Top 4 Most Environmental Businesses Worldwide

Sustainability is the newest and most controversial topic in the business landscape. With a number of environmental changes happening worldwide, consumers have become more aware of the environmental risks our world is facing. So, their expectations from brands have been redefined. 

Today’s consumers expect all businesses to go green or go home. Corporate pollution is a huge topic that damaged the reputation of many of the most reputable brands in the world. As consumers become more aware of how the business practices of these brands affect our planet, they are even willing to pay more for products that come from green brands in order to support a change towards sustainability in the corporate landscape. 

That being said, many brands have shifted their focus from making profits, regardless of the means, to finding sustainable solutions to improve their businesses and adapt them to today’s consumers’ trends. Let’s take a look at 4 of the most environmentally-friendly businesses worldwide.

1. H&M

H&M had a bad rap when it came to how sustainable the company’s practices are for a long, long time. Being one of the most famous fast-fashion companies, the brand used to be seen as a company that makes cheap and disposable clothing items that had a higher cost than everybody thought. Fast fashion is often associated with environmental concerns and poor labor conditions. 

However, long gone are the days when H&M was seen as one of the companies that contributed to destroying our planet. These days, the company is seen as one of the two leaders in sustainability in the clothing industry. But how exactly did H&M managed to make this change?

First of all, the company has started its, very popular now, Conscious Exclusive Collection, which has already reached the seventh edition. The collection is a line that uses at least 50% of recycled materials for the production of clothes. However, the company reports that it is making great efforts to find innovative solutions to increase this share in the next few years. 

Apart from starting producing Conscious products, H&M has also implemented a collection of old clothes in exchange for discount vouchers. In some parts of the world, the company encourages its customers to bring bags of old clothes they want to throw in exchange for discount vouchers which they can use to purchase new ones. This has a huge impact on reducing the number of clothes that end up in landfills without any chance to be recycled or repurposed.

2. Ikea

The Swedish-founded company, Ikea is another great example of brands that put sustainability front and center. The company has even already published a document called People&Planet Positive that outlines the entire sustainability strategy of the company for the year 2020. 

Ikea has already managed to reach a spectacular percentage of 60% of its range that is based on renewable materials and 10% based on recycled materials. Moreover, the company has also reported that by 2030, the furniture retailer is planning to use only renewable and recycled materials for the production of its products. 

The company also uses sustainable practices in their locations in order to reduce its carbon footprint on our planet. That being said, Ikea has more than 700.000 solar panels powering its stores in the UK. 

Ikea is certainly one of the most reputable companies which managed to find the ideal recipe for low costs, quality products, sustainability, and profit at the same time.

3. HP

The American multinational information company HP is another reputable company that has made a commitment to holistic sustainability in the way it does business.  The company has a very powerful campaign called Break down the best which aims to encourage consumers to reduce plastic waste. According to the site of the company’s campaign, HP has already managed to recycle 8.3 million plastic bottles by transforming them into ink and toner cartridges. 

The company has succeeded in making each of its products completely recyclable and the company also runs e-waste recycling plants all around the world in order to encourage their customers to recycle. 

In Australia, HP has recycled a spectacular number of over 10 million cartridges. Moreover, the company also used about 170 tons of plastic that were very likely to end up in the oceans to make their products such as HP Ink Cartridges. Australians are a very environmentally-friendly nation. According to a study from HP Australia and Planet Ark shows that 90% of Australians worry about the environment and sustainability. That being said, there are a number of other businesses in Australia that are doing their bit for the planet using their expertise and creativity.

4. Nike

Corporate sustainability was certainly not something that used to define Nike. At least not until a few years ago. The company underwent major changes in its business processes, implementing a number of eco-friendly solutions to change its poor reputation in terms of sustainability. In fact, the efforts of the brand didn’t remain unnoticed since the company topped the 2015 list of Morgan Stanley that includes the most sustainable clothing and footwear brands. 

Nike started to use a number of sustainable materials such as organic and recycled cotton and polyester in order to reduce its overall waste. Moreover, the company has made a public announcement in which it has promised to cut down on its carbon emissions by at least 50% until 2025. 

Yet, compared to its most popular rival, Adidas, who has announced that by 2024 will be using only recycled materials, Nike’s sustainable future strategy doesn’t seem to be just as ambitious. However, as a response to this challenge from its rival, Nike publicly announced that it has used 50% recycled waste to compose its Nike Air soles since 2008. 

In 2018 Nike’s Sustainable Innovations and Environmental Impact report, the company has shown a few statistics to prove how committed it is to its sustainable approach to doing business. The report claims that 75% of all Nice shoes and apparel contain some type of recycled materials. Also, regarding the company’s water waste reduction solution, the report shows that 99% of the amount of water used for the dye-coloring process for Air soles can be recycled.

All these 4 examples of the most environmentally-friendly brands can be great examples for those brands who need a push in the eco-friendly direction. Using sustainable branding, all these companies succeed in crushing their competitors, supporting the planet, and keeping their customers loyal and satisfied.