But green travel rewards company offers hope for more eco-loyalty
There is a huge and growing frustration in wanting to do positive things to help the environment, but as a business, feeling nervous about not meeting promises and then being publicly criticised for it. This phenomenon has a name. It is called Green Hushing.
Green Hushing is the opposite of Green Washing. It was actually coined as long ago as 2008 by consulting firm Tree Hugger, then the term resurfaced when a study by Swiss carbon finance consultancy, South Pole, revealed that although 72% of the 1,200 private companies surveyed in 12 countries and 15 sectors have set emissions targets in line with global climate goals, nearly 25% of those companies refused to reveal their plans. Instead of bragging to the point of mistruth about eco-friendly actions and plans, many companies are hiding away the best of their climate mitigation strategies and practices.
Green hushing stems from a fear of falling foul of regulations, and/or being called to account by climate activists – therefore being viewed by customers as overstating eco activities, with a significant impact on profitability. Companies that green hush also run the risk of missing out on attracting new investment from investment groups that rely on extensive, accurate ESG reporting to guide where they place their funds.
Businesses unsure of how to start their net zero journey or seeking guidance on best practices can get help to plan a way to a leaner, cleaner strategy for sustainability with SaveMoneyCutCarbon, which is a sustainability and money saving platform, who are offering a free 30-minute Carbon Mentor call to to give expert guidance on where to start, what ROI to expect, budgets and what could be achieved through green initiatives.
Green loyalty hope
There is much to be gained from using strong environmental practices in terms of building customer loyalty, and encouragingly, there are some great initiatives emerging. One of these is the Sojo travel app, which has recently launched in the UK. It is already present in many cities around the world. Described as the ‘anywhere to anywhere’ travel app it aims to reward people with money-saving vouchers for travelling green, using public transport, walking or cycling.
The Sojo free-to-use app, has been created by Swiss global innovators, Axon Vibe in partnership with UK-based Raileasy the split ticket consumer champions.
George Sikking, Chief Executive of Raileasy, said, “With 92%* of Brits thinking about how they can save money and 75%** concerned about climate change, we just knew that there was a marketplace for something which would tackle both. Sojo is an absolute win-win, rewarding people financially for saving the earth’s natural resources. We think that the climate conscious people of Great Britain will love it”.
Sojo travel, incentives & rewards app, is free to use and, once the user gives it permission, it claims to “intelligently transforms journeys into rewards without your data being seen by or sold to anyone”. The app works anonymously behind the scenes and, as a thank you for choosing to travel sustainably, it will trigger vouchers from retail partners providing offers such as a free coffee, a pastry or other exclusive clothing & leisure deals all offered in the context of your regular journeys.
Jeremy Acklam, MD of Axon Vibe in the UK, said, “We are thrilled to have collaborated with Raileasy. We firmly believe that Sojo is the solution which will benefit thousands of travellers across Great Britain. Our global Sojo Initiative incentivises people to travel more responsibly and helps to reduce the effects of climate change as they go about their regular lives”, he continued, “The Sojo GB app offers cost savings to encourage people back onto the rail network and personalised rewards which will help High Street businesses thrive”.
The app enables seamless journey planning from door to door, and enables the user to buy arail ticket, hire a bike or book a taxi, where available, across the whole country. Over 4 continents, in cities including New York and Tokyo, Sojo says it has already demonstrated the behaviour change that is so vital to the future of the planet. To access the app simply go to your preferred app store and download Sojo GB.
The website link is: www.sojoapp.com