How can businesses be more sustainable? By working together, finding new ways of doing things, and having a go. That’s the thinking behind the Samford Sustainable Business Network. It’s a network of local business owners who are making a commitment to operate as sustainably as they can.
By collaborating and talking to each other, businesses can work towards a circular economy, where the aim is to eliminate waste by re-purposing, reusing or up-cycling resources. The Samford Sustainable Business Network, backed by Green Street and facilitated by Howard Nielsen of NAC Consulting, is the first such precinct in Queensland. It operates via virtual and face-to-face gatherings.
Visual branding design
For the sustainable business network to be easily recognisable by customers and other businesses, it needed a strong, simple branding design. Rather than being too polished, we wanted it to reflect the ‘having a go at being sustainable’ tagline. We developed a footprint logo (based on a real foot) that reflects the concept of a carbon footprint, but also a casual ‘barefoot’ feel. Together with painted backdrops and a rough-cut font for the wordmark, the branding has a sense of vitality and creativity.
Network members can display a poster on their wall/window and a logo on their website/email, to show their membership. This acts as a marketing tool as well as an identifier. The idea of using stencilled footprints on the footpath outside members with physical premises is also being considered.
Expanding the sustainable business network concept
The branding design allows for similar networks to operate in other areas, simply with a change of the painterly background.
To facilitate communication, members of other networks can set up a Group on the recently upgraded Green Street website to share information, links and comments.
Note: After the initial project launch, the concept name changed from Sustainable Business Precinct to Sustainable Business Network. This was to avoid confusion with another initiative in the region that used the word ‘precinct’. The materials were updated to reflect the new name.