What clinches a sale?
Thirty years ago it was the latest, new-fangled functionality being offered.
Twenty years ago it was booming new bandwidth capabilities.
Ten years ago it was transformational new OpEx purchasing options.
To an extent, it’s ALWAYS been cost.
But today, there’s a new kid on the procurement block.
Today, Generations X and Z are making more of the business buying decisions…and that means protecting the planet has to be in the mix too.
From your materials to your manufacturing process, your packaging to your shipping: the size of your carbon footprint now says enough about you to make a crucial difference come contract time.
‘Climate Neutral’ is the latest certification logo to pack a meaningful punch – so, if your (tokenist) green credentials are buried away behind a catch-all website footer tab, you’re missing a planet-sized trick.
“We find that our customers, our partners and our people REALLY care about this stuff,” says Stefan Eriksson, Swedish-based Chief Marketing Officer at global collaboration endpoints giant Konftel.
“We have put it at the very heart of our offer because it’s the right thing to do. Yes, the right thing from a commercial perspective, but also the right thing from an environmental and ethical perspective too”
Maybe it’s a Swedish thing (Eriksson laughs that “everyone now knows our Greta” in reference to the country’s teenage triple Nobel prize-nominated environmental activist Greta Thunberg) but Konftel really has put its money where its mouth is.
It is the first company in the collaboration devices industry to be awarded global Climate Neutral certification: off-setting its carbon emissions by investing massively in worldwide carbon credit projects such as forest conservation in Zimbabwe, water filtration in Cambodia, and renewable energy in India.
It has put climate neutrality front and centre and talks boldly and loudly about its “clear carbon conscience” and the vital role it is playing in the fight against global warming.
Whilst the overarching sentiment is of course ethically commendable, the commercial imperative is also well-served.
“It is a new tool in the sales toolbox, no question,” says Eriksson. “We often get asked by customers and channel partners where we stand on climate neutrality and what we are doing to minimise our carbon footprint. The subject is a big player in the procurement process, and rightly so.
“It means our investment in carbon neutrality is a win, win. Our commercial offer is more compelling, so we win more business as a result. AND we get to do our bit for our planet.”
It’s apt, too, that a unified communications provider is on such a mission.
Remote working, in and of itself, is surely the trend that has had (and will continue to have) the most positive impact on global carbon emission reduction.
Better, smarter, more efficient audio and video conferencing has been driven most-recently by necessity due to the coronavirus pandemic; but the additional, knock-on and long-term benefits are obvious.
“More conference calling means less car and rail journeys, fewer flights, less-full offices, reduced gas and electricity consumption; the list goes on,” says Eriksson.
“But, for us, it’s no longer enough to simply provide the brilliant technology, equipment and support which helps facilitate all of that. We also have to pay attention to our OWN carbon footprint in a way which encourages others to do the same. The fact that that approach simultaneously helps drive growth for us is of course a welcome consequence”
As well as the investment in its carbon credit programme, Konftel is also working hard to reduce business travel by its staff and has replaced all plastic packaging for accessory cables with paper-based alternatives.
Materials, manufacturing and shipping are next on the to-do list.
“When customers buy from us, they know they are buying from an organisation which has no carbon footprint whatsoever; zero emissions,” adds Eriksson. “That gives everyone involved a very warm feeling indeed.”
It seems that, by going green, you really can conference with a clear climate conscience…
