Making This A Better World: A Work In Progress

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These days, there is a collective need to be good for the world. Society wants us to be greener, to be ethical and to have a purpose. Many businesses, especially bigger brands, have successfully aligned their mission with this new collective social conscious. They are working hard towards using 100% green materials, producing with 100% sustainable suppliers, or becoming 100% ethical. But for smaller businesses, particularly creative entrepreneurs, the idea of having to adapt their business to become 100% good for the world can be daunting. Where does one start?

Achieving 100% of anything might not be realistic. Being 100% of something implies that we are done, that we have reached the end of our efforts, and that there is nothing else left to do. But, the reality is that just our mere existence as a business and as a human being has an impact on the planet. To be 100% green and have zero impact in the world we would have to stop existing altogether.

A better approach to sustainability and ethical practices would be to become a work in progress. When you are a work in progress, it means that you are constantly assessing your business and your processes to improve them. It means that you know that your efforts to be better for the planet and for society are never over. And, if you look at it this way, it becomes easier to start slowly and apply changes as you go where you see that they are needed.

To start running a more sustainable and ethical practice, you could start by identifying where improvements can be made. Then, you make a plan of how you are going to apply those changes.

For instance, our photography businesses run on electronic equipment. This equipment has a limited lifespan. Even if we tried to get our money’s worth, we would still have to replace our cameras, computers and phones every 5 years because, otherwise, they become obsolete. Our equipment also uses batteries and, nowadays, most of these batteries have a lifespan of 3 years.

A simple step towards becoming greener could be buying products that will last longer. Equipment that will not force you to replace it too often. If you have to change it, try to repurpose the old one. Use it as a backup, sell it on the second-hand market, or find ways to reuse its individual parts.

Buy from suppliers and manufacturers that are environmentally conscious, those who use less packaging material, and those who have strict environmental policies in place. Try implementing other actions like remembering to turn off electrical equipment when not in use, or buying rechargeable batteries whenever possible.

When it comes to ethical practices, asking yourself a few questions might help. Are your suppliers running businesses with ethical policies in place? Are you paying your collaborators fairly? Are you championing diversity and inclusion in your projects? Do your clients align with your ethos? Is there something else that you could do to have a positive impact on your community?

Contact your current suppliers and ask them about their ethical and equality policies. Find out if you are paying your collaborators a fair living wage. Make a list of those clients who no longer align with your ethos and think of how you can get more like-minded clients and reduce your dependency from the ones who are not. Pay attention to pressing issues in your area and think of ways in which your business can contribute to improving your community.

The unexamined practice is not worth running. We should make the effort to be in a state of constant work in progress, of constant self-improvement. As businesses, our goal is to make a profit. But, in order to make a profit, we need clients who are part of healthy economies and stable communities. If we want to guarantee those conditions, we must make it part of our core mission to benefit and improve the world.

Photo credit: portrait by Ivan Weiss.

Why Are We Doing This?

Philosophers have been blamed for just trying to understand the world instead of trying to change it, while photographers have been accused of just trying to collect it. However, Photography and Documentary are two words that don’t necessarily go together. Any type of photographer should use their tools to question the present and offer their audience a different perspective on the issues that they care for the most. Every time we press the shutter, we must ask ourselves why are we doing this and how is my work contributing to making this a better world.

I know that this is easier said than done, especially if you are a commercial photographer. We all have bills to pay and mouths to feed, and we can’t just go around hand-picking all the projects in which we get involved.

Also, it is very naive to suggest that we can inform all the projects we get involved in or that we can influence all of our clients with the way that we see the world. However, these are certainly things that we can try to do as much as we can even if it’s not possible a hundred per cent of the times.

Nevertheless, there are changes that we can definitely do to our businesses right now to have a positive impact on the world:

• Become ethical and sustainable brands ourselves. Promote our ethos in our narratives and the changes that we are doing to our businesses to influence those who follow us on social media and our online channels. That way, clients and peers will learn where we stand on the issues that we care for, and that may also influence them to make changes in their businesses. You might even get new business from like-minded brands.

• Take advantage of the slower times of the year to work on personal projects that have social impact and motivate change.

• Write a blog and tell our readers about what moves us and how we are changing the world through our photography work.

• Take time off to volunteer our time to work with organisations that are working on a cause in which we strongly believe.

• And probably the most important thing that we can do is look in the mirror and ask ourselves why are we doing what we are doing and how are we contributing to the world. And, if we are not contributing at all, ask ourselves what changes do we need to make for our work to start having impact.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, the times when we sat down just waiting for someone else to change the world are long gone. This is the time to act, and you don't have to be an activist to make change. We can all have an impact on the world.

Photo credit: behind the scenes taken by Nicole Gray.

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