Updated: Apr 16, 2021
Climate change is the biggest threat facing humanity.
Individuals and businesses play a significant role in producing carbon emissions, which contribute heavily to global warming. This includes rising temperatures, ocean acidification, rising sea levels and shifts in flower and plant blooming times.
According to NASA, the vast majority of actively publishing climate scientists – 97 percent – agree that humans are causing global warming and climate change.
We are constantly bombarded with information on how to reduce our impact on the environment, whether through diet, reducing online shopping or simply shortening our showers. It can often be difficult to see what impacts these decisions make, but it is important to know that each one does matter.
Avenir Ingredients has partnered with Ecologi, a UK-based company specialising in raising capital to offset carbon emissions. They do this by planting trees and mangroves to absorb carbon from the atmosphere, as well as investing in renewable energy, to ensure such emissions aren’t created in the first place.
During the first month of our partnership, we have offset 24 tonnes of carbon emissions, and planted nearly 200 trees. This is equivalent to offsetting 19 long haul flights or driving more than 60,000 miles. This is an ongoing offset, and one we are looking to grow. Our employees like to know that this offset isn’t just oriented towards the business, but offsets their own personal footprint too.
Ecologi supplies us with monthly certificates so you're welcome to enquire about it and we'll supply you with the most recent one.
At Avenir, this transparency is necessary for us to partner with a company to help offset some of our operational activities.
At the time of writing, they have a monthly recurring revenue of £184,286. 12 months ago, it was £38,957. Their ability to drastically scale operations in a single year indicates a sound business model and competent management team. This means our money can make a real impact.
Ecologi aren’t the only way we are reducing our impact on climate change, we have also begun trialling a carbon neutral courier service for our sample deliveries! This means that not only will you get your samples for formulations quickly, but also delivered carbon neutral! We’ll keep you posted.
We believe every little decision matters. It is in the interest of both businesses and individuals to reduce their carbon footprint. This is just Avenir’s first step. We encourage anyone reading to join us, whether through partnerships with companies like Ecologi or something as simple as meat-free Mondays.
Now we're not saying carbon offset is all businesses need to do to save the planet, business as usual is not going to cut it and reducing emissions is what is necessary.
As Greta Thunberg put it: “We are not telling you to “offset your emissions” by just paying someone else to plant trees in places like Africa while at the same time forests like the Amazon are being slaughtered at an infinitely higher rate.”
Tackling indirect emissions (known as Scope 3), created from the manufacture and distribution of our products, is a far more complex issue to tackle. We haven’t begun our journey here yet, but we’re on the right path.
Hopefully this inspires others to start as well.
The time to act is now. What is your strategy?
There is so much happening in our industry locally and overseas that it's hard to keep up.
That's why we love sending out our monthly newsletter with a summary of our new ingredient launches, new presentations and events that you may have missed or that are coming up.
In this month's issue, we have 4 new ingredients:
- Protecsyl - Cobiosa
Hair Cell Membrane Complex (CMC) Protector
- Softisan 649 MB - IOI Oleo
The Vegan All-Purpose Film-Protector - TGA approved
- Kahlresin 1218 Eco - Kahlwax
Cost effective solution for gloss and adhesion
- TEGO® Pep 3-Recover - Evonik
The renewal copper peptide for skin wellness
You can read on here:
Apparently the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
We would like to raise a point that doesn't seem to be spoken about often enough in our industry: Business Sustainability.
While we talk about sustainability for ingredients, packaging, new product concepts, transparency in the supply chain, renewable energy, carbon footprint, fair trade... too often we fail to raise the topic of sustainability and ethics within a business and what it truly means to be a sustainable company.
At Avenir, we believe that one of our strong point of difference is how we treat and care for our people.
Of course for a business to be sustainable it needs to be profitable but doing so at the cost of the wellbeing and esteem of their employees is not true sustainability.
We can simply look at the state of our planet to understand this. Taking over and over again and not giving back is not sustainable. Now we're only given a few decades to try and fix our overconsumption of our natural resources before it's too late.
It's the same within an organisation, if employees and owners are only prepared to take from others and rarely give, it's only a matter of time before the system breaks and everyone jumps ship.
Isn't it the role of a leader to lead by example and inspire others to do the same?
What can we do to ensure that everyone works with integrity, is supported and proud of the work they do?
Wouldn't it make sense to give first, support your team, put in place the appropriate systems so everyone can thrive and be proud of their achievements?
Wouldn't that increase productivity therefore profitability?
At Avenir, we certainly don't pretend that we have it all worked out or that we are perfect but our point of difference is that we are willing to look at what is no longer working and adjust how we do business to suit our team skills. So they feel seen and appreciated and are given the space and resources to realise their potential. In turn they are more proficient and engaged. We can then provide better services for our customers and increase our chances to be sustainable in the long run. We want to build a strong foundation so we can grow organically and remain true to our values along the way, not having to compromise quality and integrity for short term profits.
We want to generate a virtuous cycle where everyone involved benefits and keeps giving back.
We can't keep doing the same thing and expect different outcomes. It is indeed insane.
What can we do differently? What have you noticed does and doesn't work? What are your frustrations and wins within your work place?
What have you done or seen done within a business that has brought about sustainable and positive change?
We'd love to hear from you so we can be inspired by your initiatives.
Let's keep the conversation going.
