When starting and scaling your business, it’s important to consider the impact of your supply chain on not only the planet but also people too. 88% of respondents to an OpenText survey said ‘they prioritise buying from companies that have ethical sourcing strategies in place’, while 64% of 18-24 year-olds surveyed said they would never buy from a company again if it were ‘accused of working with unethical suppliers’. 

In this episode, I speak with Emilie Holmes, founder of Good & Proper Tea, the tea brand committed to doing things properly. Having founded her business in 2012, Emilie has invested considerable time and money in making sure her business positively impacts the communities within her supply chain. Given how many consumers value companies who prioritise supply chain responsibility, Emilie continually reviews Good & Proper Tea’s own supply chain. 

With many companies wanting to better understand the implications of their suppliers’ actions, Emilie shares her advice on auditing a supply chain, supporting the communities you work with and achieving profitability more sustainably.  

Emilie’s advice:

• At every step, consider what is the “right” thing to do, keeping in mind your environmental and social responsibility
• Accept that “sustainability” can be complicated and means different things to different people; continually examine what is the right way to go
• Be honest and authentic
• Admit to your ignorance when setting up a business and talk to as many people as possible in order to learn
• Share your own experience and use recommendations from other business owners
• Accept that doing things right will take longer and cost more
• It’s hard to measure these credentials, although B Corp is great because it’s iterative and doesn’t allow you to gain certification and then rest on your laurels
• Include a sustainability roadmap in your business forecasting, and have an impact report in your year-end report
• Consumers struggle to understand real sustainability, so be transparent and clear in all that you do and claim to do
• If you are feeling overwhelmed, just take one job at a time

FF&M enables you to own your own PR. We also offer podcast production services.

Recorded, edited & published by Juliet Fallowfield, 2023 MD & Founder of PR & Communications consultancy for startups Fallow, Field & Mason.  Email us at [email protected] or DM us on instagram @fallowfieldmason. 

FF&M recommends: 

• LastPass the password-keeping site that syncs between devices.
• Google Workspace is brilliant for small businesses
• Buzzsprout podcast 'how to' & hosting directory
• Canva has proved invaluable for creating all the social media assets and audio bites.
• For contracts check out Law Depot.

MUSIC CREDIT Funk Game Loop by Kevin MacLeod.  Link &

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