As the holiday season arrives, one of the main elements of debate is the festivity's purpose in contrast to the movements stimulating consumerism. How can companies help drive shared value creation and circularity in this context? As a starting point, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are essential beacons on this path. Within SDG 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production, there are targets for us to substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling, and reuse by 2030.
Through circularity, in addition to traditional actions to prioritize products that have circular designs and inputs (such as recycled materials, for example), another exciting front is local production. This fact reduces the demand for resources, promotes income, and proves an essential commitment of companies to adapting to the relationship with different stakeholders.
Translating these concepts into commercial practices and strategies can be complicated. However, there are interesting examples, such as the Natal do Bem campaign launched in December by Enel Distribuição in Brazil, integrating solidarity with the generation of income for local communities and the reduction of waste in the environment.
From the perspective of circular economy and conscious consumption, Natal do Bem encouraged customers with the digital invoice option, investing the costs of printing invoices to produce toys that complemented social investment and other expenses incurred by the company with the production of 8,000 toys.
The campaign invited small groups of artisans who work with recyclable materials such as wood to take part in the Christmas campaign to donate toys to socially vulnerable children. In this way, it contributed to the social impact by generating local income for these groups of entrepreneurs, mainly women.
Corporate volunteering is also part of the campaign to strengthen the internal culture of sustainability, conducting toy delivery events in partner non-governmental organizations in the different states involved.
As a result, there was a significant increase in average digital bill contributions in the campaign period, which exceeded the targets set out in the project. Those who conducted the seizures received information regarding the reduction in CO2 emissions from this simple movement of customers.
Another important example comes from Mercado Libre, which promotes on its website the Natal with Positive Impact, the most extensive curated offer of products with positive impact in Latin America, to encourage the search for more sustainable habits.
It is a movement available in Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Uruguay, where a team of experts and partners of Mercado Libre analyzes each entrepreneur and each product before it is added to the section. The main categories of positive impact products are Reusable and Zero Waste, Emission Free Mobility, Energy Efficiency, and Responsible Production.
By following this path, the online retail giant helps democratize access to products that contribute positively to sustainability and circularity. Thus, the action brings customers closer and encourages them to make choices that contribute to communities, reducing waste, emissions, and energy.
Let the perspective of creating shared value and circularity be the motto of practices in the coming years for everyone!
More information on the Natal do Bem site:
https://www.enel.com.br/pt/quemsomos/natal-do-bem
More information on the Mercado Libre site:
https://www.mercadolivre.com.br/produtos-sustentaveis#DEAL_ID=MLB10883&S=landingHubnatal-2022&V=64&T=Banner-large&L=SUSTUSTUSTENTABLIDADE-LARGE&deal_print_id=5b826e70-811e-11ed-a981-0fb8b0bad5bd&c_id=banner-large&c_element_order=4&c_campaign=SUSTENTABLIDADE-LARGE&c_uid=5b826e70-811e-11ed-a981-0fb8b0bad5bd