At Cornerstone, we have always been conscious of the impact our service has on the environment.
When we first launched in 2015, we focused on providing products that were kind to the planet, as well as your skin. Our range launched with no parabens or microbeads, and was never tested on animals. We also ensured our boxes were made from recycled materials and 100% recyclable, whilst including several vegan products in our lineup of shaving supplies. Additionally, the Cornerstone handle was designed to last a lifetime.
Fast forward to 2020, the start of a new decade, and the team got together to figure out what was next for Cornerstone. There was one general consensus: we wanted to do even more for the planet.
For a small business like us with little influence on the global supply chain, this is tricky to put into practice, but we’ve taken some first steps that we’re really hopeful will make an impact.
Immediate changes
Firstly, we’re working towards being a carbon neutral company, by backing carbon offsetting projects (More on those below!). This will be funded by changes to other areas of the business, not our customers.
We’re also redesigning our boxes with a more minimal look, which will minimise the amount of ink used, reduce the carbon emissions used to make them, and ensure they’re as easy to recycle as possible. Look out for more news on this soon!
Additionally, we’re switching from a paper copy of our member magazine, 15 Minutes, to a digital one. This will cut down on the amount of paper in our deliveries, and will also primarily fund the carbon offsetting projects we’ll be backing.
Meanwhile, our friend referral scheme has now changed. Instead of £10 credit, you’ll now receive £5 credit when referring a friend to Cornerstone, and we’ll donate £5 to the World Land Trust’s ‘Plant a Tree’ scheme. Each £5 donation will fund the planting and caring of one tree.
Finally, we’re aiming to reduce the amount of single use plastics in our deliveries where possible. This is a lengthy process, but we have already identified changes to our blades and pharmacy packaging that can be reduced, and we’re also looking into making our tubes more easily recycled. We’ll share more on this in the future.
Carbon offsetting projects
To offset our carbon footprint, we’re planning on supporting a range of carbon offsetting projects to provide a comprehensive approach.
One project will support vital deforestation and forest degradation projects in the Amazon rainforest. Another will sponsor solar panels for UK schools, providing a great onsite educational tool whilst also offsetting our carbon.
Finally, we also intend to support an organisation that offsets carbon emissions in many innovative and interesting ways. These include coral reef protection and mangrove restoration, along with the development of renewable energy and clean water sources worldwide.
We will keep you up to date on the projects we work with and the progress we make in our carbon neutral endeavour. Look out for the first digital edition of 15 Minutes for more information on these projects – coming soon!
Long term goals
We’re hopeful that our short-term changes will make a big impact on our environmental footprint. However, long-term we’re aiming to do even more. We want to eliminate single-use plastic packaging, provide 100% recyclable packaging, and ultimately be a carbon-neutral service. We’ll keep you in the loop as we go.
Thank you for your support, and have a great day.
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