The business ideas of young sustainable companies currently emerging in Lithuania are often united by the ambition to build a better world and solve pressing problems. Representatives of such companies assure that the demand for sustainability in society is increasing, awareness is growing, and this has a major impact on all companies. In a not so distant future, sustainable businesses will become a norm, and we might all be surprised about the existence of businesses which has nothing to do with sustainability. The creators of sustainable businesses discussed their prospects at the SEB Bank’s remote event “Green Light. A journey towards sustainability”.
“It’s no secret that the founders of sustainable enterprises start their businesses out of a strong desire and passion to make a difference, to contribute to a better world, and to tackle the most pressing issues the modern society is facing today. And sustainability and climate change is a huge challenge for all of us, which is evidenced by the figures – humanity emits 51 billion greenhouse gases into the atmosphere every year. On the other hand, the European Union has declared the Green Deal and will spend around EUR 1 trillion over the next decade to tackle this problem. We are also seeing a strong desire and expectation among consumers to buy sustainable goods, as shown in various surveys. And it is not only large, well-known companies that are moving towards sustainability, but also small, young companies”, says Audrius Rutkauskas, SEB Innovation Centre Manager.
Ideas range from personal need to foreign example
With 17 Sustainable Development Goals approved by the United Nations, businesses of all kinds can find their own way of doing business while tackling sustainability issues.
Rasa Syminaitė, co-founder of the sustainable products e-shop Nula explains that the business was born out of a selfish motivation to develop a solution for herself. She and her best friend Ramona, while sorting waste, saw how much plastic waste was generated, also noticed that it was difficult to find sustainable products on the market.
“We saw that we ourselves lacked one convenient place to find sustainable products, so we decided to create one. We started with just a few products on the e-shop. At first, we wanted to see if there was a need for such products, and today we can offer several hundred products,” she says, claiming that in two and a half years, people’s interest and awareness of sustainability has grown considerably: whereas before, their customers tended to be young people with a higher income in the city, now the range of their customers is broadening.
Another sustainable Lithuanian business, urban beekeeping company Urbanbee.lt, was born out of a desire to address the pressing issue of declining bee populations. The company’s founder, urban beekeeper Paulius Chockevičius, says that bees are responsible for pollinating as much as 70% of the food we eat, so the rapid decline in bee populations has a profound impact on our planet and humanity.
“The business was born naturally out of a strong desire to help the endangered bees. Thus, by combining our knowledge of beekeeping with our knowledge of environmental protection, we founded Urbanbee.lt,” recalls Paulius Chockevičius, who today installs and maintains beehives on the roofs of businesses and organisations.
Miglė Rusteikaitė, the head of “dalinuosi.lt” project, tells a slightly different story of how the business was founded, as the platform was born after seeing a foreign example and deciding to implement it in Lithuania.
“On our platform, people can rent out what they have to encourage others to consume less, and not buy things that are only needed a few times a year, and that require storage space and time to maintain,” she says. Today, more than 6,000 items of all kinds are available on “dalinuosi.lt”, ranging from household goods to games consoles.
Business encouraged not only by altruistic goals
Sustainable business is still often perceived as altruistic – something done out of good intentions, but not to make money. Sustainable business creators are busting this myth.
“Sustainable businesses need to make profit just as much as they need to be able to create added value for consumers and the environment with confidence. Only in many cases this requires inventing new systems and new business models. For example, we offer reusable or even lifelong items, which sounds like a big risk for the business, because our aim is to keep the customer coming back only when they really need us. At the same time, we understand that consumption is necessary to keep the economy moving, but new systems of circular economy need to be created that are commercially viable,” says Rasa Syminaitė.
“Sustainability is becoming more and more important, and people understand that. First of all, our customers are discovering the financial value – the opportunity to save money by renting rather than buying things they need occasionally. And more and more of them are starting to see the other benefits – the practicality, the fact that they can rent things without having to store too many of them. In addition, more and more customers rent because they support this idea, they value and want to spend their money on experiences rather than things, they are discovering community and they want to contribute to sustainable consumption,” mentions Miglė Rusteikaitė.
She also highlights another aspect: the business model of “dalinuosi.lt” platform also offers the opportunity to earn money, in this case for the owners of rented items. “Indeed, the biggest share of the profit goes to the owners, who, by sharing their possessions, also encourage other people to consume less. On our platform, we have owners who started with a few personal items and now call it their small business,” says Miglė Rusteikaitė.
Paulius Chockevičius also claims that their business is growing and attracting new customers. The fact that the service helps other companies become more sustainable is also driving the business forward – by putting bees on the roofs of their offices, companies contribute to sustainability. “Companies that want to be friends with us also see the benefits in bees. We are also constantly looking for ways to make the traditional thing like honey from bees more interesting. For example, we suggest that companies use the honey from beehives on their roofs as corporate gifts. This idea is very attractive to our customers,” says the representative of Urbanbee.lt.
The most important thing is to get started
Sustainable business representatives recall starting their business back when sustainability was not much talked about in Lithuania but they received a lot of positive reactions and support.
“Before starting the business, my colleague and I were both prepared for the avalanche of criticism and questions as to why we needed such a service, however, when we launched the business, we received a lot of support and comments that such a platform was really needed,” recalls Rasa Syminaitė.
“It takes courage to do it, and to know that you won’t get it right the first time, you’ll have to make a lot of mistakes and learn from them. It is also important to be patient – sustainable business might not be the one that goes off instantly and everyone wants the product – you need to educate the public, take time, believe in your ideas and look for like-minded people,” emphasises the representative of “dalinuosi.lt”.
Paulius Chockevičius also mentions the necessity of educational activities when starting a sustainable business. According to him, young sustainable start-ups need to tell their stories to the wider public. This helps establish new contacts, find customers or business partners. “In our case, we also have to dispel certain myths, such as that honey brought by bees in the city is polluted, or that bees living on rooftops сan sting people. In fact, we regularly carry out tests on the quality of honey in the city, and our bee colonies are special breeds which are very friendly” he says.
Paulius Chockevičius also mentions the necessity of educational activities when starting a sustainable business. According to him, young sustainable start-ups need to tell their stories to the wider public. This helps establish new contacts, find customers or business partners. “In our case, we also have to dispel certain myths, such as that honey brought by bees in the city is polluted, or that bees living on rooftops сan sting people. In fact, we regularly carry out tests on the quality of honey in the city, and our bee colonies are special breeds which are very friendly” he says.
Audrius Rutkauskas notes that the SEB Business Growth Program for SMEs has seen an increasing number of sustainable business ideas and products every year, and participants benefit not only from lectures or seminars, but also from peer-to-peer networking and sharing experiences. “Being involved as a mentor, I see how important it is to have a community that understands and supports, and works on the same problems,” he says.
