Offset the Impact of Eyewear
Consumer interest in sustainability is at an all time high, with increased attention on manufacturers and suppliers to take meaningful action on the climate crisis and other issues. For an Optical Practice, the ability to inform customers of the environmental credentials of eyewear is intuitively desirable, but practices face the challenge that very few eyewear manufacturers are offering carbon neutral products. Practices of course have no control over the carbon status of different products and can only exert consumer preference to a limited degree.
Net Zero Eyecare has developed the Carbon Neutral Eyewear certification standard to allow Optical Practices to take responsibility for the carbon footprint of eyewear’s manufacture and offset it to deliver Carbon Neutral products to customers. Due to the general lack of information on the carbon footprint of different products, this standard is based on the best available data for any eyewear published by dedicated manufacturers. The carbon footprint for an average pair of spectacles may be assumed and applied to all similar products.
This standard is designed to be used by Optical Practices only, recognising the minimal insight or influence practices have on their upstream supply chains, and recommends a broad-brush conversion factor for the carbon footprint of eyewear that’s accessible to Practices. It is of course then encouraged that Practices speak to their suppliers in the pursuit of more precise, product-specific carbon data.
Distributing Suppliers, despite also having little control over the carbon footprints of the products they distribute, are encouraged to work with their suppliers to pursue accurate Product Carbon Footprints for their specific products/ranges, as well as company-wide carbon accounts as described in the Net Zero Carbon Certification Standard for Suppliers.
Download and review the certification standard, then speak to Practice Building arrange your certification audit.
