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?

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 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?

• 70% of your competitor’s clients will leave your competitor if they find a certified sustainable company as an option.

– This is why certified sustainable companies are taking market share.

• 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.  If you follow this, you will be happy.

Given that we are all trying to achieve our 2025 plans, this article, showing a study using AI on 10,000 companies over 12 years, might be worth considering

• Using the S&P 500 as a base

• The portfolio study group that focused on sustainability-related R&D / new products, outperformed peers by 92%

• The portfolio group that focused on financial donations or communications campaigns (ie, the sizzle without the steak) underperformed peers by 70%

If you would prefer to outperform peers rather than underperform peers, watch this master class and contact us.

Climate physical risk is your company’s financial exposure to extreme weather.  This does not include any other environmental impacts.   

If we extrapolate the data from the study in this article, we arrive at the following:

• Climate risk (ie, financial hurt due to extreme weather) is currently taking 1% off the top (from your sales number)
• In five years, it will grow to approximately 1.5% off the top
• Unchecked, it will continue to grow

Not counting the positive ROI benefits of being certified sustainable, if we just look at the out-of-pocket cost to you of becoming a certified sustainable company and being able to say you are part of the solution, unless you are a micro-company, the cost is lower than the climate risk. 

You have two choices:

• Do nothing and continue to bleed out.  
• Fight back, be part of the solution, and gain all the benefits of same.

If you would like to fight back and gain the benefits of same, watch this master class and contact us.

The Edenark Group ISO 14001 is the world’s best environmental sustainability certification program for small to mid-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Why should an organization become certified sustainable?

There are many reasons.  We list 10 –

https://edenark.com/why-becoming-a-certified-sustainable-organization-makes-sense/

Per this article, the Corporate Knights Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations have outperformed their non-sustainable peers:

– 19% since 2005

– 22% since Covid (spring 2020)

If you want to make more money, and don’t mind doing something good while making that money, becoming a certified sustainable company might be worth considering.

Watch this master class and contact us.

At #28 (up from #31 last year) among ALL corporate blogs and websites, including Microsoft, Apple, HP and Cisco, Edenark Group is the top sustainability/environmental/Green blog on Feedspot – link

Think about the impact on your brand, of having Edenark Group helping you promote your sustainability certification to a world looking for certified sustainable companies.

This is one of the reasons we enjoy a 100% client renewal rate – we help our clients promote their certification, which helps them grow their brand and business.

You will not find a more cost-effective, and positive-ROI, way to differentiate your company.

Oh, and by the way, you would also be doing something good.  

How much do you spend on all your advertising and marketing?

How are you differentiating your business from your peers in those ads, your website and your marketing brochures?

Are your points of difference what consumers are looking for?

Are you getting your money’s worth out of those ads by connecting with your audience?

Are you enjoying a positive ROI from your advertising, like this organization?

Per this article, titled “The growing role of sustainability in small business marketing”, the following points are made:

• 81% of respondents across all generations, genders and backgrounds, want you to show them you are helping improve the environment

                Is your advertising speaking to this 81% or to the other 19%?

• 81% expect to buy more from environmentally friendly organizations over the next five years

              Are you targeting this 81% or to the other 19%?

• 66% of prospective employees will not consider working for a company that does not have strong social values

               Are you looking for employees from the full pool of talent or just the 34% that does not care?

• 83% of employees will be more loyal to a company making positive environmental/social impact

               After you spend the money to hire/train, are you looking to keep all of them, or just the 17%?

Besides providing a talking point that will make your advertising more effective, the article goes on to explain that companies with a strong environmental, social and governance program are enjoying

• Top line growth (Unilever says their sustainability studies show a +20% gain)
• Cost reduction (McKinsey says it will impact your operating profits up to 60%)
• Reduced regulatory and legal intervention (impacting 25 – 60% of your profits)
• Employee productivity (translating to higher organizational performance)
• Investment and asset optimization (more efficient and effective use of the money you reinvest)

              Is your company enjoying these benefits…while also doing the right thing for the environment?

If not, watch this master class and contact us.

The NASA Climate Spiral has been updated to include 2024 temperatures.

Reach your own conclusions.

Per this McKinsey study, companies that have a Triple Play (Growth + Profit + Sustainability) dramatically outperform their peers on Total Shareholder Return (TSR).

• 36% of companies that lagged on sustainability showed negative growth; while 0% of the Triple Play companies showed negative growth

• 19% of the companies that lagged on sustainability grew by more than 10%; but 53% of the Triple Play companies grew by more than 10%

• Having the Triple Play of Growth + Profit + Sustainability delivers 7 points in TSR versus peers.  That’s not 7%, it is 7 points – ie, a 12% TSR versus a 5% TSR.   In most cases, that 7 points is more than double the competition.

• Sustainability will not save a flawed company; but it will help a company perform better

If you are looking at your 2025 performance against budget and would like to perform better, contact us via this form.