For many years, we struggled to pursue sustainability. Selling private label, using trendy temporary colors, using lots of plastic and big volume items were the largest barriers. We worked on our impact reports and did circular business modelling, but we never found the holy grail for us.
Many questions were raised: “What would it cost in terms of energy and transport to recycle end-to-life products?”, “Are the products we sell really necessary in general?”, “Would our customers return a cheese plane?”. After a long search, we found the answer. Why not simply offer products that we would never have to replace because of an unbeatable quality and a design that would stand the test of time? So we made a plan, and after 6 years, we can say that the journey is paying off!
What major steps did we take until so far?
By stopping producing low end products and making private label products and timely products with fancy colors and temporary design we worked towards timeless design & lifetime guarantee. Customers can enjoy a 10 year guarantee on our products and we are working towards a lifetime guarantee, currently representing 49% of our product range. By saying goodbye to the production of trendy products driven by hypes or popular colors, our customers can enjoy a timeless design so that the value of a product remains, even for the next generation.
In short, Timeless Design and Lifetime Guarantee because we believe Quality = Sustainability!
Why did we decide to become a B Corp?
- We wanted to improve our overall environmental practices.
- From an employee experience, we wanted to highlight BOSKA’s commitment to ethical and social responsibility. And it’s also great for employer branding. Becoming a B Corp might attract more ethical and sustainable-minded employees. In general, we want to make sure everyone in the business feels valued and has a sense of belonging. By valuing our people, in return, they are more likely to bring their best selves to work and to do their best work. So a win-win.
- We want to continue building trust and meaningful relationships with consumers and communities. Consumers are becoming more and more conscious and by becoming a B Corp, we show we do our best to bring positive change in the world. The B Corp label gives us this clear logo to reach out to the end consumer that they can trust.
- It is an ongoing commitment as it is a requirement to update the assessment every three years. By being B Corp, we became part of an ever-growing movement of organizations that share similar goals and who we can share knowledge with.
- Last but not least, becoming a B Corp and doing good feels awesome! J
Our goals are larger than only turning a profit. Becoming a B Corp is believing that our business should be a force for good; We want to create a big wave of change, raise awareness, and potentially guide people in behavioral change. In our industry, we would love to get rid of ‘shitty food tools’ to drastically reduce single-use gadgets, old-fashioned and/or unnecessary kitchen tools and items that can’t be recycled and that are often thrown away. Let’s challenge each other to make that change for a better world and a greater good! What’s your contribution? How can we contribute or work together?
It is not necessary to become a B Corp to do better by the way. We started very small, with very little knowledge and we are still learning daily. Being a B Corp is an ongoing journey, not a destination. It certainly helps us in creating a bigger force for good, as we believe we might inspire other companies to follow the same path and so create a positive snowball effect!
Carbon Neutral, Climate Neutral and / or Net Zero by 2024….
Our supply chain does not enable us to achieve net zero emissions yet. In 2019, we therefore decided to compensate the emitted CO2 emissions by collaborating with Justdiggit and “eat” the carbon out of the air. Justdiggit is a grassroots organization that fights global warming by re-greening Africa. Smallholders’ farmers in Tanzania and Kenia dig “earth smiles” holes in degraded land, collect water when it rains and make the soil fertile. As a result, plants start growing, resulting in bringing back vegetation.
Carbon reduction is one way to mitigate climate change and is also a highly debated thing. But one thing we all agree on is that more trees and a healthier and more active biodiversity is good for the planet, for the animals and for mankind. Biodiversity is as crucial as cooling down the planet. For nature, but also for our heart and soul.
In a 5 year period of time, Boska is investing € 292,786 in Justdiggit. This is the amount of estimated investment needed to compensate for our CO2 emissions. This is a big investment for our company and should put us on track to become net zero by 2024. By planting trees, we remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere and our activity should no longer cause global warming. So we would not only be Carbon Neutral, but also Net Zero.
But it does not stop here. We are working on lowering our CO2 emissions by developing a sustainable supply chain management, which represents our most material area of improvement. Removing plastic in products, reducing weight and using less and lightweight packaging are examples of measures we are working towards. Shipping still represents one of our biggest challenges, but we are on our journey and hopefully on the right track, by being curious, eager to learn and willing to put one step in front of the other.
Please join us in regreening the world and raising awareness on how beneficial & fun it is for all living creatures to preserve this gorgeous planet!
