Our Sustainability Roadmap

The BPMA is looking beyond warm words as it sets out the industry’s route towards a more responsible and sustainable future. Melissa Chevin explains

If there is a single word that could describe the primary focus for our industry right now, it has to be ‘sustainability’.

Not only does it make sense for the future of our planet, but it is something which nearly all the major brands (and the majority of the smaller ones) have at the heart of their marketing strategies. If promo companies are to succeed, it needs to be front and centre for us too.

To this end, the BPMA has come up with its Sustainability Roadmap. This framework will be unveiled in full on 1 December at the Member Networking Event: Sustainable Future of our Industry, but for now, here is just a glimpse of the road ahead.

 

Collective action

The key takeaway from the BPMA’s inaugural sustainability conference, held in June, was that the climate emergency is one which needs a collective response.

With this in mind, the association has built a five-year sustainability roadmap outlining ambitions goals and promises.

The overall goal of the roadmap is to develop, promote and share best practices which drive sustainable development within the promotional products sector, while also setting clear targets for industry-wide progress.

Obviously, the BPMA recognises that each business within our industry is unique, so members will be encouraged to contribute to these over-arching goals in their own ways. By coming together and collectively reporting on our progress, we can drive through meaningful changes and make a significant contribution towards a sustainable future for all.

 

Target 2030 

The roadmap takes the industry through to 2030 and aims to make significant progress throughout this timeline and beyond:

• The BPMA will support members in their journey to net zero by providing support, reference materials and training on adopting sustainable alternatives
• The association’s dedicated sustainability working group will foster industry efforts to address key challenges such as the end of a product’s life
• The BPMA will also collaborate with partners to promote and measure the impact of recycling and repurposing schemes so these can be reported on a sector-wide basis.

Our near-term target is to reduce scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions across the membership by 2030.

 

Industry pledge 

The focus for the remainder of this year will be centred around the BPMA’s StepForward Pledge, with enhanced resources within the sustainability hub, and maintaining the forward momentum of companies taking up the pledge. There will also be a comprehensive programme of webinars and other educational events.

Next year will see the roll-out of an industry-wide recycling and charitable giving scheme, collaborating with organisations such as First Mile and A Good Thing (see p31 for more detail on the latter). Developed within this will be an ‘impact report’ to reflect the collective effects of the industry.

This is just a very brief taste of what lies ahead in the BPMA’s Sustainability Roadmap. To get the full picture, we strongly encourage you to attend the networking event on December 1 at the St Pancras Hotel in London. More details are available at bpma.co.uk/events.

 

Melissa Chevin is BPMA board director and marketing consultant with GF Consulting – mchevin@gf-consult.co.uk