For the first time, a company’s commitment to sustainability is evaluated almost as thoroughly as its products. Consumers are becoming aware that climate change is happening and that its effects are all but inevitable, meaning installers need to prioritise these considerations when offering products.

More than ever, businesses and professionals must operate and provide environmentally-friendly, sustainable products and services in order to meet demand, as well as protect the planet’s natural resources. Saving water, reducing energy and bills, and our carbon footprint has never been more important. 

Materials matter

Adopting eco-friendly and sustainable materials is essential to lowering your carbon footprint, whether it is for the actual product or the packaging. 

Offering things that are functional, aesthetically pleasing, and appropriate for the task at hand is essential, but considering whether they are eco-friendly and the process to get it to your customer is sustainable, has an equal impact in today’s industry.

There are many ways for installers to start making the shift towards a greener offering; going digital, using electric vehicles, recycling, and choosing eco-friendly products from responsible and sustainable manufacturers are all great steps. 

In order to future-proof the industry and bring about a greener shift for the better, environmentally-conscious tradespeople will need to opt to work with manufacturers that align with their own sustainability values.

For example, Lakes is a manufacturer with strong environmental credentials. In 2019, we introduced 100% recyclable packaging. This removed approx. 2,000km of plastic banding a year from landfill, and nearly two million pieces of polystyrene.

Recognising responsibility 

The Rated People Home Improvement Trends Report 2022 discovered almost two in three tradespeople (63%) say their main motivation for making eco changes this year is because they care about the planet. Awareness of changing consumer preferences is also having an impact, with one in three (36%) of those who are making eco changes in 2022, saying they’re making changes because homeowners want businesses to be more environmentally-friendly. 

The report also announced the top eight eco changes tradespeople are making in 2022, with the third highest (27%) showing that tradespeople will look to use environmentally-friendly materials/products. 

And when looking at which trades are planning to make eco changes this year, bathroom fitters come out on top, with more than four in five (85%) of them planning to do so.

The future

Although becoming environmentally-friendly is not something that manufacturers or tradespeople can accomplish overnight, it is something we can start making the necessary preparations for immediately. 

As the economy tries to recover and expand from Covid-19, manufacturers have a chance to refocus on their sustainability goals and engage with the government to deliver a green recovery, and tradespeople have a chance to adopt eco-friendly products to keep meeting the current demand.