Protect the climate and get loyal customers - how it works
Climate protection is becoming indispensable in e-commerce
Our consumption has a large share in man-made global warming and e-commerce is increasingly held responsible for offering effective solutions. On average, 40% of the personal CO2 footprint can be traced back to one's own consumption.
For online retailers, the first step in climate protection is not an easy one. Most of the climate-damaging carbon is not created in the office, but rather during the production and logistics of the products. Typical questions that online shops ask themselves are: What contribution can I make? How do I get started? How does this affect my business? How do I communicate this to my customers?
Climate protection as an opportunity for online shops
Environmentally conscious consumers are no longer just a niche but can be found in almost all target groups. In a survey by Facit Research, 70% of respondents said that sustainability plays a role in their daily purchase decisions. As customers, they increasingly expect to be supported in reducing their own carbon footprint when shopping online. Climate protection is not only good for our planet and global humanity - it also promotes satisfied, loyal customers and is increasingly becoming a competitive advantage. So taking responsibility early on pays off in several ways.
5 tips for more climate protection in your online shop
For you to meet the needs of your customers today, we have put together 5 tips that will help you understand the action topics for your online shop - starting with simple measures that hardly take up any budget and effort to long-term, strategic tasks. Here we go!
#1 Enable CO2 compensation or make your own contribution to the climate
Large online retailers such as Ebay, Zalando and Galaxus are showing how it is done: they enable their customers to voluntarily offset their CO2 emissions in the checkout. The CO2 emissions are offset elsewhere through financing climate protection projects. Customers can complete their order with a good feeling and make a positive contribution to climate protection.
Scientists refer to carbon offsetting as a key bridge technology in the fight against the climate crisis. Currently, reforestation and forest protection projects in particular offer good opportunities to extract climate-damaging CO2 from the atmosphere. It is important to select high-quality projects. On the customer side, such climate protection projects can be communicated very well on your marketing channels.
Yook provides an easy-to-integrate Shopware plugin for this (more information in the tip below).
#2 Use renewable energy
Every click consumes electricity. In order to save greenhouse gases in the long term, it is therefore worth taking a closer look at the topic of energy: both the electricity to run your shop homepage and the electricity for the office should come from renewable energy. Green electricity providers will help you with the change of contract which can be easily made in a few minutes. And thanks to green web hosts, you can also provide your shop homepage with green energy.
#3 Green logistics and reducing returns
Every return leads to unnecessary CO2 emissions. In order to reduce your return rate, it is worth providing product information as detailed as possible. And not offering returns free of charge has also an impact - plus provides savings on your budget. In addition, you can save emissions if you use a regional provider for procurement. And you can switch to an environmentally friendly shipping service provider.
#4 Reduce packaging waste and use alternatives
There are emerging startups on the market that are developing sustainable packaging solutions - from recycled materials to reusable solutions. And of course, it makes sense to send your products as space-saving as possible, this way you make the delivery more efficient while at the same time increasing customer satisfaction.
#5 Sustainable product portfolio
From production and use to final disposal - your products have an impact on the environment over their entire life cycle. That is why it is worth questioning the origin and materials of your products very carefully and to inspire your customers with environmentally friendly products.
Conclusion: take responsibility and get started with simple measures
The trend towards more sustainability is an opportunity for the e-commerce industry. Missing out on this today might put you at a disadvantage in the future. There are plenty of opportunities to simply take on responsibilities, you just have to get started. Commitment to climate protection will sooner or later also pay off on your sales and turnover. Provided that this is communicated honestly and transparently. Regardless of the business advantages, it should be obvious: climate protection is an important step towards a future worth living - for us and future generations.
Tip: Easily integrate climate action with Yook
Good news: As a Shopware user, you don't need a high investment to implement the first climate protection measure. Thanks to the Yook app you can easily integrate a climate contribution for your products in your shop.
Yook helps online shops with a climate action app enabling end-consumers to have a climate-friendly shopping experience. The CO2-compensation can be configured individually and you will regularly receive marketing materials for communication with your customers. You can currently test Yook as a Shopware user free of charge and finally tackle the issue of climate protection for your online shop without much effort.
