Sustainable Outsourcing: Making The Right Decisions

Julie Starr • December 2, 2020



Most businesses find that they need to use outsourcing in one way or another. If you are looking to improve your business with the use of outsourcing, you will need to make sure that you are doing so in a way that fits in with your ethical framework as a company too. Most businesses are keen to try and be as sustainable as possible these days, for instance. As it happens, there are a lot of ways in which you can make sure you are outsourcing sustainably, and in this article, we are going to look at some of them in detail.

Putting The Planet Above Competitiveness

When you are searching around for the right company to help your business along in some way or another, competition is clearly going to play a big role. But if you really care about keeping your business sustainable , you will need to make sure that you are putting the planet above that competitiveness as best as you possibly can. In other words, always make sure that you work with the sustainable and environmentally ethical team over the cheaper one, if that is the choice you are faced with. As long as you do that, you should find that your outsourcing is much better for the planet on the whole.

Keep An Eye On Purchasing Processes

When you are researching companies you might be using as outsource partners, you need to look into their supply chain in as much detail as possible. In particular, you should look into their purchasing processes , and make sure that they live up to the kind of ethical green standard you are hoping to maintain in your own business. This information should be fairly easy to come by, and if it is not that can often mean that the company in question has something to hide. By keeping a close eye on this, you can tell whether the company in question is truly operating in as sustainable a manner as you would hope.

Seek Out Green-Dedicated Teams

There are teams out there who are absolutely dedicated to being as green as possible in everything they do. If you can manage to find those teams in particular, you are going to be sure that they are a good bunch to work with, as their processes are bound to be in place with regard to keeping things sustainable. So when a company makes a big noise about green issues, that should be a, well, green light for the go-ahead. You know you will be working with an outsource team who really care as much as you do about doing their bit for the planet.

Ask For Sustainable Goals

One way to determine whether a company you are looking to work with really cares about sustainability is to ask to see a list of their sustainable goals. If this is something that they tend to truly prioritize, then producing that list should not be too much of a problem, and you can then look through it and see how serious they are. If they are unable to produce a list  or the one they do produce is simply not up to scratch, you know that you should think about looking elsewhere instead. In either case, you have saved some time and ensured that you have not deviated from your own commitment to operating in a sustainable fashion.

Consider The Differential Effects Of Outsourcing Versus In-House

Whenever you are hoping to outsource anything, one thing you should bear in mind is how more or less it is going to affect sustainability compared to doing the same work in-house. You can generally be sure that it’s as sustainable, and therefore a good move, if the work happens in a similar environment to where you run your business, or it’s being carried out by a team with similar goals to you. Some tasks are just clearly as sustainable in an outsourced setting as they are in-house, like using content writing services by companies like FATJOE . In those cases, you know outsourcing is a perfectly sustainable option.

Use That Saved Time To Improve Other Areas

When you want your business to be a leader in sustainability, you need to have a wide focus on everything you are doing in your business at once. So, anything that you might do in terms of outsourcing is likely to have some kind of effect in this wider way. If you are outsourcing a lot, you are probably saving a lot of time that way, not to mention a lot of energy too. If you make a point of using at least some of that time and energy into improving your sustainability in other areas, then that’s an important way in which you are helping to keep things green too.

Learn From Your Partners

On occasion, it might even be the case that the partners you have chosen to work with are altogether operating in a way that is more sustainable than your own company. When that is the case, the best approach is to simply use this as inspiration for improving things in your own business. In fact, you could make a point of asking them what they do and how they do it, and in the process you might be able to learn a thing or two that you can carry forwards. This is just another powerful reason to make sure you are seeking out teams who care about sustainability.

Never Compromise

From time to time, you might come across an outsourcing opportunity that is just too good to be true. It might be a ridiculously low offer price, or it could be promising a crazy fast turnaround time. Whatever it is, if you have the suspicion that what’s being offered is in sacrifice of sustainability, don’t go for it. Ultimately, it is never worth compromising in this way. As long as you stick to your guns, you should have a sustainable operation you can be proud of.

Greener Clicks: How to Reduce Your Environmental Impact with Sustainable Digital Marketing

By Julie Starr • March 31, 2025
In the race to decarbonize our world, one area often overlooked is digital marketing. While it might seem inherently clean compared to print or physical campaigns, our online activities have a real and measurable environmental footprint. From servers powering your website to emails filling up inboxes, every click, stream, and scroll contributes to carbon emissions. At Taiga Company, we believe digital strategies can be powerful and low-impact. Here’s how to get started. Optimize for a Low-Carbon Web Why it matters: Websites and digital ads are hosted on servers that consume electricity, often powered by fossil fuels. Every time a user loads your site or ad, it uses energy. How to reduce your impact: Host green: Choose web hosts that use renewable energy or offset emissions. Clean up your code: Streamlined, efficient code reduces load times and energy use. Compress and reduce images: Smaller files mean faster pages and fewer emissions. Limit heavy media: Videos and animations are carbon-intensive; use them mindfully. A faster, leaner website isn’t just better for the planet—it also boosts SEO and user experience. Email Marketing with Intention Why it matters: Every email sent, received, and stored requires energy. Multiply that by millions of sends, and the impact adds up. How to reduce your impact: Clean your lists: Remove inactive subscribers to avoid waste. Segment wisely: Only send emails to those who will truly benefit. Use plain-text when possible: It’s lower in data and often more accessible. Reduce frequency: Send fewer, higher-quality emails with genuine value. Intentional emailing reduces not only emissions but also improves deliverability and engagement. Sustainable SEO and Content Strategy Why it matters: Search engines crawl, index, and serve up billions of web pages daily. Thoughtless content and bloated sites add to the load. How to reduce your impact: Create evergreen content: Focus on high-quality pages that stay relevant longer. Streamline your site structure: Fewer clicks to find content = less energy use. Use minimal plugins and scripts: Especially ones that load on every page. Green your CMS: Some content management systems are more resource-efficient than others. Sustainable SEO isn’t just eco-friendly—it’s good strategy. Fewer, better pieces often perform better than content mills. Rethink Marketing Automation Why it matters: Automated emails, ads, and data syncing can create a lot of digital clutter. That clutter eats up storage and energy. How to reduce your impact: Audit regularly: Retire old workflows and outdated automations. Optimize syncing: Reduce how often and how much data is transferred. Segment with purpose: Better targeting means fewer wasted sends. Use expiration dates: Don’t let outdated content or assets live forever. Efficient automation can reduce emissions and improve performance. Digital marketing isn’t going away—and it shouldn’t. It offers powerful tools for connection, education, and growth. But like all tools, it can be used more sustainably. At Taiga Company, we’re committed to helping organizations lower their environmental impact without sacrificing reach or results. Sustainable digital marketing is not only possible; it’s essential. Ready to make your marketing aligned with your company's corporate sustainability plan? Let’s start the conversation.

World Water Day 2025: How Beverage Brands Are Leading on Water—and Why Communicating It Matters

By Julie Starr • March 24, 2025
At Taiga Company, we work alongside brands who are not only doing the hard work of sustainability—but are learning how to talk about it in ways that connect with their stakeholders. This World Water Day , we’re reflecting on how leading beverage companies are advancing bold water stewardship goals and communicating those efforts clearly, thoughtfully, and strategically across digital platforms. Water is foundational to the beverage industry. From ingredient sourcing to packaging to community health, it’s a resource that demands attention—not just in terms of conservation, but in terms of how that commitment is shared with consumers, investors, regulators, and partners. Below, we’re highlighting three beverage companies whose recent water stewardship actions—and storytelling—stood out. PepsiCo: From Field to Community, Global Water Replenishment in Action PepsiCo launched 16 new water replenishment projects across nine countries in 2024 alone, restoring more than 1.7 billion liters of water to local ecosystems. These projects are practical and people-centered—ranging from irrigation efficiency in Texas to sustainable farming practices in the Dominican Republic. What stood out: clear project data, human-focused storytelling, and alignment with global frameworks. PepsiCo’s water webpage provides easy access to targets, progress updates, and case studies, helping stakeholders understand both the “why” and the “how.” Suntory Global Spirits: Water at the Heart of the Brand Suntory’s brands—from Maker’s Mark in Kentucky to Yamazaki in Japan—share a common origin: water. The company’s commitment to being net water positive by 2050 isn’t just a corporate goal—it’s integrated into brand storytelling, on-site conservation efforts, and supplier engagement. Their message is rooted in authenticity: water isn’t just an operational input, it’s an essential ingredient in their identity. Learn more on Suntory’s efforts via their LinkedIn post . Asahi Group Holdings: Building Local Water Resilience Together In the Netherlands, Asahi’s Koninklijke Grolsch partnered with stakeholders in the Twente region to develop a local water platform focused on reducing consumption and innovating wastewater reuse. This goes beyond operational efficiency—it’s about building water resilience within a shared ecosystem. Their community-first framing and long-term investment approach were key themes in this post . Why This Matters At Taiga Company, we believe that sustainability actions only go as far as their ability to be understood, felt, and trusted. Communicating water stewardship isn’t just about reporting metrics or sharing photos of wetlands (although both can help). It’s about giving stakeholders the context they need to see a company’s values in motion—clear commitments, thoughtful execution, and measurable impact.  If your team is evolving its water strategy—or simply looking for better ways to communicate what you're already doing—we’d love to be part of that conversation.
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