A few key points from this article

• 76% of consumers say they are discontinuing relations with companies that treat the environment, employees, community poorly – This ties almost exactly with other studies we have shared, that show that 25% of consumers have already moved their business to certified sustainable companies.

• 80% of consumers are more likely to purchase from a company that shows environmental support – This is consistent with other studies we have shared, that show a range from 70% to 90% of consumers are looking to move their purchases to companies that can prove they are sustainable. When you add this to the above number, you see that the vast majority of consumers are searching for companies that can prove they are sustainable, and when they find them, they reward them by moving their business to them.

• 84% of employees are more likely to work for a company that shows environmental support – This is consistent with other studies we have shared, which shows 60% – 90% of employees want to work for a company that can prove its environmental sustainability commitment. This does not mean they will not take your job.  It just means they will continue to look for a sustainable company to work for and will leave your company when their find it.

This global movement, reported in many studies, and seen across the world’s competitive business landscape, results in certified sustainable companies dramatically out-performing their non-certified peers.

This is an opportunity for those businesses that wish to lead.

This PPP shows what a business should consider when thinking about sustainability / ESG.

This article, titled “Why sustainability is crucial for corporate strategy” is directed to you, as manager of your company.

Most of us run our businesses with our heads down, thinking, “That (fill in the product/service) idea might be fine for some other companies, but we are (fill in the blank – not ready for it, not big enough, not able to afford it, not staffed for it, not able to benefit from it).”

However:

• 90% of your peers believe sustainability is important.

– How many things in this divided world do 9 out of 10 people believe in?

• 85% of the investors who might invest in you, want you to be certified sustainable.

– If you want an equity investor, or someday hope to sell, being certified sustainable will help.

• 91% of the banks that you may seek a loan from will look at sustainability.

– If you want a lower interest rate, being certified sustainable will help.

• 73% of Gen-Z consumers (the largest buying group / 26% of global population) will pay more for a product from a sustainable company.

– Your margin will be fatter.

• Government regulations are increasing demand for you to be sustainable.

– If you want a good relationship with regulatory bodies, being certified sustainable will help.

• 51% of future workers will take less money to work for a certified sustainable company. You will be able to hire better talent, they will be happier and they will stay longer.

– So, your cost of labor will be lower if you are certified sustainable.

• +22% employee productivity if you are a certified sustainable company.

– Think about the impact of that on your bottom line.

• +60% increase in operating profits if you become certified sustainable.

– This is why we work, right?

If you still think it would be too hard for your company, consider this – we have clients as small as 1 full time employee.  If they can do it, you can do it.

This PPP lists the 8 things you should consider in a sustainability program for your company.

This article lists 7 steps to develop and implement a strong ESG strategy.

To that, we add 3.

1 – Don’t start with an ESG program!

This is one of ours.  This might seem odd, but we are recommending you NOT start with an ESG program.  Don’t jump into the deep end of the pool.  Instead, start with becoming environmentally certified sustainable.  This has the highest ROI.  Then, once comfortable that your sustainability program is working to your satisfaction, become certified carbon neutral.  It is a natural second step after your sustainability certification.  Then…proceed with the S and G of your ESG program (you already have the E).  Finally, turn your attention to becoming certified Net Zero.

2 – Hire a Pro

This is also one of ours.  Bring in a group that helps you achieve the points listed in this PPP.  If you follow this PPP, it will be far less expensive and have a much higher ROI for you, than if you try to build a custom program that is not aligned with global standards.

3 – Carry out a materiality assessment

A formal materiality assessment is used to benchmark how different ESG issues rank in terms of importance for your business and your stakeholders. Starting with a materiality assessment can help to prioritize different issues and initiatives as you develop your ESG strategy and can also suggest where you need to be setting targets or developing your reporting. 

4 – Assess your current baseline

Once your ESG themes are prioritized, the next step is to record a baseline of your existing policies, metrics, and engagements. It’s a good idea to engage cross-functional stakeholders within the organization that have expertise in each priority ESG topic for this activity. Information can then be collected from annual reports, policies, and other available data, which can then be supplemented by interviews with internal stakeholders to build a full picture of the current baseline.

5 – Set Objectives and Goals

When implementing any new strategy, it’s important to set objectives and goals so you can track your progress and ensure that the actions you have taken are making a positive change. Your baseline should help to give you a better understanding of what is a realistic goal for your business, and your key stakeholders should agree that these goals are achievable and feel motivated to reach them.

Your objectives should, at a minimum, cover the following: Measuring the impact of your actions, tracking your organization’s overall ESG performance and benchmarking yourself against industry peers.

6- Conduct a Gap Analysis

A gap analysis is the next step in helping you to determine how to achieve the ESG goals you have set out. It makes a comparison between your current baseline and the target ESG model you have for your organizations and highlights the disparities and opportunities for improvement.

A better understanding of the scale and area of these gaps can help you to do the right preparation to ensure your new ESG strategy is successful, and to highlight areas where you may have problems down the line.

7 – Design your framework and build the roadmap

You should now be in a position to design your ESG framework and build a roadmap – mapping out your organization’s vision and goals, and showing the tangible steps you will take to achieve it. This a great tool to ensure accountability for key milestones, help to track your progress and allow you to share your ESG strategy both internally and externally with customers and key stakeholders.

8 – Set an action plan and measure KPI’s

Now that your general roadmap has been determined, it’s time to set out a detailed action plan and begin tracking KPI’s that feed into the objectives and goals you set earlier.

Your action plan should focus on the steps needed to integrate an ESG focus into existing processes and practices. It should ensure the ESG remains a core focus of your organization and doesn’t slip off the agenda, meaning that going forward you will be able to have positive and productive conversations about ESG at any point.

The KPI’s you put in place at this stage should track progress at an individual or team level – measuring the small but significant actions and improvements that are being seen day to day.

9 – Report progress

To develop your ESG report, it’s important to decide what you want the report to accomplish. It can be a combination of communicating ESG strategy to stakeholders, sharing company specific ESG goals, and evaluating progress and engagements in key ESG areas.

It’s important to decide this early in your ESG strategy so that you can ensure the right data is being captured, and it will simplify the process when it comes time to run the report.

The ESG strategy should be reviewed and updated every year to ensure the organization stays aligned with current industry standards, stakeholders’ and customers’ expectations and overall business strategy.

10 – Promote your achievements!

Again, this is ours.  The market wants your company to be certified sustainable; it wants you to be carbon neutral; it wants you to have an ESG program in place; and it wants you to be Net Zero.  If you have done the works to achieve these, be proud of it – promote your accomplishments.  The market will reward you.

CPL Group USA  heads a group of companies that are synergistically aligned to provide end-to-end electric grid infrastructure management services to commercial, institutional, industrial and residential buildings.  CPL’s founders have been in the Energy Management business for over 35 years, positioning the company to national prominence in the industry. The company has continued its environmental sustainability commitment by renewing and extending its Edenark Group ISO 14001 sustainability certification through 2023.

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.   Edenark Group also helps clients pursue carbon neutrality and ESG compliance, using the Edenark Group ISO 14001 as a foundation for long term compliance.

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 and current and future generations.

“We are a leader in our space and our innovative approach to infrastructure management helps commercial real estate owners set and achieve their sustainability goals,” says Dario Gristina, Chairman/CEO of CPL Group USA.  “We are passionate about all businesses and buildings, no matter what their size, having a profitable sustainability program.  We also recognize the impact Local Law 97 and other regulations will have on organizations; and are a solution for our clients who, as part of their own sustainability programs, need their vendors to also be certified sustainable.”

“In 2022, while also rebuilding from the impact of the pandemic, our team was able to complete ten projects, including reducing paper, reducing light cost, reducing HVAC cost, reducing plastic, increasing digital invoicing, reduction in travel cost, recycling.  Further, the Green Team has an exciting list of projects scheduled for 2023,” added Gristina.

“CPL Group USA, Inc. is a wonderful example of what the world needs more of – an organization that produces a superior product, supports its current stakeholders, shows it cares about future generations via its commitment to sustainability certification, and makes more money due to its sustainability programs,” said David Goodman, CEO of Edenark Group.  “When an organization executes the Edenark Group ISO 14001 sustainability certification, as CPL Group USA, Inc. is doing, it not only benefits the environment, but it also benefits its own operation,” added Goodman.

CPL Group USA can be reached at +1.914-482-0599

Edenark Group can be reached at +1.561.512.2257

release

This article touches on many of the points we regularly make

• Sustainability is a differentiator that people are looking for

• If done correctly, sustainability can change from being a roadblock to being a powerful marketing tool for an organization

• Besides being a differentiator, it drives growth, efficiency and reliability and becomes a foundation to a company’s continuous improvement

• Further, being sustainable is key in the war to attract/retain top talent

• Then, involving suppliers/partners in being sustainable allows you to co-promote and further differentiate

• And, being sustainable allows a company to better serve the community it resides in

• This all translates into a company being able to promote being ‘Best of Class’, which further differentiates

How can competitors counter this?  They can keep dropping their price.

Which side do you have your money on?

Key takeaways from this Gartner survey of 221 companies in North America, Europe and Asia/Pacific

• 87% of business leaders expect to increase investment in sustainability over the next two years
• 86% say sustainability protects their organization from disruption
• 83% say sustainability created short-term and long-term value for their company
• 80% say sustainability helped them reduce costs
• 57% say sustainability had a strong connection to income results
• 42% say they use sustainability to drive innovation