How your waste company can be an ally in reducing the CO2 footprint and transforming it into certification for your customers.
By Samuele Barrili
Climate change is one of the most pressing challenges of our time, and businesses across industries are being called upon to take action to reduce their direct and indirect impact. But what are the causes of climate change?
Multiple causes are influencing climate change; however, the one where we can make a difference is caused by anthropogenic activity. The others are out of our control. It is here that you, as a waste management company owner, can impact positively, not only for your facility, but also for your clients and your community.
In this article, I will show you how your waste company can partner with your community to reduce the CO2 footprint of companies in your area and promote responsible management of resources. In the end, you will be able to transform what you are doing into certification that helps those companies demonstrate that their waste is finished in the resource management process.
Climate change is the challenge that humanity is facing, and you have a pivotal role in two aspects: 1) Contribute to preventing resource extraction and contibute to resource recovery, 2) Reduce the CO2 footprint of your company that involves the
processes you have in place and the “tools and equipment” you use.
The First Step: Communicate Your Commitment to Reducing Your CO2 Footprint
This is the most critical step. You must leverage Cialdini’s Consensus (Social Proof) and Authority rules. The first one, Consensus, helps people see how climate change prevention is applied to your company. Use strategies to reduce the CO2 footprint of your company, starting from the waste your company produces. Then, share what you did and how it positively impacts reducing your CO2 emissions. Create an event to share your progress, invite local magazines and newspapers to show how much the activities implemented have reduced the CO2, and show them the numbers. A number is worth a thousand words.
Now, you can leverage Cialdini’s rule of Authority. To leverage this rule, send the articles published after your event to some of your clients—mainly companies—and add a letter that shows why their help is important and how they can contribute to saving tons of CO2 by saving tons of raw materials. Offer them a free assessment where you will show them how many tons of CO2 is possible to save starting from their waste. You may think that this strategy can work only if you collect waste from companies, but you can also use it for municipal solid waste.
Second Step: Educate Your Target Audience
Share what is possible to save from every single pound of waste segregated and adequately disposed of. One of the most impactful aspects of determining this step’s results is the knowledge of your target audience and where they can be reached: social media, magazines, radio, newspapers, etc. For example, if you collect municipal solid waste, you can probably reach them on Facebook or Instagram. If the community is small, you can organize a public event with the support of local authorities. During the event, talk about the problem of climate change, how the entire planet must be involved in its prevention, how your company took a step in this direction, and how the community can help. Remember that people always ask: “What is in it for me?”
Offer them something in exchange. You can create a dedicated offer or offer an incentive program valid only if they subscribe to any offers during the event.
The education process is a journey—think about different always to repeat the same message while sharing different angles that capture the interest of your audience. Social media is helpful because you can leverage your profile by sharing educational content and moving people ahead. Remember that the goal is to contribute to climate change prevention by collecting adequately segregated waste.
Third Step: The Importance of Resource Management
Resource management is not discussed often, but it is the most important point in talking about climate change prevention.
Producing any type of good involves a process where tons of raw materials are managed (extracted, treated, distilled, etc.). Every one of these processes causes the release of tons of CO2, contributing to climate change. It is here that you will manage this process.
Thanks to the promotion of adequate waste collection, you should prevent the extraction of tons of raw materials for the production of new goods, and in some cases, give new life to a large part of some waste you collect. To play this part, you need to create agreements with recycling companies able to buy the raw materials obtained from waste. This is important because it is essential to really reduce the CO2 footprint of your company and your clients’ companies.
Use an important tool: the certification of the CO2 that the waste collected contributed to saving. You do not need something special to create it; you should use the multiple tools available on the web to obtain the data for the certificate creation.
By creating this complete structure, you can share the importance of a strong commitment to climate change prevention and encourage your clients to contribute to that prevention campaign. At the same time, thanks to the certification process, you can add a competitive advantage to your business.| WA
Samuele Barrili is a Waste Management Expert and Business Strategist. Born in Cagliari, Italy, Samuele began his career as a salesman in 2010. After earning a degree in Toxicological Chemistry at the University of Cagliari (Sardinia) and many masters in Waste Treatment, he combined his knowledge to define his mission: save the planet helping 6,000 waste management companies to continue to thrive. After nine years in the field, working as a sales and marketing manager for international firms in waste management, Samuele created M4W Marketing For Waste, the first growth agency focused on helping waste management companies. Marketing4Waste is the first service dedicated to waste management companies. He can be reached at [email protected] or visit www.marketing4waste.com.