2 Golden rules to find your next local partner for your plastic CSR project

 

As a CSR change maker, you may realize the difficulty of finding a trustable local partner for your next plastic CSR project.  

The two keywords here are: “Trust & Impact”.

How can you do that?

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The characteristics your partner should have

 

The Holy Grail

When you are thinking about CSR partners in your company, what are the most important characteristics that this person should have? 

-       The partner must be reliable

-       Match your plastic CSR strategy

-       He must be looking to make a real impact on the world

These are just some personality traits that make your partner the “holy grail”.

As a CSR change maker, you may realize the difficulty of finding such a partner. But here is our take on how to find the most suitable local partner for your next plastic CSR project.  

Trust and impact

The two keywords here are: “Trust & Impact”.

Trust is a necessity to achieve positive economic impact. 8 million tons of plastics goes to the ocean every year. So, creating impact in your CSR projects with your partner is a necessity. How can you create impact for your company?

These are the way to proceed:

  • Link your project with company value

  • Get insight from stakeholders

  • Build partnerships. There are already existing organizations or individuals doing this work that you want to do. They have the experience and the knowledge already. Seek out for these potential partners.

 
 

Improve your partnership opportunities by following two steps

 

Check first on the strategic alignment with your plastic CSR roadmap.

Will the partner suit your vision? These are some of the aspects you must align with:

  • Location: Does the potential partner share the same location with your company? Is the location of your potential partner beneficial to the CSR project you will conduct? Is it possible for you to conduct business efficiently with both your locations?

  • Type of project: The type of project you and your partner are working on must align or have a similar focus. This can be reduction, education/awareness, collection, recycling, offsetting/EPR, social impact, and women empowerment. 

  • Type of legal structure: Check if the type of legal structure fits with the CSR project you intend to complete. Some foundations are allowed to finance only “non-profit” organizations for instance. Is it your case?

    For example, if your location allows, your focus is one of the types of projects that was stated earlier, and the type of legal structure permits it. Plastic Flamingo could be a good match. Have a look at what we propose.

 

Conduct a basic due diligence process online:

  • Impact: To avoid greenwashing, what you are looking for is a real impact on the ground, that can be measured through very clear performance indicators, such as:

-       the number of tons of ocean-bound plastic diverted and/or recycled, 

-       the number of people sensitized through their educational programs, 

-       the number of new jobs or extra revenues for communities created thanks to their activity, etc. 

If they showcase such impact data on their website, that’s a very good sign. They are transparent and they have a measurable impact.

 

  • Ethics: The worst-case scenario would be to engage in a partnership with crooks. Check first if they have a “code of conduct” published on their website. Then, you may ask them to demonstrate their compliance with the local legal framework and your standards of ethics. They have to share similar values in order for the partnership to work.

  •  Existing partnerships: Existing partnerships are a great insight into how this partnership will work. These are the questions you may ask yourself before entering a partnership with anyone:

-       Do they showcase on their website other partnerships with renowned organisations? 

-       Have they published use cases of previous successful projects?

The Plaf has their partnership stories posted on their website. Have a look here to identify what represents a successful relationship with a partner.

  • Reputation and communication potential:  Have a look at the LinkedIn profile of the founder; check all their social media pages…

    Check the fit of this potential partner with your usual audience. Do they fit your current customers' and clients’ persona? This will be a great indicator of whether they are a good fit.  Do they showcase their other partners on their website or media features?

    Not only this will show you how credible and trustworthy your partner is, but also if they are a good fit with your company's values and vision.

The main takeaway is that when trying to find your next partner, be strategic about it and follow these steps stated earlier for a better chance of having a great partnership. ​​If your potential local partner passed most of the items of this checklist, that is a good sign. Give it a try with at least a pilot project.

Lastly, if you do not know where to start your research, you are at the right place! Ask the community 😊

 
François Lesage