As this article states, “Corporations across the economy are at risk of losing financial value by either underplaying or overplaying their hand when it comes to sustainability.”

There is a cost attached to greenwashing (ie, overstating your sustainability achievements) and there is also a cost attached to not having a sustainability program or having one and greenhushing (ie, not promoting your validated sustainability achievements).

Both greenwashing and greenhushing are hurting company bottom lines. 

If your sustainability claims are not validated/certified and you are promoting them, it negatively impacts your brand and value.  On the other hand, if you do not have a sustainability program; or if you have a valid/certified sustainability program but are not talking about it; that also negatively impacts your brand and value.

As an example, per the study, if Microsoft did a better job of talking about its sustainability program, it could add approximately $1.5 billion to its overall company value.

Pepsi could add $500 million, or 3%, to its overall value, if it did a better job of promoting its sustainability program.

On the other hand, Tesla, which does not score well on social sustainability or governance, has $4 billion, or 6% of its value, at risk, due to over-promotion of programs that are not certified and are not as good as they claim….and the market sees it.

The key takeaways for your company:

• Like it or not, consumers are evaluating your company on its sustainability effort
• A meaningful part of your company’s value is tied to its sustainability effort
• Greenwashing (promoting a sustainability effort that is not validated/certified by a 3^rd party) will hurt you
• Greenhushing (not promoting a sustainability program that is 3^rd party validated/certified) will hurt you
• You need a 3^rd party certified/validated sustainability program that helps you promote your real/accurate sustainability efforts
• This masterclass explains what to look for in a program

A study discussed in this article reports

• 98% of CEOs believe they need to make their businesses more sustainable
• But 58% believe sustainability is in conflict with growth

Response:  If you believe, as the 58% do, that sustainability is in conflict with growth, you are talking to the wrong sustainability advisors.

The study then asked Next-gen leaders for advice and was told to

• Make sustainability more human, then determine how to do so profitably
• Think long-term and allow sustainability initiatives time to scale
• Broaden the definition of success and collaborate across your ecosystem

Response:  Not sure how many of those next-gen leaders are sitting in the CEO chair.  All three of those solutions suggest reducing or diluting the focus on profit which is not an appealing option for most CEOs.  We suggest the opposite – use sustainability as a profit-driver and prioritize sustainability projects that have the highest ROI.

Simple fact:  For-profit companies are for profit.  Their advisor should build their sustainability program to support that.  This webinar speaks to that point.

Unlimited Auto Wash of Palm Beach Gardens, FL, is part of the six-location Unlimited Auto Wash Club that serves South Florida.  Unlimited Auto Wash is a 100% Full Service Hand Car Wash with over 175 employees.  It cares deeply about the environment and the community it serves and has renewed its Edenark Group ISO 14001 environmental sustainability certification through 2025.

The Edenark Group ISO 14001 is the world’s premier environmental sustainability certification program and allows SMEs (small to mid-sized enterprises) the ability to attain the world’s most popular environmental certification standard via a program designed and priced specifically for them.  This allows an organization to validate, via 3^rd party audit against the world’s top standard, its environmental / sustainability / green / eco-friendly actions.

The program, which allows companies to progressively improve at a pace that works for their needs, helps the organization define how it interacts internally, externally, and with the environment.  It incorporates energy/waste/water, employee health and performance enhancement, community involvement, procurement and suppliers, compliance and regulations, emergency/security, and stakeholder engagement.  Benefits include creating a culture of continual improvement, stakeholder engagement, lower costs, higher revenues and profits, improved employee performance, and…… doing the right thing for the environment for current and future generations.   

“We are the first, and only, environmentally certified sustainable car wash operation in Palm Beach County, Florida.   We do things the right way, raised the bar for our industry in 2024, and plan to keep the bar high in 2025,” says Kevin Dalton, CEO of Unlimited Auto Wash.  “The Edenark Group ISO 14001 sustainability certification program provides us the opportunity to show all our stakeholders – our customers, our employees, our vendors and our community – the kind of organization we are.” 

“Sustainability is not a one-and-done event.  It is a process of continual improvement.  Any organization that claims to be sustainable and does not have an annual certification via a globally recognized program with 3^rd party verification is greenwashing; they are not willing to have their actions validated.  When an organization attains and renews the Edenark Group ISO 14001 sustainability certification, they are not just doing it to see their costs go down and revenues and profits go up; they are setting a higher bar for their organization and sending a signal to all those around them,” says David Goodman, CEO of Edenark Group.  “They agree to adhere to the world’s Gold standard for sustainability certification; are choosing to be a leader and part of the solution, not the problem; and are joining an elite fraternity of over 300,000 organizations, in over 150 countries, that have committed to continually improve in every way.”

Unlimited Auto Wash can be reached at +1 561-WASH-ME-2

Edenark Group can be reached at +1 561.512.2257   

Per the study in this article, new evidence is suggesting our long-term memory is not solely dependent on our short-term memory.

“The prevailing theory suggested a single pathway, where short-term memories were consolidated into long-term memories. However, we now have strong evidence of at least two distinct pathways to memory formation — one dedicated to short-term memories and another to long-term memories. This could mean our brains are more resilient than previously thought.”

Playing this out, if someone is suffering from short-term memory loss (dementia, Alzheimer’s, long-COVID, brain fog, et cetera), it may not mean their entire memory function will be lost.

Further, if we add this study to studies like the one in this post, which suggests that the brain continues to rebuild even when people are older, it may be possible, with the proper tools, to keep the long-term memory strong as we fight to reduce the inflammation and toxins that have weakened the short-term memory.

Point is, if you have a loved one suffering from short-term memory loss, don’t give up.

Give us a call at Gym for the Brain if you would like to discuss.

Are you listening to your customer?

88% of consumers want you, a company selling them products/services, to help them make a difference, by being more environmentally friendly.

This is consistent with other studies that show that 87% of the largest buying group (Under 40 Consumer) and 71% of ALL consumers, will move their business to a certified sustainable company.

25% of consumers have already changed vendors due to their desire to find a certified sustainable company.  Did you win any of that business?

The next 20 – 43% of consumers moving their business is in play right now.  Will you be a giver or taker for this market share?

Large organizations are mandated by their own sustainability programs to move their vendor relationships to certified sustainable companies.  As vendors, this will be a curse for some and an opportunity for others.  Which will it be for your company?

Your customer is speaking.  Are you listening?

Press Release

United Tech Employee Management, a Palm Beach, Florida-based, family-owned, employee leasing, payroll, workers’ comp, and unemployment administration company, has renewed its Edenark Group ISO 14001 environmental sustainability certification through 2025.

The Edenark Group ISO 14001 is the world’s premier environmental sustainability certification program and allows SMEs (small to mid-sized enterprises) the ability to attain the world’s most popular environmental certification standard via a program designed and priced specifically for them.

The program, which allows companies to progressively improve at a pace that works for their needs, helps the organization define how it interacts internally, externally, and with the environment.  It incorporates energy/waste/water, employee health and performance enhancement, community involvement, procurement and suppliers, compliance and regulations, emergency/security, and stakeholder engagement.  Benefits include creating a culture of continual improvement, stakeholder engagement, lower costs, higher revenues and profits, improved employee performance, and…… doing the right thing for the environment.

“We have deep desire to help improve our community; serving people and protecting future generations is at the core of our culture.  We are choosing to be part of the solution,” said Kristina Smith, President of United Tech Employee Management.  “Our model allows our services to scale and grow as our clients grow. We like the fact that the Edenark Group ISO 14001 program follows the same philosophy of progressive improvement, allowing us to continue to grow and improve in our sustainability effort every year,” added Smith.

“Sustainability is not a one-and-done event.  It is a process of continual improvement.  Any organization that claims to be sustainable and does not have an annual certification via a globally-recognized program with 3^rd party verification is greenwashing; they are not willing to have their actions validated.  When an organization attains and renews the Edenark Group ISO 14001 sustainability certification, they are not just doing it to see their costs go down and revenues and profits go up; they are setting a higher bar for their organization and sending a signal to all those around them,” says David Goodman, CEO of Edenark Group.  “They are agreeing to adhere to the world’s Gold standard for sustainability certification; are choosing to be a leader and part of the solution, not the problem; and are joining an elite fraternity of over 300,000 organizations, in over 150 countries, that have committed to continually improve in every way.”

United Tech Employee Management can be reached at +1 561.594.4892

Edenark Group can be reached at +1 561.512.2257

The medical community has long believed that our cognitive abilities start deteriorating after +/- age 25.

But a new study that we discuss in this post, shows that brains in older adults can still rebuild and grow.  In effect, the fundamental machinery to produce new neurons remains intact throughout life.

These findings suggest that cognitive decline might not be due to new neurons but rather in how these cells connect and communicate.

Connectivity and communication are negatively impacted by inflammation, toxins, and a lack of oxygen.

Your body uses oxygen to maintain and rebuild.  As you get older, more parts of your body need help and more oxygen is needed.

Normally, your brain uses roughly 20% of the oxygen you take in.  If you have multiple areas of your body yelling “Help me”, your brain is simply not getting enough oxygen to fight off the toxins and inflammation, and also rebuild.  This leads to reduced cognition.

But, if we stimulate the brain with more oxygen, we can help it rebuild and remain healthy.

This is what we are seeing in our Gym for the Brain clients.

Point is, as we head into a new year, you do not need to give up or accept your gradual mental decline.  Your brain is ready to rebuild when you are ready to help it do so.

Here are a few things we have touched on in the past few days:

• The media wants to, for free, promote your company, when you decide to become environmentally certified sustainable
• But what should you look for in a program?
• And, even if you get certified, who would help you talk about it?
• And, if you talk about it, do good things happen?
• But, helping save the planet aside, are there really financial benefits to becoming certified sustainable?
• Ok, but what about retention? Do organizations that sign up, re-up?

As we turn our attention to 2025….

Are You Doing All You Can to Grow Your Company?

HAVE YOU DONE EVERYTHING TO MAXIMIZE MARGINS?

Per Nielsen, a certified sustainable company, promoting same, enjoys a 5% year-on-year price increase.  Its non-sustainable competitors grow prices 1% year-on-year.

If you are not a certified sustainable company, and enjoying the promotional benefits of same, per Nielsen, you are leaving 4% on the table, year-on-year.

HOW ARE YOU DIFFERENTIATING YOUR BUSINESS?

Per MIT / BCG, the biggest challenge facing your business is competitive differentiation.

Per Cone / Ebiquity Global CSR, 84% of consumers seek companies that have differentiated by becoming certified sustainable.

Per Symbola, companies that have differentiated with our standard are growing 20x faster than their non-certified competitive peers.

If you are not certified sustainable, you are not growing as fast as your competitors who are?

HOW WILL YOU INFLUENCE THE LARGEST BUYING GROUP?

Per Forbes, the largest buying group (19 – 39 year olds) disbelieve 99% of all advertising that does not have 3^rd party verification/certification.

Further, per Forbes, before visiting a company or purchasing a product, they review a company’s environmental standing and 9 out of 10 (87%) of them will then purchase from, and remain loyal to, a company that has proven (certified) its environmental standing.

If your competitor becomes certified sustainable before you, you will lose market share.

WILL YOU BE A MARKET SHARE GIVER OR TAKER?

Per a number of studies/reports, including Unilever, there is a +$2 Trillion gap between consumers looking to move their business to certified sustainable organizations….and the availability of same.

This takes us back to the Symbola study showing that certified sustainable small to mid-sized businesses are growing 20x faster than their non-certified peers.

If you are not certified sustainable and a competitor becomes so, you will be a market share giver.

WILL YOU BE TOO BUSY TO TAKE BUSINESS FROM YOUR COMPETITORS?

Per an A. T. Kearney study, sustainable companies outperform their peers by 15%.

Yet, the top reason executives give for not pursuing sustainability is, “I’m too busy.”  

So, back to the first question as we prepare for 2025 – Are you doing all you can to grow your company?