We are currently conducting responsible e-commerce evaluations for selected clients, where our sustainability and e-commerce experts assess the e-commerce sustainability. This is part of a larger effort to develop a framework for responsible e-commerce, and the results will be announced upon the completion of the entire process. Woolman's goal is to structure and define what responsible e-commerce entails, addressing both technical aspects and regulatory requirements.

In addition, Ellis is running a pilot program related to the material calculations of textiles and their sustainability impacts. Feel free to reach out to us if any of these initiatives pique your interest! Stay tuned for more updates on our sustainability journey.

In the summer of 2023, Woolman successfully concluded its inaugural consumer study, led by our expert, Sofia Patama. The study focused on consumers' perspectives on sustainability in the realm of online shopping. While we continuously conduct consumer studies, the need for more data persists. Data provides us with truths, yet enhancing consumer understanding remains pivotal in the development of sustainability in e-commerce.

We recognize numerous challenges; data enlightens us, but augmenting consumer insight remains central as we progress in enhancing e-commerce sustainability. A deeper understanding not only allows us to evolve but also enables the successful creation of new business models. Our study concentrated on the GEN Z generation, a demographic poised to become the largest consumer segment in online shopping. GEN Z exerts significant influence over the older generations making purchasing decisions, often wielding more power within families than we might imagine.

Therefore, our focus was on understanding GEN Z, their motivators, as well as barriers to sustainability in online shopping. Our experts utilise this research and data to contemplate both business strategies and practical choices, shaping the direction and functionalities of e-commerce platforms.

Stay tuned as we continue to explore, learn, and innovate on our sustainability journey, making conscious choices for a greener, responsible e-commerce landscape.

During the summer of 2023, Woolman achieved a significant milestone by finalising the emission calculation for the year 2022. This endeavour was undertaken as a foundational element of our sustainability efforts, aiming to support decision-making, foster understanding, and enable comparability. We chose to conduct this emission calculation to enhance our own understanding; every expert at Woolman gained insights and comprehension from this process because this understanding is what we, as experts working with our clients, require.

During the company's emission calculation, we enabled and offered every employee the opportunity to calculate their own carbon footprint. These individual footprints were then aggregated to calculate our community's everyday emissions. Through this process, everyone gained insights into their own actions, providing topics for discussions within their families and among friends. There is a need for these conversations in the world.

Emission calculation serves as the most recognized metric for sustainability in Europe at present, and therefore, we decided to embrace it. Upon concluding the financial year of 2022, we embarked on this calculation journey. Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, the aspects dealt with online and in hybrid work, were relatively straightforward and relatively minor in significance. While we have offices throughout Finland and Europe, which pose challenges in data collection, their actual contribution to emissions is relatively small. Therefore, we set the bar high and delved into Scope 3 emissions. We take immense pride in this achievement! We calculated the actual emissions of the completed online stores in 2022 (broken down by country of usage), and this process was truly exhilarating. The results pleasantly surprised us—our technological choices and expertise were evident in the emissions of the completed online stores; they did not skyrocket as we had anxiously anticipated.

In accordance with standard practices, we excluded the emissions of products sold in the online stores from our calculations; these emissions should be accounted for in the calculations of the respective brands and companies.

To our knowledge, Woolman is the first agency to calculate Scope 3 emissions for its own products or services. We collaborated with Green Carbon for this initiative, and you can read more about the process here! [https://greencarbon.fi/woolman-a-responsible-pioneer-in-the-world-of-e-commerce/]

• Climate Lunch and Individual Carbon Footprint Calculations: Each member of the Woolman team had the opportunity to calculate their own carbon footprint. This exercise served as a summary of us as complete societal members and actors.
• Woolman Emissions Report

Stay engaged with our sustainability journey as we continue to explore innovative avenues and take meaningful steps towards a more environmentally responsible future.

In spring 2023, Woolman actively engaged in various projects and initiatives focused on sustainability like:

Participation in Business Finland's Sustainability E-commerce Program

Woolman stood as the sole agency participating in Business Finland's sustainability e-commerce program. This comprehensive training series, spanning multiple days, was designed for brands. Within this program, industry experts collaboratively shaped perspectives on e-commerce sustainability while refining each participant's individual sustainability efforts. Woolman's diverse experts actively contributed to these sessions, and, notably, ESG mapping was conducted in-house for the first time as part of this initiative.

Programm’s Playbook for brands: experiencecommerce.fi/playbook and workbook ppt format here: experiencecommerce.fi/sustainability

Throughout spring 2023, we conducted weekly meetings with sustainability experts. These sessions involved in-depth interviews, thoughtful discussions, and extensive research endeavours.

One significant and specialised sector we focused on was the direct-to-consumer (DTC) business in the animal food and food markets. For them, and tailored to their specific needs, as well as for our own continuous learning, Woolman produced an industry-specific sustainability overview: Pet Food trends and Insights report

 This ongoing effort reflects our commitment to delivering substantial and profound value to our clients in the realm of sustainability.

As we delve deeper into these initiatives, we remain dedicated to shaping a more responsible and sustainable future for our community and the industries we serve. Stay tuned for further updates on our sustainability journey.

In January 2023, Woolman enthusiastically took part in the Ma Petite Planète (MPP) https://mapetiteplanete.org/en/ challenge, a program based in Europe. Sustainability is a vast, challenging, and all-encompassing theme that inevitably impacts individuals – each one of us, as employees, members of society, family, and as individuals within our own communities. We realised this when we began our journey toward sustainability and didn't want to overlook this observation on Woolman's path either. One of our most dedicated experts and project managers, Clementine, brought to our attention the Ma Petite Planète (MPP) challenge taking place in Europe, which our company decided to join.

In the MPP challenge, participants engage in tasks, challenges, self-improvement activities, and learning tasks related to sustainability in their everyday lives, work, and as part of their communities. These challenges encompassed various aspects such as transportation, diet, energy conservation, activism, and learning, as well as work-related tasks. We competed in teams against each other and as a company against other businesses. Many of us made significant changes to ordinary activities in our lives, and the most active participants accumulated impressive scores. For instance, from the Netherlands, Jan dived into a nearby river to collect trash during the challenge. This experience added depth and learning to Woolmanians' daily lives, reminding us that when talking about sustainability, our private lives should not be forgotten!

Throughout the year 2022, Woolmanians remained dedicated to sustainability:

Responsibility Program Launch: We initiated the Responsibility program, inviting expert speakers to discuss sustainability with us. We interviewed seasoned sustainability practitioners like Louise Stevens (formerly the Sustainability Director of Innocent brand) during our Campfire sessions. Campfires are gatherings where we come together to learn.

Openness to New Initiatives: We committed to saying yes to initiatives emerging within our company. We participated in eBay's sustainability program, the eBay for Change -project. This initiative aims to support the development, growth, and commercialization of brands and online stores contributing to social good and impact. Woolman's experts are actively involved in this program, helping brands in the UK make a difference in communities every time they make a purchase.

Our ongoing efforts in sustainability reflect our firm belief in creating meaningful change and inspiring others in the journey toward a more sustainable future. Stay tuned for more updates on our ongoing initiatives and progress in the realm of sustainability.

Engaging with Customers - Right from the Beginning

From the outset, we embarked on the journey of exploring and developing sustainability in collaboration with our clients. In the fall of 2022, we worked closely with the iconic and universally recognized Finnish jewellery company, Kalevala, to create an entirely new business and business model for secondhand items. Kalevala, a company that has adorned Finns for decades, possesses both a loyal customer base and an appeal to ever-growing new generations. Together, we created an MVP (Minimum Viable Product) related to secondhand items, meticulously analysing data and understanding consumer needs. Now, Pidetty (like the beloved, pre-loved) concept is a significant and integral part of Kalevala Koru's online store and business.

Continuing our journey with Ellis Data Platform, we are persistently researching, developing, and piloting to understand the role of responsible data in the context of online commerce and how it will shape the future. We are launching a pilot with Vaayu, a company dedicated to exploring emissions documentation and collaboration in e-commerce logistics, in partnership with Ellis.

Sustainability in commerce and e-commerce often seems like an impossible mission. However, all research and trends point to it being an inevitable change and, at the same time, an intriguing opportunity. Sustainability is also the only way forward, evaluated from the perspectives of action, financing, and even employer attractiveness. Woolman's founders come together to endorse values, emphasising the significance of sustainability in the company's development and future.

Woolman welcomes its first dedicated resource, the Head of Responsibility. Together with a pioneering change agency and a team of top-notch experts, Måndag, we are refining our strategy. We immerse ourselves in the realm of sustainability, examining our values, exploring the industry, and defining our place. Out of this process emerges a vision, a mission: Commerce with Positive Impact. We embrace the bold notion of investigating our impact on the world, aiming to be pioneers in our industry as a forerunner, setting an example for others to follow.e announcements, or welcome customers to your store.