This article asks if your board is an ESG leader or follower?

As most privately owned companies do not have a board of directors, let’s broaden the statement to say…

-“Are those that you turn for advice knowledgeable on sustainability/ESG, and capable of providing you with sound guidance?”

We know:

• Consumers, B2C clients, workers, governments, lenders, your community, your family and investors, are all expecting you to demonstrate the steps you are taking to show you are environmentally sustainable and promote diversity and equality;
• If not already faced with this, your company will soon be required to report on its Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions;
• Lenders are incorporating sustainability into their pricing and you will pay more if you are not certified sustainable;
• Prospective employees may take a job with you short term, but the majority of them will continue looking if you are not certified sustainable and have an acceptable ESG program;
• Clients will move their business from you to certified sustainable options when they find them;
• Insurance carriers can rate you as a higher risk if you are not certified sustainable;
• Potential buyers/investors in your company will value you higher if you are certified sustainable;
• Companies that are certified sustainable via a globally-respected program are growing 75% – 20x faster than their non-certified peers;
• Companies that are certified sustainable via a globally-respected program are enjoying +24% Net Income and +11% EBITDA versus their non-certified competitive peers.

Are your advisors able to help you understand and navigate these matters?

If not, consider adding an advisor that has this knowledge and can counsel you on same.

Recently, we posted these eight things you want in a sustainability program.

Years ago, our CEO worked in the HBA industry and was responsible for marketing fragrances, cosmetics and toiletries. 

Kristy Doolan interviewed our CEO for this article in Cosmetics Design Europe.

In the article, Kristy highlights the following points, which are consistent with statements we have also made in recent articles and posts –

• Green claims are held under a microscope – Greenwashing is being pursued by regulatory agencies and consumers

• Go Green or go home – If you are not able to prove you are a sustainable company, you are in trouble

• Purchase influence – The majority of consumers are considering sustainability when making a purchase

• Sustainability is growing in importance – As we posted recently, sustainability is already the #1 issue in the world….yet it continues to grow

• Greenwashing is out – Following on the point above, they are going to investigate if you are certified via a reputable program and if not, the reaction is not going to be good for your brand

• Reduction of carbon footprint is also important – Make sure your sustainability program includes the ability to also certify you for carbon neutrality

• The 8 things you want in a sustainability program – Kristy then presents our list of 8 things you should look for in a sustainability program

If you feel Kristy makes a good point, watch this master class and contact us.

Audio–visual entrainment (AVE) uses light and sound to stimulate neurotransmitters, increase cerebral blood flow, produce deep autonomic calming, and excite and reestablish neural networks.

Per this medical article in ScienceDirect, clinical studies show AVE helping the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), worry, depression, anxiety, cognitive decline, balance and memory in seniors, concussion, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), seasonal affective disorder (SAD), and pain remediation.

AVE also improves focus and concentration, leading to improved workplace performance, athletic performance and academic performance.

At Gym for the Brain, we combine AVE with our other modalities, to create a powerful overall benefit.

Per this article from the Harvard Law School Forum, here, in descending order, are ten corporate sustainability priorities for 2025.

10. AI: AI offers sustainability gains but raises potential environmental, social & governance (ESG) risks.
11. Sustainability storytelling: Beyond core disclosure, effective storytelling can engage diverse audiences and advance goals.
12. Business integration: The embedding of ESG into core functions is uneven but increasingly urgent.
13. Biodiversity: Nature risks are rising; disclosures are growing but measurement remains complex.
14. Water stewardship: Water stress is accelerating local risk strategies and reporting.
15. Supply chain transparency: Due diligence laws and reputational risk are driving deeper supplier scrutiny.
16. Climate strategy: Companies are deepening climate disclosure and aligning capital with risk, despite the evolving policy environment.
17. Return on investment (ROI): Internal expectations are rising to show the business case for sustainability investments.
18. ESG reporting regulations: Mandatory disclosure rules are expanding but increasingly fragmented across jurisdictions.
19. Policy shifts: US policy shifts are reshaping ESG language, legal review, and strategy.

What does this mean for you?

• Don’t think AI is free. It has serious environmental costs.  Decide when you use it with that in mind.
• People respond to stories. If you become certified sustainable, talk about it.  You will see the benefit.
• Our environmental problems will not go away just because politicians are afraid of them.
• If you are part of a supply chain, or wish to be, seriously consider becoming certified sustainable.
• Your sustainability program should provide a positive ROI. If not, you have the wrong program.

This article gives five things to look for to determine if a brand or company is greenwashing:

• Vague or ambiguous claims
• Lack of third-party certification
• Contrary practices
• No transparency
• Narrow sustainability focus

Obviously, we are biased.  However, if you are certified under a legitimate program, it will help address the other four.  If you are not certified under a legitimate program, the other four often occur.

If you want the market benefit of consumers rewarding you for being sustainable without the risk of being called out for greenwashing, become certified sustainable.

If this makes sense, read this on what you want in a sustainability program, watch this master class, and contact us.

We realize this will not be received well by some, but we hope it will educate the rest of you to think twice before you push that button.

Although the concept of artificial intelligence (AI) has been in play for centuries (we had chess-playing machines over 100 years ago), and the mid-1950’s (80 years ago!) is generally considered the official start of AI as a field, it seems everyone has become an expert in the past few years.

Further, with free services like ChatGPT available to anyone at any time, it is hard not to be lazy and use AI to formulate what you had previously used your brain for.

How is the accuracy?

• Due to the small sample size, this is not a scientifically defensible study, but our team has tested a few of the Large Language Models (LLMs) with fifteen questions, every three months, for the past 18 months. Of the 90 questions asked, the LLMs got six right (7%).  We’ve been told we have been too hard on the LLMs and needed to spend more time training them.    This could be true.
• However, per the attached, a far better study (1,000 standard questions – 500 multiple-choice and 500 free-response on simple topics like high school math and high school world history – to 14 LLMs) produced accuracy of 33% – 85%.

I don’t know about you, but I would not want to send anything to a prospect or client that was, at best, 85% accurate.  That remaining 15% is what separates the winners from the losers.

But is there a bigger tradeoff than accuracy?

Yes.  Just like your brain using 20% of the oxygen you breathe in, these LLMs consume a huge amount of energy to think.

• For instance, one study shows ChatGPT uses the same amount of energy as 33,000 homes in order to process your daily questions.
• In 18 months, the LLMs could consume the electricity equivalent to a country the size of the Netherlands.
• As for accuracy, the larger the energy consumption, the higher the accuracy.

Net, for every data inquiry, you have a choice:

• Use your brain and, although it will take you longer, you will become smarter, and your accuracy will probably be higher.
• Or, to be sensitive to the environment, use LLMs that consume lesser amounts of energy….and get mostly wrong answers.
• Or, environment-be-damned, use LLMs that consume greater amounts of energy…and still fall short of what you should want in terms of accuracy.

We are not promoting a return to living in caves and rubbing sticks together.

That said, you now know there is a sizable cost, in both accuracy and environmental impact, attached to that ‘free’ information.

Hopefully, this knowledge will cause you to not automatically use AI as a first option every time.

There are 5 historically recognized “types” of autism spectrum disorder (ASD): Autistic Disorder (Classic Autism), Asperger’s Syndrome, Childhood Disintegrative Disorder (CDD), Rett Syndrome, and Pervasive Development Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS).

Per the research in this study, Intermittent Hypoxic-Hyperoxic Therapy (IHHT), also known as Contract Oxygen, and one of the modalities offered at Gym for the Brain, ameliorated autistic-like behaviors, providing a therapeutic option for ASD.

If you know someone with ASD, have them, or their caregiver, consider IHHT.

Fifty-eight years ago, as part of the world’s first global satellite broadcast, watched by 400 million people, the Beatles performed this song.

25 June is celebrated as Global Beatles Day in commemoration of John Lennon’s simple plea – “All you need is love; Love is all you need” – that is as true today as it was then.

We hope you find the time to listen to the song and hear the message for each of us.

Per the author of this article, who LinkedIn ranks as one of the top five business influencers in the world, the below five common mistakes frequently precede failure or disaster for a company:

• Failing to make sustainability a core element of your strategy

– ie, continuing to think of sustainability as a cost rather than a driver of success.

• Greenwashing

– ie, per mandates and regulations, this would be any sustainability claim not certified and 3^rd party verified under a globally accepted program.

• Overlooking sustainability along the supply chain

– ie, becoming certified sustainable in your own company is not enough.  Your supply chain needs to be on board also.

• Failing to effectively use ESG data

– ie, if your actions are not 3^rd party verified, you can’t talk about them, or you are greenwashing.  If your actions are not measurable, there is no need to do them, as you won’t know what value they are delivering.

• Taking your eye off the ball

– ie, think long-term, not short-term.  Politicians and economic cycles are here today, gone tomorrow.  Mother Earth thinks in cycles of millions of years.  Taking your eye off the ball today could lead to serious challenges in the future, as resources become scarcer and market demand grows.

We appreciate the above, however, we would insert these three ahead of the above five:

• Apathy

– ie, simply not caring will progressively become harder in business and life.

• Believing the protection of your children and their children is the responsibility of others

– ie, this is your job.  There is no White Knight coming to clean up your mess.

• Believing the environmental warnings are false

– ie, we would all love to believe things are fine.  But you know better.

Per Deloitte, companies that integrate sustainability at their core today will shape the future.

The business landscape is undergoing profound change. Sustainability is shifting from being an optional initiative to a vital component of corporate strategy.  Companies are no longer confined to the boundaries of their industries – they’re operating within a broader societal context. On top of that, building resilience to the consequences of climate change has become essential for long-term survival. This evolution demands rethinking how value is created, how businesses engage with stakeholders, and how they navigate increasing regulations and public expectations.

The forces driving Sustainability:

• Legislation and transparency – Governments are implementing stricter rules to ensure companies are honest about their sustainability status.
• Building resilience – Climate change, geopolitical influence, natural resource depletion are only some of the things that every business will be facing. An environmental sustainability program helps plan and prepare for these.
• Investors – Even if your current investors are not demanding your company be able to prove its sustainability status, odds are, your next ones will.
• Competition – Sustainability can deliver competitive advantage at a cost/ROI that cannot be beat.
• Consumers and society – Certified sustainable companies are being rewarded by consumers and the market. This will continue to increase.

If you want your company to help shape the future, read this, watch this master class, and contact us.