SAve & Sustain

Over the years we have spoken with many of our clients and observed their packaging and waste hauling overhead.

When we advise our clients on more sustainable products we realized that many of them wanted to switch to a more earth friendly container. However, often they could not because their margins would not allow for this type of novel spending, as ecological containers are often more expensive.

We realized that what made these packages so expensive was the lack of buying power each individual business has, especially smaller mom and pop shops.

So, we thought, “What if we solved that problem by creating a buyers club?” Now you can go in on an order with your neighbors. This brings the unit price down, making sustainable options more accessible to more small businesses.

While we are at it, let’s take this one step further.

Your business membership also grants you access to the ECHO Systems Container Refund Program (CRP), a circular program intended on putting reusable to-go containers into circulation. This means that every order you pack out in a reusable container is one less container you need to purchase in the first place, saving you a great deal of money in the long run.

So now for the fun part…

How it works

• You become a business member and this makes you an automatic stakeholder.

• The first year, your business will receive a Sustainability Evaluation (SE) and several educational resources.

• Once the evaluation process is complete we will make container recommendations and price estimates available to you based on our current business cohort.

• If interested in the CRP, we provide you with a stack of reusable to go boxes or cups.

• Your customers, who are also ECHO members, will receive updates on what businesses participate in the program, driving new potential customers your way.

• We will provide you with fully integrated software needed to manage the CRP if interested, and work out details on collection processes with you.

• You avoid the endless back-end costs of buying ecologically damaging single use disposable products altogether.

• We work together with you to roll out all of these programs with a high level of attention and support to assure the smoothest transition.

Lastly, you will get a one hour follow-up consultation with an ECHO-prenuer (student consultant). This is a service learning opportunity for young people. They will be trained on how to properly interface with the business community professionally. They will have software capable of collecting specific data points. When the evaluation is complete, you will receive a report which outlines potential opportunities to adopt sustainable practices that may guide you to more profitable, social and environmental outcomes.

Level UP Your Sustainability progress.

If you choose to proceed with the recommendations, you will receive a branded sticker for your business indicating a specific level of sustainable progress. All Gold members will receive a free ad or feature story in our ECHOzine.