have to be.
The standards and expectations for large brands are more demanding. Smaller brands should pick their battles based on what’s most important and impactful.
So, our advice is to be realistic about what you can achieve and put effort into consistently working towards it.
What about the shortcomings?
Let’s take a small detour to explore the question of being open about the flaws in your sustainability efforts.
Picture this: you’re at a networking event, catching up with your ex-colleagues.
One of them tells you there’s someone they want you to meet.
They lead you across the room and introduce you to a long-term loyal customer of your company.
After some small talk, the conversation drifts to sustainability.
The customer explains excitedly how he’s started making more sustainable choices after watching “Our Planet” on Netflix.
“What’s your company doing to be more sustainable?” he asks you, genuinely curious.
You start explaining how your manufacturing unit has reduced energy consumption by 24% since the start of the year, how you’ve cut packaging waste by one-third…
It’s progress, but you know there’s still a lot to be done.
Do you open up about the shortcomings or keep them to yourself?
The surprising power of flaws
Behavioral scientists have long ago proved that showing our weaknesses make us more trustworthy.
In psychology, this phenomenon is called the Pratfall Effect, and marketers often also talk about the very similar Law of Candour.
How do these phenomena work? After all, conventional widsom says that you should always put your best foot forward. Sell your strengths, don’t talk about your weaknesses.
The thing is, perfection is not believable. Consumers have learned the hard way that if something looks too good to be true, it usually is.
So, transparency about flaws makes you more believable.
How to apply this?
So, how can we apply the power of flaws when talking about sustainability?
1. Be open about mistakes made
It’s more likely than not that you will make some decent-sized blunders in your sustainability journey. Being open about these mistakes and showing that you’ve learned from them is the best thing you can do.
Ace & Tate has done a great job sharing their sustainability efforts, and highlights several mistakes in their sustainability report, along with lessons learned.
2. Share what you’ve done, as well as what’s still undone
It may feel counterintuitive to outline what you still need to do to improve, but it’s a key part of talking about the weaknesses in your sustainability efforts.
As such, it will lend credibility to everything you’ve already done.
3. Outline the plan for how and when you’ll improve
Just admitting what’s not done is not enough. A clear action plan (ideally including a timeline) shows you’re serious about improving and that you’re not only talking the talk, but also walking the walk.
We hope you found this guide useful! If you think any of your friends or colleagues may enjoy this read as well, then you can share it with them using the buttons below.
