8. What morals or ethics do you ascribe to and how are these played out within your business?
You can find this information often of the web pages themselves. What values does the company have, do you see evidence of this on their social media? How do they react to the news? How do they respond to global crises? Kind of like judging whether someone will go from acquaintance to friend, you want to peel back the layers a little and see what’s really going on.
9. Does your business adhere to any internal environmental practices? (green energy provider in your office, responsible waste management etc)
Again, something you can find out on their website or email to ask. You’re looking for things like proper waste recycling at the office, cycle-to-work schemes, whether they use renewable energy sources or operate as plastic-free as possible. It’s not just about what the brand puts into the world, but who they are behind closed doors. It’s super hard to eradicate waste from a small business unless you own your entire supply chain, so finding some plastic wrap in products they’ve purchased, or needing to use bubble wrap for delicate items isn’t unheard of. Again, we must be realistic in our expectations but optimistic in our aspirations.