The future of business success depends on transparency. As the world begins to prioritise ethical and sustainable business practices, both customers and employees are increasingly demanding transparency from the companies they work for and buy from.
More than ever before, businesses that are working to drive positive change are thriving, and transparency at all levels of a company is more important than ever.
But what does being transparent actually mean for a business? According to Forbes, “Business transparency is the process of being open, honest, and straightforward about various company operations. Transparent companies share information relating to performance, small business revenue, internal processes, sourcing, pricing, and business values.”
While it can seem like a risk for businesses to open themselves up in this way, there are major benefits to be had. Transparency can establish trust, strengthen relationships with customers and partners, and help foster a healthier workplace culture. In fact, it’s been found that 94% of consumers are more likely to be loyal to a brand that’s completely transparent.
Transparency becomes even more important for businesses claiming to be making a positive environmental or social impact. This is partly because of how rife greenwashing has become, creating distrust. Now, if you’re claiming a product, service, or our business as a whole is sustainable, climate positive, or eco-friendly, then you need to be able to back all of that up.
This means doing more than just marketing. It means being as transparent as possible.
At Play It Green, openness is one of our core values. We were founded on the idea of doing things the right way, and we wish to be one of the most open and transparent limited companies in the world. To do this, all of our board meeting minutes, accounts, tree purchase receipts, donation receipts and sign-ups are shared openly.
We also regularly publish tree planting reports, updating on our progress and going into detail about a particular aspect of our tree planting or business. You can even visit our tree planting sites in Madagascar through Google Earth. Read our last tree planting report here, where we look at the importance of mangrove trees.
One of our other values is being customer-led, as we believe that by seeking feedback, listening, and actioning customer-led change, we are more likely to succeed. Being transparent and open helps us achieve this, too, as customers and partners have access to all the information they need.
All in all, transparency is simply the right thing to do, and it’s why it’s at the heart of everything we do at Play It Green.
“As a conscious capitalist, that wants business to evolve to match the change in values of today’s society, transparency and openness are paramount. It helps to build trust and shows you are doing things the right way. As my gran used to say, if you’ve got nowt to hide, why hide anything. Consumers today are switched on and knowledgable and being transparent, will gain their loyalty.”
Richard Dickson, Co-Founder and Head of Engagement
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