A sustainable future

Importance of sustainability

An industry is a force to be reckoned with. It has scale, growth potential and serves likeminded customers. The pet industry touches pet owners around the globe from aquatics professionals to people who walk
their dog. The future success and viability of the pet industry will be determined in part by how well we address sustainability in terms of the planet, people, pets, and profits.

Italian manufacturer Agras Delic is a company that has recognised the importance of sustainable initiatives. In recent years the company has implemented a number of concrete actions, the raw materials come from sustainable fishing initiatives, packaging materials are made mostly of recycled paper, and all materials used for packaging are recyclable.

Agras Delic participates in offsetting projects with strong social implications (most recently in Cambodia), in order to compensate the CO2 emissions generated by the production of the sleeves around the cans.

Today the company is using a Sustainability Balance Sheet, allowing it to report its performances from a social and environmental point of view.

Sustainability is linked to success

Sustainability can benefit performance of companies, improving the results for employees, shareholders and customers. A Goldman Sachs Report found that “companies that are leaders in environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies are outperforming competitors in stock performance – by an average of 25%.”

To move our industry forward many successful companies are focusing on ways they can improve their products, distribution and consumer education. Often these improvements lead to minimizing waste and costs, as well as attracting a more informed and passionate consumer. When done well a company can profit by minimizing impacts and improving the environment.

An inspiring example is the sustainability entrepreneurship in the aquatics trade of Piscine Energetics, founded in 1998 in British Columbia, Canada. Nuri Fisher, the President, leveraged sustainability entrepreneurship to create their great products. Instead of allowing an invasive shrimp species to continue harming the local Kokanee salmon population, they pioneered harvesting the shrimp to produce a high quality aquatic food product. They now have a global presence, selling in pet retailers worldwide and also supplying some of the world’s largest aquariums.

Increased employee engagement

A strong benefit to a company’s sustainability efforts and profits can come from employee engagement. Studies reveal that more employees, particularly from younger generations, desire meaning in their work that aligns with their personal values. Tapping into employee passions while benefiting the planet can unleash a strong drive from employees.

For example, Mika Sutinen, CEO of Musti ja Miri, a successful Finnish and Swedish retailer with 222 stores, worked with their waste management company to begin a recycling program for metallized dog food bags. By giving a consumer sixty euro
cents for each bag returned, they have rewarded their customers for recycling. This creates a good feeling about the brand, though the program is
still expensive for the company to maintain. Their innovative sustainability initiatives make their staff more proud of the company. This (environmental benefit) comes from internal reasons rather than external issues.

First steps into the future

“Moving the industry to a more sustainable future will require industry organizations, publications and businesses to widely share the success stories in order to get more businesses to participate,” notes Tony de Vos, CEO of Cardinal Pet. The industry will also benefit from companies sharing best practices so that others can implement improvements. As the force of the collective pet industry gets more momentum behind environmental sustainability, our consumers will recognize the positive impact and continue to invest in pets and the future financial sustainability of our companies.

Each of us must ask ourselves: What is the opportunity before this business to create a model for sustainability? Every leader and business will answer differently, proving there is not only one way toward a sustainable future.

Your first step may lie in transparency with your employees regarding environmental practices, or reaching out into your local community, or finding just one part of your business model that can support additional investment for the betterment of all.

But if every leader commits to asking these types of questions, our industry will move toward a better future.