Looking for a Model for Education on Sustainability? Here’s One From the Cannabis Industry
September 11, 2021 
Photo: Humboldt Seeds
Educating your customers on what sustainability really means, and how your business is adopting sustainable practices, can be challenging enough. It’s perhaps even tougher in the cannabis market, where growers must deal with odor control and light abatement concerns, as well as simply keeping up with local regulations.
That’s what makes a new endeavor by AskGrowers, a website that educates consumers and provides an in-depth introduction to cannabis for newcomers and experienced connoisseurs, a great example for the entire controlled-environment industry to follow.
AskGrowers has launched a new feature on its website that it calls “Sustainability in the Cannabis Industry.” The site provides information on the environmental impact that cannabis brands, growers, and consumers have on the planet.
Reliable information on cannabis has been crucial in the last several years. Sustainability in the Cannabis Industry provides education on the following:
- What is sustainability in the cannabis industry?
- Why do you need sustainability?
- What do growers think about sustainability?
- How else can the sustainability of the cannabis industry be improved?
AskGrowers interviewed more than 140 organizations for the website, from brands and growers to dispensaries and labs. Visitors can hear directly from people in the industry like Isaac Ekholm and Melissa Beseda of Wildwood Flower Farm, Imelda Walavalkar of Pure Beauty, and Matthew Frigone of Lazy Bee Garden on the issues and actions they take to make the cannabis industry more environmentally responsible.
Sustainability is an important consideration both on the consumer end and how growers run their cannabis businesses. Even at the height of the pandemic, when jobs were scarce and money tight, sustainability concerns rose across the country, with 78% of buyers saying they factor cannabis sustainability into their buying decisions.
AskGrowers sees several possible ways to improve sustainability in the cannabis industry:
- Certification of brands that meet the standards of the cannabis business.
- Develop policy and regulations that encourage cannabis operators to meet sustainability standards through tax discounts or other preferential advantages.
- Raising awareness for people and businesses within the industry through public opinion.
- Encouraging cannabis growers, retailers, and consumers to consider quality and sustainability in cannabis production, in the same manner they consider such attributes in food and other commonly consumed products.
- Continuing to offer and expand on programs that ensure legal cannabis is not wasted or relegated to the black market.
“Sustainability, though not easy, is not impossible in the cannabis industry. It ultimately hinges on the decisions of brands, growers, and consumers,” says Igor Dunaevsky, Managing Partner, AskGrowers. “Education will be a key piece to it.”
“Everyone involved in the cannabis industry, including state governments, users, dispensaries, and producers need to work together to preserve the environment while enjoying the benefits of cannabis,” says Irene Stepanenko, AskGrowers, CEO.
You can learn more here.
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