The Cost of Silence

We all know environmentally certified sustainable companies are growing faster than their peers. 

Companies that are not certified sustainable have made a conscious decision to abdicate sector leadership and compete for 2^nd place.

However, there is also a further cost – ie, the ‘Cost of Silence’ – to those companies that have not become certified sustainable (ie, either doing nothing or greenwashing). 

This ‘Cost of Silence’ is the continual erosion of market trust.  Companies that are not certified sustainable have a 31% lower reputation score than their peers that are certified sustainable. 

Think about the above point – Not only do companies that are not certified sustainable make less money today and have a lower market image today; but due to their lower market image they will be forced to spend more money in the future, than their certified sustainable peers, to overcome their weaker reputation. 

Pardon the pun, but that is not a sustainable model – you have abdicated leadership, are making less money, have a worse reputation, and have higher costs attached to overcoming the reputation you have created for yourself…..all because you don’t want to listen to what the market is asking of you, which is to do good for the planet.