At our sustainability event, which we hosted together with Tradebyte and Styla, we talked about a topic that we want to advance: Sustainability. Find out what moves customers, retailers and logistics providers.
The employees serve plates with fresh pastes and warm bread, it smells of the open kitchen. The atmosphere among the numerous guests, speakers and organizers is inspired. The focus is on the topic of sustainability, with representatives from the fashion, e-commerce and logistics sectors coming together for the evening.
The “Frea” in Berlin Mitte creates the perfect setting for this, because the restaurant is committed to the basic rules of sustainability: good use of nature’s resources. And this very consistently. It produces wonderful food – but no waste. This is ensured by aluminium containers, creative recipes as well as regional suppliers and a specially purchased composting machine.
What moves the industry in terms of sustainability – what does it do and what can it still do? We asked ourselves these questions. The starting position: The fashion industry in particular produces large quantities of materials that are harmful to the environment. According to the British Ellen MacArthur Foundation, the entire textile industry will be responsible for a quarter of the climate-damaging CO2 emissions by 2050, currently 1.2 trillion tons a year.
The fact that the fashion industry has a lot of catching up to do when it comes to sustainability has long since spread to customers. One of the speakers on this topic: Marc Ramelow. In his talk he impressively shares his experiences of the point of sale. The head of the fashion house Ramelow was sensitized by his employees: “They came to me and said: “We are very often approached by customers about the topic of sustainability and don’t know exactly what we should answer”.
“What’s interesting is that a lot has already happened with our suppliers when it comes to sustainability.”
Marc Ramelow, head of the fashion company Ramelow
The managing director reacted: he developed a questionnaire, which he sent to about one hundred of his suppliers. Contrary to all expectations, 80 percent responded to questions about sustainability in their fashion productions. “It was interesting that a lot had already happened with them – and that most of them were pleased with our enquiry.”
He asked himself: What can I do as a trader? The answer: Listen to the customers – and to the employees, take up these impulses. The close exchange with the suppliers is also important in order to be able to influence the processes. But sustainability must also pay off. Walking this fine line between economy and ecology – that’s the fine art.
Sustainability also plays an increasingly important role in logistics. According to DHL Logistics Trend Radar, the topic is one of the four key factors on which the future of logistics depends. Sophus Broberg, Chief Growth Officer at the Swedish shipping start-up budbee, is the third speaker to illustrate the topic from a logistics perspective – particularly interesting for us as a delivery platform. Seven Senders works with budbee on parcel delivery in Sweden, Denmark, Finland and the Netherlands.
Customers are also becoming increasingly critical with regard to the transport of their goods. For example, retailers are responding with sustainable packaging (38 percent of the retailers surveyed in a dealer association study) – and with offers for sustainable shipping.
“Of course, a sustainable shopping experience also includes the way the product gets to the customer.”
Sophus Broberg, Chief Growth Officer of the Swedish last mile carrier budbee
For Broberg, being a Swede doesn’t get around the subject anyway. A good relationship to nature would lie in the nation. “Do less harm – do more good, that’s our motto,” says Broberg. “And a sustainable shopping experience also includes the way in which the product reaches the customer.
Budbee, for example, ensures that deliveries are made within a precisely timed window. This is environmentally and customer-friendly, because most parcels can be delivered right from the first delivery. “Some customers may just be putting their children to bed,” says Broberg. “The carrier then takes a picture of the supplier or deposits the parcel in front of the customer’s front door, who then picks up the parcel.”
A solar-powered logistics terminal and the conversion to electric vehicles are the next steps for the logistics company. By 2025, the transport should be completely free of fossil fuels.
Also among the guests of the event are many who are already implementing the topic, such as Beres Seelbach, founder of the Berlin start-up Tretbox. He has developed a business model from the ever louder call for more sustainability. With his electric Cargobike ONO, parcels can be delivered in a spacious, detachable box on the last mile
“With the ONO, parcels can be delivered emission-free. In this way, we make a contribution to sustainable shipping.” Beres Seelbach, founder of Tretbox
Seelbach drove up that evening with his slim vehicle and parked it in front of the Frea. So far there are two prototypes of the Frea, next year it will go into series production. “With the ONO, parcels can be delivered emission-free. In this way, we are making a contribution to sustainable shipping,” says Seelbach.
This evening shows: The industry is committed to sustainability – not only because customers want it, but also because companies want to act for themselves and inspire others with it. More than a few people who implement the topic perfectly count on the fact that many people start with it – albeit not perfectly.
And it became clear that it is not about changing the whole world in a short time, but about everyone making their contribution: From the restaurant in Berlin Mitte to the fashion platform Zalando to the numerous industry representatives who came to Frea to find out how they can become even more active. They take the impulses with them, implement them and carry them on – that’s how change happens.
And it became clear that it is not about changing the whole world in a short time, but about everyone making their contribution: From the restaurant in Berlin Mitte to the fashion platform Zalando to the numerous industry representatives who came to Frea to find out how they can become even more active. They take the impulses with them, implement them and carry them on – that’s how change happens.
“We are proud that we can count partners among our network who take the topic so seriously. Because sustainability begins with everyone working together.”
Thorben Seiler, COO at Seven Senders
Thorben Seiler, COO at Seven Senders, summed it up at the end of this beautiful – consistently sustainable – event: “We are proud that we can count partners in our network who take the topic so seriously. After all, sustainability only works if everyone works together”.