In this article in Progressive Grocer, Jostein Solheim, currently EVP of Unilever, says “When I started in 2010 as CEO of Ben and Jerry’s, I was asked, ‘Why are you doing all this [sustainability] stuff?’ Now, it’s like, why aren’t they doing it? In 10 years’ time, the situation has flipped, and the reason is because consumers care, and they feel they can make a difference by buying the products that do better for the things they care about.”

With 7 out of 10 consumers now willing to move their business if they find a certified sustainable company that offers a similar product, Jostein saw where consumer demand and loyalty was headed.

This is why we built the Edenark Group ISO 14001 sustainability certification program for small to mid-sized enterprises (SMEs).  We wanted to design a program that met the needs of the SME; giving them a cost-effective way to satisfy the demand of their consumer – to do the right thing for the environment – while also supporting the financial and operational needs of the company to grow and take market share.

This article explains why sustainability certification will help a SME stand out; and what a SME should consider when thinking of becoming sustainable.

Per this article, a study by Infosys revealed that 90% of executives said their ESG spending led to moderate/significant financial returns.

Here are a few interesting findings from the report:

• ESG is a proven moneymaker – a 10 percentage point increase in ESG spending correlated with a 1% increase in profit growth.

• Don’t stop with the E – Adding the S and G once you have the E will improve profitability.

• Adding ESG staff increases profitability – Upwards of 2% in profit and revenue growth.

• Supply chain transparency matters – Convincing your suppliers to become sustainable helps you attain your Scope 3 goals….which helps you win more business.

If you want to know how to start, follow the points in this PPP.  You will be happy you did.

Per this article, sustainability can impact profit in at least these nine ways.  We like the article, but take the points further:

• Lower costs – Although the article does not give a percentage, a study by BAR shows 99% of certified sustainable companies under our standard enjoy lower costs.

• Increased revenues – The article talks about green buildings, but a better study, by Unilever, shows sustainable brands exceeding their non-sustainable peers by a +30% revenue increase.

• Higher capital value – Again, the article talks about real estate, but a BAR study of businesses shows a +11% increase in EBITDA for certified sustainable companies. Conservative trading multiples of 4x – 8x would deliver a 44% – 88% value differential between certified sustainable companies and their non-certified peers.

• ROI – The article included ROI with capital value and did not give a number. MIT did a study that shows a +67% investor ROI increase for certified sustainable companies versus their non-certified peers.

• Leveraging broadband investment – The article speaks to this but we will not, as it is not a relevant issue for most businesses.

• Brand – Now we are getting somewhere with the article, as it talks about sustainable brands outperforming their non-sustainable peers by 120%.

• Customer engagement – The article speaks to longer customer visits in retail stores, but gives no hard study data. We have received reports back from our clients (however, this is a small sample size and certainly not a tight research study) on how their conversations with new prospects are over twice as long and produce (an average over the clients reporting) a 6x conversion to a follow on discussion when they incorporate their sustainability certification status early in the presentation.  Again, this is not a large, 3^rd-party-run study. 

• Recruiting – The article talks about younger workers caring about an employer’s reputation. We have reported on multiple studies that show +60% of all prospects want to work for a certified sustainable company.  That new hire may accept your job offer, but if you are not certified sustainable, odds are they will not stay, costing you the time and money of hiring/training.

• Health and wellness – The article talks about energy-related items positively impacting health and wellness. We take it much further and an entire part of our service, named ‘A Better World Starts With Me’ is focused on the performance, health and happiness of your employees, which helps drive profitability.

The data supporting sustainability driving higher profits is consistent, strong and from many sources.

This Inc. article, titled “Corporate Sustainability Isn’t Just for the Big Guys” touches on the following reasons why all companies, no matter how small, should become certified sustainable –

• If you are a small company, you have an easier time interacting with, and understanding, the demands/needs of your stakeholders – employees, management, owners, vendors, customers, prospects, community – that your company become sustainable.

• Once known, the demands/needs of your stakeholders – employees, management, owners, vendors, customers, prospects, community – should not be ignored. If you do not listen to what your stakeholders are telling you, others will take your place and serve them.

• It will enhance your hiring and retention of top talent.

• Your costs will go down.

• It will improve your ability to attract money – debt and equity investment in certified sustainable companies is expected to rise to $50 trillion within the next 36 months.

• If you are small and/or private, you get the good without the bad – You get the above benefits without the scrutiny that large/public companies face.

• You have a (large/public company) path to follow.

Edenark Group can help you get there.

Per this article, IT leaders are advancing sustainability in their departments and their businesses.

Due to the pandemic, global conflict and climate change, global awareness of environmental, social and governance topics has gone up.

Further, the belief that ‘sustainability is someone else’s problem’ has been replaced with a take-charge attitude.

As such, interest and activity has dramatically increased – 90% of companies are adopting ESG programs.

For organizations that want to consider sustainability but do not know where to start, we recommend following the 8 points listed in this PPP.

According to the World Economic Forum, as stated in this article, about 90% of all companies on the planet are small to mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) and of this group, two thirds are fighting for survival.

The article gives six major problems faced by SMEs.

To each we give a response.

Top challenges facing SMEs

• Problem – 67% are struggling with maintaining and growing the business, low margins, and unable to expand to new markets and new clients/customers.
• Solution – Companies certified sustainable under our standard are able to differentiate, are growing up to 20x faster than their non-certified peers, are generating 7x margins versus their non-certified competitive peers, and have 7 out of 10 consumers willing to move their business to them.

• Problem – 48% struggle with attracting and retaining talent.
• Solution – The majority of all workers want to work for certified sustainable companies; this allows certified sustainable companies to hire and retain better talent, at lower wages.

• Problem – 34% struggle with maintaining a strong culture with clear company purpose and value.
• Solution – If a company pursues, attains and maintains sustainability certification, this becomes core to its purpose and values….and 90% of the world support a SME being certified sustainable.

• Problem – 25% struggle with keeping up with technology demands from the market.
• Solution – Certified sustainable companies incorporate advanced technology as part of their energy reduction and operational efficiency projects.

• Problem – 24% struggle with access to affordable funding and access to capital.
• Solution – Certified sustainable companies receive more funding (both debt and equity) and at lower cost (on both debt and equity) than their non-certified competitors.

• Problem – 22% struggle with government policies and regulations.
• Solution – Companies certified under our program have, as part of their certification process, an analysis and alignment with government regulations.

While being certified sustainable does not solve every corporate problem; it can certainly contribute to helping solve many of the ones that keep SME leaders up at night.

As this article, titled “Sustainability is no longer a ‘nice to have’ goal for the data center industry”, states:

• Data center operators can no longer consider implementing a sustainability strategy as a “checklist item” since failing to meet sustainability targets may result in lost clients, higher rates, and perhaps even carbon taxes or government fees introduced to penalize less “green” companies. In a more stringent scenario, regulation and legislation may induce data center operators that are less efficient or not focused on sustainability to quit their activity altogether if they cannot comply with environmental regulations.
• The data center industry faces pressure from multiple sources — including government, financial markets and corporate clients — to improve sustainability and reduce carbon emissions. A sustainability strategy is no longer a simple “nice to have” item for data center operators; in the future, it may determine whether an operator succeeds or fails. Additionally, with financial organizations at both ends of the data center transaction — as both clients and providers of capital — data center owners and operators will need to meet a wide range of sustainability demands when seeking to fund future projects, particularly as pressure increases for private equity and real estate investors to make more green investments.

With regulatory pressure, investor pressure and customer pressure, all bearing down, data centers need to be proactive and use sustainability certification as a way to differentiate from competitors.  This PPP defines the eight items your business should look for in a sustainability program.