When is a POS campaign demonstrably sustainable? When the CO2 calculator spits out a minus 40%, that’s already a pretty good indicator, according to Eleonora Bodulusic, Director of Sustainability at LIGANOVA.

We talk less about transparency and more about sustainability. We’ve noticed that very few brands have a comprehensive view of the entire value chain, even though there are significant levers at the point of sale.

Definitely one of the most significant factors. We conduct a lot of research in the field of materials. In this context, our CO2 calculation software, the Green Gen Calculator, was developed, which assists us in precise CO2 calculations for store design, POS campaigns, or events. Additionally, we’ve developed our own ‘Material Library’ where we collect data such as CO2 emissions and processing information for new materials. Here, we collaborate with our partner Raumprobe, Europe’s largest material database.

Exactly. In this context, our main focus is on continually educating our project teams with these updates and motivating them to incorporate new ideas into the projects and experiment with new alternatives.

Most of the time, yes, especially for the innovative ones. But, particularly in the field of films and textiles, there are good and cost-neutral options available.

The price question is always a challenge when we talk about sustainability. This should not be sugar-coated. The second significant challenge for our clients – and for us – is maintaining the brand identity and DNA, which is paramount. However, there are now many ways to address these challenges. Sustainable design doesn’t have to look sustainable: so, far from brown, beige, and boring. Sustainability doesn’t have to be restrictive either. With our long-time client Nespresso, we’ve been working for several years to make the point of sale as sustainable as possible. For example, through our CO2 calculation software, we’ve managed to save over 40% of CO2 in point of sale design from 2018 to today – even though the campaigns are still designed within the brand’s design guidelines. The Green Gen Calculator, for example, transparently shows how much CO2 can be saved by using a more sustainable alternative for a material.

An interesting case was the Adidas campaign for the first Primegreen Stan Smith made from recycled materials, which should also make a clear statement at the point of sale. Here, we fully embraced circular materials and designed according to eco-design principles. For instance, we worked with many layered elements that allowed for a 3D effect but could be shipped in a space-saving manner. At the end of the campaign, most of the used materials were returned to our recycling loop to give them a new life. So, the bottle caps that we used as design elements were sent back to the manufacturer, cleaned, and reused.

A very important one. After all, the point of sale is the meeting place between the brand, people, and the product. How subtly or explicitly this information is conveyed must align with the brand’s overall strategy.