Truly Going Green: What Is a Sustainable Dispensary?
Written By Eric Schneider, Managing Director at AlphaRoot
Going green is an attractive and increasingly popular concept. This growing trend motivates people to be more sustainable, from families to enterprises. Plus, with environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues becoming more meaningful to consumers and shareholders, dispensaries must make sustainable choices to stay competitive in the cannabis industry. But what does truly going green mean? Let’s review what it takes to be a sustainable dispensary in the modern world.
Make your sustainable dispensary goals a team effort.
A company’s leadership team sets the tone and pace for standards adopted across the workforce, from communication styles to best cybersecurity practices. Going green means building sustainability habits within your organization, starting from the top down.
Directors and officers must foster a healthy environment focused on going green. This endeavor mainly involves dispersing actionable information, ongoing employee training, and rallying team members to accept more responsibility.
Going green is more than only talking about eco-friendly ideas. Instead, it’s an opportunity to infuse your workforce with a passion for sustainability. An excellent place to start is in your organization’s daily routines and habits.
For example, creating a sustainable dispensary isn’t merely using the recycle bin more or turning the lights off in the bathroom. However, these are tiny steps in the right direction. Best of all, these are actionable tasks employees can accomplish each day. So, please take note of these small sustainability habits and reinforce them.
Regarding the bigger picture, consider being sustainability conscious in your business strategy, financial planning, and even investments. These are in-depth patterns and ways to scale your dispensary that will shine through in your business operations. Plus, employees are more likely to adopt the idea of going green when it’s embedded in the dispensary’s overall vision.
Know that a sustainable dispensary extends beyond your doors.
Leaders of a successful dispensary know what it takes to navigate the complicated twists and turns of the cannabis industry. For example, with misaligned local, state, and federal regulations, there are few dependable resources to build a cannabis operation. And the cash-only status only creates another challenging maze for cannabis.
However, no cannabis operation exists in a vacuum. Outside resources are vital to keeping the gears turning, from financial supporters to a solid supply chain. Still, dispensary leaders can’t force sustainability practices onto investors or manufacturers. Instead, it’s up to you to choose resources with similar standards as yours.
A reliable supply chain is often the most challenging resource to come by, especially in the wake of the global pandemic and economic hardships. As thought leaders in technological innovations, SAP Insights provides some considerations for how to select a green supply chain:
Leveraging Technology: Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are excellent ways to identify risks and opportunities. These smart tools can help dispensaries reduce waste and improve efficiency faster and more accurately.
Supply Chain Transparency: Transparency is as essential in a sustainable dispensary as it is in end-to-end supply chain management, from practices to mission statements.
Circular Economy: Many companies reuse products by breaking them down into raw materials and remaking them into usable products. These are the organizations that form a solid green supply chain.
Keep balancing risk and opportunity savvily.
The sweet spot between risk and opportunity is often a fine line, considering the market pendulum can swing severely in one direction at a moment’s notice. One regulation change, such as the SAFE Banking Act, could mean the difference between success and failure.
For dispensaries, truly going green requires “sustainable sustainability.” In other words, can your organization keep its green goals moving forward, regardless of market fluctuations? Typically, this momentum involves the support of key stakeholders, such as investors or even employees.
Also, have you spoken candidly to your insurance broker about your specific needs? Cannabis isn’t a one-size-fits-all industry to protect. Dispensaries must often comply with property safeguards to maintain adequate coverage. Without these protections, sustainable dispensaries often fall short of their green goals, forced to refocus their energy on recovering from financial damage after a loss.
Lastly, opportunities are often tough to spot in the modern world; however, cannabis sales have reached over $35 billion this year already. With more states coming online and sales looking upward, we anticipate more investors will step up. Attracting shareholders isn’t just appearing to be a green dispensary. Due diligence will uncover gaps in your sustainability goals, so be sure to weave the idea of going green throughout your organization, top to bottom. Truly going green will be worth it in the long run.
Eric Schneider is the managing director of AlphaRoot, a tech-enabled cannabis insurance broker in NYC. Empowered by a team of industry veterans with long-standing relationships in the cannabis and agriculture insurance space, AlphaRoot can provide customized coverage and access to select insurance markets. Schneider is dedicated to his clients' best interests, attributing his success to taking steps one at a time instead of focussing solely on the bigger picture. This strategy helped triple AlphaRoot's book of business within its first year. Eric's mantra is to have heart, be smart, and most importantly, have fun — themes carrying the AlphaRoot team into becoming an industry giant.
