Founders Q+A: Canopey
Canopey on ethical buying and building trust through transparency
Canopey co-founder, Thomas Panton, discusses some of the challenges that both consumers and sustainable businesses face today and how Canopey offers a solution to these, by streamlining the complex task of buying better. Thomas and his co-founders Hugo and Abrar understand the importance of building consumer trust in businesses that are doing good, and that this comes from honesty and transparency. They believe in businesses doing what they can at each stage of growth, and that trying and working at bettering your impact is something to be celebrated.
From left to right: Hugo, Abrar and Thomas.
ESGmark®: What inspired you to found Canopey?
TP: It's incredibly hard to shop sustainably. With multiple platforms for different things from verifying claims, to education, to shopping, to tracking impact, it's left nearly 50% of consumers finding it so complicated that they don't even bother trying. After a decade of working closely with individuals in the climate sector to understand what the barriers to adopting sustainable lifestyle choices are, I turned my focus to tackling that problem at the source. Removing the barriers, streamlining the process of buying better, and giving back proper trust. If we're going to solve the climate crisis, every sector needs to tie sustainability with convenience, so Canopey is here to solve that for shopping online.
ESGmark®: What makes Canopey different from other ethical marketplaces?
TP: Canopey's real differentiator is that we're the only platform that completely streamline the ethical consumer journey. Whilst other self-proclaimed "ethical" marketplaces give you a place to shop, there's a lack of trust in the verification of claims, there's very little learning capability, and none of them allow you to track your impact and get rewarded for making better choices. Canopey verifies the claims of brands and their products with transparent evidence requests, brings them into one platform where you can learn and shop, and gives you powerful impact stats to show the carbon emissions, water waste, and plastic waste you're saving compared to the mainstream alternative. One platform, one user journey.
ESGmark®: What has been your biggest challenge in setting up and growing Canopey?
TP: I think the answer that many startups will give is time & capital. This is no different for us. However, one thing that I think has been a challenge specific to us is making sure people see us as more than a marketplace - yes, that's our model, but there's so much more than that going on. We didn't want to just set up a shop, build a calculator, or create another certification; doing any of those things independently doesn't help the consumer shop more sustainably, because it just adds more confusion to an already fragmented market with a lack of trust. We knew we needed to bring all those things into one platform and create something truly unique and innovative which makes it easier for everyone to buy better, and this naturally came with it’s own challenges both technically and communication wise.
ESGmark®: Do you have any examples of where the brands you host or businesses you partner with have inspired you?
TP: There are loads! I'm forever inspired and proud of the businesses that have been endeavouring to create a world where buying better is normalised because it's not easy and there are so many things that we need to overcome (hopefully Canopey solves some of those!). But to name a few - Wild Cosmetics, Keep Cup, and Ocean Bottle have really shown us how you can take a consumer product and make it both sustainable and commercially attractive. Of course, some of ESGmark®'s own clients sell with Canopey which is amazing since I'm forever impressed with ESGmark®'s move to make it easier for businesses to improve and relay their claims!
And away from consumer products, we're partnered with some incredible organisations from Surfers Against Sewage to Ecologi, from the Million Tree Pledge to 1% For The Planet, they're all pushing for a better world and it's an honour to get to work alongside them.
On a slightly geekier note; I am always humbled by the incredible climate scientists I get to work alongside at the University of East Anglia and Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research. These are the real pioneers of bringing climate science to the forefront of our society!
ESGmark®: What do you see as some of the main challenges facing sustainable and ethical businesses?
TP: I think there are two main ones. The first is getting people to understand that spending money on a sustainable product and/or ethical business is better in the long run. Buying a £35 reusable water bottle made from recycled materials once will save you on average £1303 over its lifetime - mental right! It's about how we relay that information to the consumer to help them buy better, to begin with. The other challenge of course is making sure you've got the evidence to back up your claims! Big changes are coming and have already started being implemented as seen with the CMA's Green Claims Code - it's so so important that as a business which is calling itself ethical or sustainable, you can back up those relatively generic claims.
ESGmark®: As a company that offsets unavoidable emissions, what advice would you give to a company considering their carbon offsetting options?
TP: There are three important points here. Offsetting isn't the answer, make sure they're verified, and be transparent. The first is simple, you can't just do the math, and then offset for the rest of time - you need to be finding ways to reduce that impact wherever possible - for us, that's looking at where we're hosting our platforms, where we work, how we travel, what we buy, the services we use etc. And keep doing that, every year as you grow.
The second is more complicated, but by using platforms like Ecologi which are verifying those offsets for you it can make it so much easier to make sure you're doing it properly. And look sometimes places get it wrong - we saw that with Verra recently - but remember this is still a relatively new industry, and I think so long as it wasn't done with malice or intentional misleading then we need to be kinder to those that are at least trying and support them in doing better.
This leads me nicely to the third point; being transparent and clear with everyone in your pipeline about where you are, where you intend to go, and why there might be challenges, is going to help you so much in the long run. It doesn't let you off doing the first two and making sure you're doing them imminently, but it does mean you can't be called out for lying or greenwashing which is super important in this new age of sustainability.
ESGmark®: It’s great to see that you’ve not only taken the SME Carbon pledge to be net zero by 2030, but have achieved it already. How do you set goals for yourself beyond this, and what are you working on now?
TP: Reducing where we can and making sure that if there are changes we're honest and clear about why there are changes. We're an early-stage company, it's super easy to hit these targets early on, it becomes much harder for bigger companies. During my time at Greenpeace, whilst of course, we were pressuring for immediate change, we were also very aware of the time it may take to get there. This same sentiment has been brought into Canopey: do everything we possibly can, with the resources we have, and then assess how we can improve from that point onwards. Gotta say though, it's nice to already be in an extremely strong position going into launch!
ESGmark®: What are you reading/listening to at the moment?
TP: Great question! So I seem to be on a never-ending cycle of listening to the first seasons of Startup by Gimlet Media but I always say that (a must-listen for founders though!) so here are a couple of other things I'm watching/reading/listening to.
Firstly, watching: Succession on Now TV. It's amazing how many people see this and think it's satire - there are so many similarities between these characters and the real world, and it's a good reminder of why we're trying to build a better type of business.
Secondly, reading: The New Crusades: Islamophobia & Global War on Muslims. As a Muslim, I'm incredibly passionate about equality, and this is a very good insight into the daily lives of Muslims and the wider world. I think it's a must-read for anyone who considers themselves "politically aware" because in the West we love to preach equality but only when it suits us. Sorry, a bit deep there.
Finally, listening: Sorry but nothing helpful for your readers...I'm going through a K-Pop phase! But if you want something valuable - MIT’s TILclimate podcast is really good at simplifying complicated climate science!
For more on Canopey, head over to their website.
Speaking to our founders is central to keeping the ESGmark® community connected - read our other interviews with myPTA on socially responsible business and running an app, Prosody London on natural fragrance and business karma, or Dandelion Branding on holistic branding.
