2024 is nearly 20% behind us!

We all forecasted a budget for the year.

Some of us are confident….and some of us are scratching our heads, wondering where the growth is going to come from.

Per this study by University of California at Riverside, brands committed to sustainability are growing 4x faster than their non-sustainable peers.  NYU/Stern says it is 7x.  Symbola says 20x.

Further, 66% of consumers say they will pay more for sustainable brands. 

What would higher prices and 4x sales do for your 2024 plans?

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

Not that we don’t have enough to worry about, but this article talks about the 15 biggest environmental problems we face in 2024.

• Global warming from fossil fuels
• Poor governance
• Food waste
• Biodiversity loss
• Plastic pollution
• Deforestation
• Air pollution
• Melting ice caps and rising seas
• Ocean acidification
• Agriculture
• Food and water insecurity
• Fast fashion and textile waste
• Overfishing
• Cobalt mining
• Soil degradation

People love to say “We need to do something about this!!!”, but words have no impact on the above. 

If you want your company to be more than words, consider taking action and being part of the solution.

Watch this master class and contact us.

This global research study was just published (October 2023) and provides the following data:

81% of people around the world rate climate change as the #1 global issue, ahead of inflation, war, economy, or disease/pandemic.

• Think about that point next time you  spend money on advertising, trying to get the attention of your prospective clients.

People rate private sector companies last (behind charities, schools, transnational bodies like the UN, households and even governments) on fighting climate change.

• Think about that point next time you want to differentiate from your peers.

Approximately half the people said they would take a pay cut to work for company that has a net-zero commitment.

• Think about that point next time you are struggling to hire and retain staff within your budget.

If you see the opportunity the above presents and would like to be proactive about both your company and the environment, watch this master class and contact us.

We are often asked why the Edenark Group program has a ‘people piece’ – A Better World Starts With Me, Center For Brain Training, Gym For The Brain – and the answer includes the following:

• Every organization in the world suffers from the impact of the Big 5 (insomnia, stress, anxiety, physical pain and mental acuity) on its people. The average loss from the Big 5 is 5% of your corporate GNP (ie, profit) per year, every year.  That’s a big number.  If we can help your team become happier, healthier and more productive, that number goes down and profit goes up.

• For most companies, their biggest cost, risk, time-consumer and opportunity area, is their people. If an organization helps them become ‘greener’ but does not help their people become healthier, happier and more productive, are they really providing a complete sustainability service?  We do not believe a sustainability program is complete if it does not address the people.

• People in pain are typically inwardly-focused and do not have the energy or interest to help others; while people that are happy and healthy are typically outwardly-focused, wanting to help others. If we can help people feel better, they will want to do more for others, and the planet.

• Finally, as this article states, besides the physical impacts of global warming, we are seeing psychological impact (stress, anxiety, even death) from climate change. The hotter it gets, the more we stress about it, leading to mental and physical damage.  We believe mental illness will continue to increase as global warming increases.  As such, we repeat our first point – a sustainability program that does not have a people-piece is not a complete sustainability program.

If the above makes sense to you, review the organizations in the above links, watch this master class, and contact us.  The planet will be healthier and happier, your team will be healthier and happier, and your company will be financially better for it.

Per this article, gone are the days of sustainability being a public relations supplement to annual reports.

The First Wave – CSR

• The foundation of sustainability reporting goes back to CSR (corporate social responsibility). It was a way for companies to do some good.  But those efforts were detached from the company’s core operations.

The Second Wave – ESG

• About 20 years ago, as companies started to realize risk-management was linked to environmental and social practices, CSR evolved to ESG and sustainability became aligned with a company’s corporate strategy.
• The upside was sustainability was now sitting at the board table and performance data was gathered, stored and reviewed.
• The downside came when the financial markets tried to make money off ESG by promoting and selling ESG funds that were not truly ESG funds.

The Third Wave – Regulations

• We are now shifting from voluntary to mandatory reporting.
• Non-compliance will have negative consequences.
• Consumer demand is pulling governments forward and rewarding companies that act.

If you recognize the path we are on, this post explains what we believe a sustainability program should include.  This master class explains why you should consider it.

If this makes sense to you, contact us.

Since 1971 we have been consuming more than the Earth can produce each year.  

To make matters worse, our consumption has been increasing.

Last year, on August 2, we had consumed all the Earth could produce in 2023.  After that date, we were consuming into future years.

We are currently consuming 1.7 earths every year.  

We have been efficiently over-consuming for 53 years.

What do you think the date will be in 2024?  Will it be late July?

Give us your guess.

Per this article, Keurig Canada will pay a $3 million penalty for greenwashing claims – saying its K-Cup pods can be recycled.

Besides the penalty, the company has to change its packaging, publish notices about the changes on its websites, social media and in local and national outlets, as well as include information in packaging for new machines, and send an email to subscribers.

Ouch!

Why did they do it?   It might be due to knowing the environment is the #1 issue in the world and 7 out of 10 consumers will leave their existing vendor if they find a vendor that they believe is sustainable.

But the damage to the Keurig Canada brand is obviously far greater than the $3 million penalty.

Don’t do it.

Either a) make no environmental / eco / sustainability / Green claims; or b) become certified sustainable via a globally-recognized program with 3^rd party validation, and have them help you make claims that are consistent with your certification achievements. 

Environmentally certified sustainable companies are growing up to 20x faster than their non-certified peers.

Here is what you want in a certification program.

Contact us to discuss.

The Corporate Knights Global 100 (the top ranked sustainability companies) turned 20 this year.  This gives us 20 years of comparative data to consider.  This article covers the following points:

• As you would expect, the Global 100 earns more of its revenue from sustainable solutions. In fact, compared to the average large public company, the difference is 3x
• As you would also expect, the Global 100 invests more in sustainable solutions. Also 3x the average large public company
• This focus has proved wise, as the Global 100 has outperformed the average large public company by 6% in total returns
• When we move away from the Global 100 and just look at all companies, sustainable capital expenditures grew 2x general capital expenditures
• Again, looking at all companies, sustainable revenue grew 2x general revenue

Net, even if your company is not one of the world’s top rated sustainable companies, you should be seeing revenues from sustainable programs/products growing twice as fast as revenues from non-sustainable programs/products.

If you are a SME, this gap should be even wider, as the competition is less fierce (97% of large companies have sustainable programs but less than 1% of SMEs have sustainable programs, allowing certified sustainable SMEs to more easily create competitive differentiation via sustainability certification).  Studies show certified sustainable SMEs are seeing 7x – 20x growth versus their non-certified peers.

If you are not enjoying this level of growth via your sustainable efforts or versus your competition, you might want to consider a new strategy.

This post explains what sustainability program you should have and this master class explains why you want this.

Contact us if this is of interest.

Unlimited Auto Wash Club is a 100% Full Service Hand Car Wash that serves South Florida via seven locations and over 175 employees.  It cares deeply about the environment and the community it serves, and as reported via global news outlets, has attained the Edenark Group ISO 14001 environmental sustainability certification for all seven locations in 2024.

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.   Many organizations, looking to cash in on consumer demand, claim to be environmentally friendly, but most practice greenwashing by self-auditing or self-certifying or using non-globally-recognized programs.  We wanted to raise the bar as we are a leader in our industry,” says Kevin Dalton, CEO of Unlimited Auto Wash.  “We decided we were going to pursue environmental sustainability the way we run our business – the right way.  The Edenark Group ISO 14001 sustainability certification program provides us that opportunity.  This will be wonderful for all our stakeholders; our customers, our employees, our company and our community.”

The seven individual locations and their statements can be found here –

• Palm Beach Gardens / Northlake – https://edenark.com/unlimited-auto-wash-of-palm-beach-gardens-has-become-an-environmentally-certified-sustainable-business/

• West Palm Beach – https://edenark.com/unlimited-auto-wash-of-west-palm-beach-has-become-an-environmentally-certified-sustainable-business/

• Tequesta – https://edenark.com/unlimited-auto-wash-of-tequesta-has-become-an-environmentally-certified-sustainable-business/

• Wellington – https://edenark.com/unlimited-auto-wash-of-wellington-has-become-an-environmentally-certified-sustainable-business/

• Jupiter – https://edenark.com/unlimited-auto-wash-of-jupiter-has-become-an-environmentally-certified-sustainable-business/

• Palm Beach Gardens / Frenchman’s – https://edenark.com/unlimited-auto-wash-at-frenchmans-in-palm-beach-gardens-has-become-an-environmentally-certified-sustainable-business/

• North Palm Beach / Lighthouse Drive – https://edenark.com/unlimited-auto-wash-at-lighthouse-drive-in-north-palm-beach-has-become-an-environmentally-certified-sustainable-business/

“When an organization pursues, and attains, 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 message to all those around them that may be claiming to be environmentally-supportive, but are in truth greenwashing by not validating their actions under a global 3^rd party certification,” says David Goodman, CEO of Edenark Group.  “Companies who are agreeing to adhere to the world’s Gold standard for sustainability certification are allowing their actions to be reviewed; are choosing to be a leader and part of the solution, not the problem; and are joining an elite fraternity of over 400,000 organizations, in over 150 countries, that have committed to continually improving 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

Social Media Post

Global Press Release

We continue to see articles like this one, talking about sustainability programs that are being questioned.  Simply stated, like all things in life, there are many sustainability programs that are not worth the investment.

Like any purchase process, look hard, know what questions to ask, and make sure you get truthful answers to those questions.

Per this master class, here are the eight things you want in a sustainability program for your company:

• It MUST include Employee Performance / Health
  • Sustainability is not just about energy savings or ‘Greening Up’, it is about people
  • For most businesses, the employees are one of the biggest costs, one of the biggest risks (mistakes, insurance, law suits) and one of the biggest opportunities (new ideas, collaboration, product knowledge)
  • Every organization suffers from the Big 5 – insomnia, stress, anxiety, physical pain, mental acuity
  • You are losing 5% of your corporate profit/year to the Big 5
  • It takes a lot of LEDs to make up for one worker comp or workplace violence case
  • Make sure your program has a ‘people piece’ that addresses employee performance, health and happiness

• It MUST certify the business not the box
  • People care about things that involve people
  • Most building (ie, ‘Box’) certifications only care about building energy
  • Building certifications are expensive and hard to market (poor ROI)
  • You want to say, “Buy more of my product because we are a certified sustainable business”
  • You do not get much value from, “Buy more of my product because we are in an energy efficient building”
  • You want the certification on your business, not the building your business is in

• It MUST have a 3^rd party audit component
  • Oversight delivers credibility and trust
  • From passing your driving test, to getting your college diploma, to passing a bar exam, we use 3^rd parties to ensure compliance
  • There are many sustainability programs that deliver a certification based on your ‘word’…..and your payment
  • Don’t do it!
  • Make sure the program you choose uses a 3^rd party to validate your work

• It MUST follow a respected and integrated global standard
  • The sustainability industry is maturing and coalescing around few standards
  • The UN has created its SDGs (17 sustainability development goals)
  • 50% of the world’s economies require sustainability reporting
  • Greenwashing lawsuits are growing
  • Don’t pick a program that is not globally respected by, and integrated with, the world leadership groups; and that does not have the ability to integrate the other three legs of the stool – carbon neutrality, ESG and net zero
  • No reason to spend the time and money, then find you are not following the same programs and protocols that the leadership groups have adopted

• It MUST include promotion of the certification
  • Historically, sustainability has been a cost-side play
  • Most programs and providers have been 100% trained and focused on cost-side measures – energy reduction, carbon reduction, waste reduction, water reduction, travel reduction (ie, engineering)
  • But we know consumers are searching for certified sustainable companies
  • If you don’t talk about being certified sustainable they will never know you are (ie, marketing)
  • You want a program provider that is built to do the cost-side work AND the revenue-side work; and helps you promote your certification

• It MUST pursue continual improvement
  • Sustainability is not finite. It requires long-term commitment
  • But…change is hard for all of us
  • If the bar is set too high, we can get frustrated and give up
  • You want a program that lets you come as you are and allows you to continually improve
  • This will keep everyone happy and committed year after year

• It MUST require annual updates
  • Current = credible
  • Sustainability is not finite; we need to continually improve
  • You don’t want a program that does not have a date attached to its certification
  • You want to continually improve, see your success, and annually update your certification to show you are current and credible in your actions

• It MUST be at a price you can afford and produce a positive ROI
  • We could have started with cost but you need the above seven components at a price you can afford
  • It needs to show a positive and rapid ROI
  • The cost includes both money and time and covers everything – the certification, the 3^rd party audit and your work to become certified

If you use a program that delivers all of the above, you will be happy.

Contact us with questions.