1.TOTAL PARCO

With Naya Pakistan in the making, conservation has become a popular bandwagon for many brands. TOTAL PARCO rallied customers with their ‘Team Up To Clean Up’ campaign, distributing handy, in-car trash receptacles to discourage drivers from throwing litter out of their window. A simple and practical initiative to counter this rampant epidemic.

2. Byco

Byco (another oil and gas company) were determined to make Pakistan green again – this time by planting trees. They launched their 2018 Independence Day campaign by planting 1,000 trees in Karachi’s urban forest, adding to the Billion Tree Tsunami with another 2,000 at Byco’s bowser village near their refinery in Balochistan. They also distributed over two million free moringa tree seeds (via pouches) to their customers.

3. Sapphire

You may not expect fashion brands to be particularly eco-friendly, but Sapphire started a new trend by switching their conventional plastic bags with biodegradable ones embedded with plant seeds. Using simple instructions printed on the side of the bag, shoppers could tear the bag into pieces and plant them directly into the soil. Whoever imagined that lawn bags would blossom into actual gardens?

4. Starbucks

There are about 150 million tons of plastic floating in the oceans today. Starbucks is one global giant (out of seven) to have pledged to do away with plastic straws in their outlets by 2020 and so help curb environmental waste on a major scale.

5. IKEA

The eco-conscious Swedish furniture giant is collaborating with 21 designers to create a range of over 60 products made from recycled material, such as plastic bottles, used wood and second-hand furniture. These ‘no waste’ products aimed at young, urban dwellers, deliver high design values at an affordable price. IKEA has even started buying back used furniture from their customers to be refurbished and resold. Now that is how you build a better world yourself.

Taimur Tajik is Head of Creative, Manhattan International.