Unlocking sustainability: SMEs and the path to responsible business

By Annette Devenish, Marketing Manager, Sani-touch

The global push for more sustainable development is about meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to satisfy their own needs. The question many businesses in South Africa are asking is whether sustainability - or ESG - is yet another bureaucratic hoop they are required to jump through or a rewarding and positive business achievement.

Having embarked on our sustainability journey many years ago, I can confidently report that organisations that choose the sustainability route for the right reasons rather than as a tick-box exercise will reap the benefits. Even small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that are able to make only minor changes can have a positive impact.

At Sani-touch, sustainability has always been part of our corporate DNA, long before ESG became a trend. The first dispensers we manufactured some 30 years ago were made from repurposed pipes. The first pre-saturated wipes introduced were made from biodegradable wet-strength paper.

In recent years, we have embarked on an ambitious path to ensure that all our products are either recyclable or biodegradable and created a circular economy for our recyclable materials. We’ve implemented water and energy-saving strategies to reduce our carbon footprint.

Sani-touch has led the way in promoting sustainable practices regarding pre-saturated wipes and implemented less impactful and more environmentally friendly production processes, ensuring that our products can be part of a sustainable circular economy. Ultimately, we’re proving that single-use products such as wipes not only offer outstanding infection protection but can also be environmentally neutral. we believe the steps we’re taking today to control the plastic life cycle will positively impact future generations. Within our factories and warehouses, we are replacing traditional wooden pallets with plastic pallets made from our own plastic waste. We’ve also launched biodegradable cloths and wipes developed in partnership with composters and worm farms.

Our proactive initiative to recycle both our green Saniwipes and their container buckets has earned us awards, but more importantly, has led to the empowerment of young business entrepreneurs and job creation. we have successfully increased recycling awareness and created a demand for repurposed plastic products. we’ve provided jungle gyms made from recycled plastics for early childhood development centres, created a demand for other furniture products such as benches and helped create and market bird feeders for consumers to buy to support recycling initiatives.

Sustainability for a small company like ours is a delicate balancing act because, ultimately, like most businesses, our operations and product developments must tick the profit box.

Large corporates have the resources to appoint dedicated sustainability officers and teams. For small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that’s often not feasible. Instead, sustainability has to be embedded in the business culture and must become everybody’s responsibility. However, for SMEs to achieve success in this area, larger corporations must create the demand that will turn the trickle into a stream.

Our experience reveals that there is no greater reward than seeing a circular economy working successfully – empowering people, creating small business streams and creating new products from old.