• Question: Do you think some companies use the sustainable claim to charge more?

    Asked by jaycartwright to Tonia, Sam, Emily, Ejay, Edgars, Charnett on 17 Jun 2019.
    • Photo: Sam Gaughan

      Sam Gaughan answered on 17 Jun 2019:

      I think there will always be people out there that want to turn a profit out of a genuine problem. My hope is that they are in the minority, and that most companies are trying to move towards sustainability because it is the right thing to do, and it will become more cost effective in the long run. I would suggest that if you are concerned about a specific company, that you find out exactly what they are doing to justify labelling themselves as sustainable. If there is little to no evidence, perhaps look elsewhere, there are usually alternatives, no matter what product or service you are looking at.

    • Photo: Tonia Tzemanaki

      Tonia Tzemanaki answered on 17 Jun 2019:

      I agree with Sam’s advice. Normally, there should be rigorous processes so that they can actually use such a label.
      I hope that more and more companies make efforts towards this direction.

    • Photo: Charnett Chau

      Charnett Chau answered on 17 Jun 2019:

      A lot of the times when companies are providing or using new sustainable products or technology is it more expensive than conventional purely because its in developmental / early stages. Normally the high capital costs will drive the initial pricing of things until investors gains a return. The sad truth is that for any technology we want to implement we need someone to pay up front and they need something in return…

      I think once sustainable alternatives are the main source or the norm then you’ll see prices drop.

      But yes, alot of companies with sustainable claims will state their certifications which can be looked up to check if they’re legit. Look at their corporate social responsibility strategies too, it shows how ethical the company is in general!

    • Photo: Ejay Nsugbe

      Ejay Nsugbe answered on 18 Jun 2019:

      That’ll be rather difficult to get away with in actuality as companies go through audits where they have to explain and justify various actions and claims which they make around their products and services.

    • Photo: Emily McNee

      Emily McNee answered on 19 Jun 2019:

      I hope not, but there seems to be a trend that sustainable = more cost. It is possibly down to the supply chain being quite limited as companies get onboard with sustainability and becomes the norm this cost should decrease. Cost is a big factor in any business so any additions in cost at the material end will always incur cost at the product end

Comments