As the business community sees gains from the adoption of sustainability strategies, and the global climate crisis becomes more pressing, organizations like the Pet Sustainability Coalition (PSC) are gaining popularity. The PSC, founded in 2013 by 8 innovative Founding Companies now serves more than 120 member companies and is unleashing collaborative solutions co-developed by its retailers, distributors, brands and suppliers to take on issues too large for a single company to solve.
Addressing big industry topics such as protein sourcing and packaging requires strong leadership and financial investment. When the PSC opened a new ICON membership in January 2020, Earth Animal signed up first and without hesitation. “Our Icon membership provides an avenue for deeper investment in the PSC’s efforts so that we can focus on massive impact areas for our members and the industry but that require a long-term systems approach” says Caitlyn Dudas, Executive Director, PSC. Earth Animal’s new ICON status is the company’s most recent investment in sustainability but is far from its only.
Vision and Mission
For Earth Animal, sustainability is rooted deeply into its core vision and values. The founders of Earth Animal, Dr. Bob and Susan Goldstein, have been leading a holistic lifestyle for decades and that naturally led to a holistic and sustainable approach to their business whose mission is: “To enhance and preserve quality of life for animals, people, and the Earth.” While rapid growth for many companies might lead some astray from their foundational values, Earth Animal demonstrates its steadfast commitment by allocating 1% of its annual sales to organizations, industry stewardship, and mission-driven efforts to further their mission and ensure that sustainability leads the business.
Transparency
Earth Animal sees a need for courageous transparency in the industry and have chosen to not keep their progress secret and proprietary. At Impact Unleashed, the only sustainability event in the industry – Stephanie Volo, Earth Animal’s Chief Marketing Officer and Stewart Shanley, Earth Animal’s Chief Executive Officer both shared real challenges the company has encountered on its journey to set the highest animal welfare standards for all animals.
Collaboration
Earth Animal has donated tools that are free to download from the PSC toolkit including a Sustainable Packaging Supplier Checklist to help companies in the pet industry ensure they are selecting the most sustainable packaging partners and packaging materials wherever possible.
In 2020, Earth Animal is partnering with the PSC and industry distributor sustainability leader, Pet Food Experts to pilot “Flex Forward” — the first pet industry sponsored packaging collection program that will test the collection and recycling of all current flexible plastic bags and pouches used for pet food and treats. Those attending Global Pet Expo at the end of February can visit the Earth Animal booth at 2:00pm on Wednesday, February 27 to learn more.
“Earth Animal is committed to making a positive contribution to our industry and sustainability is in our company’s DNA. It was clear to us though that in order for us to optimize our impact, we required help in developing our strategic roadmap as well as guidance and expert support along the way and the PSC provided that,” states Stephanie Volo, CMO of Earth Animal. “The PSC has really helped us make our founding vision come to life – since becoming a member of the PSC in 2017, we’ve improved our company’s overall positive impact by 25%. And, we feel like we are just getting started!”,” added Stephanie.
