Episode 3: Does Your Business Have The I Word?
No I’m not talking about ‘I’ as in myself. I’m not that egocentric!
Actually, it’s kinda the opposite. Here’s a little test of your engagement level — can you guess what I’m talking about?
It’s not insight.
Nope, not irrational… (I do dislike irrationality but that’s not the topic of today’s post!)
Well, if you’re keeping track of my blog posts you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about ;)
Week 3 of Impact Central was all about…
IMPACT!
I mean, that’s what we’re all here for — right?
It’s even in the name.
Before we begin I want to say a huge thank you to Joshua Eyre for your 2 days of wisdom on the topic. And to Nathan Kinch for being incredibly helpful and knowledgeable too.
Being Green Isn’t Enough Anymore
It’s not enough to just be a ‘sustainable’ company anymore.
Was it ever ‘enough’?
Probably not, but sustainable companies seemed like a big deal 10 or 15 years ago.
The problem is you can talk about sustainability without actually giving a crap. It’s just marketing.
But the younger generations are all too hot on the subject.
You have to show you care with your actions. What are you actually doing to make the world a better place?
That’s what impact is.
Who Should Have It?
Everyone.
You don’t have to be a non-profit to care about the impact you’re having on the world.
You can make awesome products in a sustainable way that people want to buy AND have a positive impact on the environment or society.
We need to build a society where impact is built in to our business plans.
It’s not enough to just be ‘sustainable’!
Impact needs to be part of the fabric of who you are — as a business, and even as an individual.
It’s not just what you stand for.
It’s what you do.
It’s how you live.
How Do You Do It?!
Actually, it can happen by accident.
By focusing on helping people eat more plant-based Vojo already impacts several areas which are important to me (and many others):
- Human health
- Climate change
- Animal welfare
(Of course you can, and should, build impact into your business too.)
But you can’t measure impact by accident. And that’s the key.
It’s got to be built in. It’s gotta be systematic.
Choices
So what am I focusing on?
There are too many things and not enough time in the day!
Let’s break down how you focus. To choose a good impact area, it’s got to meet these criteria:
- An issue people know about.
- Something you can tell a story about.
- Material to your brand.
- Controllable.
- Measurable.
- Something you can claim responsibility for.
What’s Vojo’s Impact?
We want to positively impact the climate by focusing on what we do best — optimising your plant-based health.
Lemme explain. (And thank you @nathankinch for pretty much writing this for me!)
Now more than ever before people all around the world are turning to plant-based diets.
Did you know eating more plants is the single most impactful thing you can do to reduce your carbon footprint and diminish your impact on the world?
But the problem is this: most people give up. Around 84% of those who try it.
Why is that?
Well, like anything, there are lots of variables.
One of the most significant is getting the right nutrition. Not everyone that goes plant based knows how to structure their eating patterns to get all the nutrients they need to stay healthy.
We solve that problem. We use evidence-based nutritional science combined with the individual characteristics of a person’s DNA to make sure they achieve plant based success.
This can have a profound impact.
If we can get X people to stick with a plant based diet for just <n> years, we can have <Y impact on environment>. (Still to be completed — gimme a chance!)
Plant based eating can help us solve some of our greatest environmental challenges.
The beautiful thing? The very same solution can also enhance people’s well-being and alleviate animal suffering.
Voila!
OK, not so fast. I’ve got a lot of work to do on this in the weeks to come.
But it’s a great start and I’m happy thus far.
I’m happy because all the things I care about (health, environment, and animal welfare) are killed with one stone.
Err, wait, that’s not the saying I wanted to use…
What I meant was — I’m happy because Vojo can positively impact all the things I care about with the one thing we focus on. Helping people be more (and stay more) plant-based.
I’ve been an ‘ethical’ and ‘environmental’ vegan for the last 10 years. My background is in environmental chemistry and I strongly believe with all my might we should not exploit animals in any way.
Now, as a nutritionist, I can have the biggest impact on both of these variables through Vojo.
That’s better.
:)
