Most companies have these departmental responsibilities:

• Operations / Finance – Seeks profitability, efficiency, cost reduction
• Marketing / Sales – Seeks differentiation from competition, a talking point that resonates
• HR / Admin – Seeks employee performance, health, happiness

Studies from Nielsen, Harvard Business Review, HP, Deloitte, Fast Company, MIT, BAR, Symbola, NYU/Stern, Forbes, et cetera, tell us:

• The #1 thing your company is seeking is a way to differentiate from the competition, yet your marketing and sales efforts struggle to find a talking point consumers want to hear. Net, you are not maximizing your advertising spend or messaging opportunity;
• Further to your messaging challenge, 75% of Gen X and Gen Y consumers (64% of the world’s population and the future of your business) say sustainability is more important to them than even your brand name. Net, if you want to resonate with the largest buying groups, you need to talk about being sustainable….but don’t Greenwash;
• Further, as to loyalty, 70% of all consumers will move their loyalty and purchases if they find a certified sustainable company offering a similar product. Net, the clock is ticking, as a competitor might start using sustainability against you;
• As to government work, government regulators are adding sustainability to their requirements. Net, being certified sustainable is a powerful advantage to bidding government work and will become a gating item.  You may not directly serve them, but as a sub-vendor, you will be impacted;
• As to serving large organizations, they are replacing existing vendors with certified sustainable vendor options in order to meet their own internal sustainability obligations. Net, same as with government bids, being certified sustainable is a way to take market share;
• As to saturation, +97% of all large organizations have sustainability programs; yet less than 1% of SMEs (small to mid-sized enterprises, under US$1b) have sustainability programs. Net, the opportunity to stand out by becoming certified sustainable is greater for SMEs;
• As to your future staff, 9 out of 10 under 40 job candidates want to work for a certified sustainable company and will take less money to do so. Net, being sustainable is a key component to finding and retaining talent;
• As to the performance, health and happiness of your existing staff, every company loses an average of 5% profit per year due to employee insomnia, stress, anxiety, physical pain and mental acuity. If you do not have a program that addresses these, improving the performance, health and happiness of your employees, you are losing an average of $10,000 per full time employee per year.

Is your company addressing all the above?

If not, watch this webinar,as it:

• Helps Operations / Finance enjoy higher profitability, improved efficiency, cost reductions
• Helps Marketing / Sales enjoy differentiation via a talking point the majority of consumers want
• Helps HR / Admin achieve higher employee performance, health and happiness

We are often asked, “What are some of the things you help clients do, to become certified under the Edenark Group ISO 14001 program?”

Item #49 from the Edenark Group Green Team Guide – Paint Away Air Pollution!

Knowing that newly painted walls lift the mood and energize your team, you will, at some point, repaint your organization’s interior and exterior walls.   Why not use a non-toxic, zero-VOC, odor-eliminating, non-animal-tested, Green-certified, Eco-friendly, paint, that absorbs CO2 and also reduces up to 95% of indoor air pollutants?

Edenark Group is a distributor of Smog Armor paint products and we recommend these products to our clients as part of their sustainability certification, carbon neutral and ESG program, as they help you achieve your goals.

It is an easy, fun, smart and safe way to improve a work environment’s visual, emotional, environmental and human-health appeal.

Some people have asked why we uniquely have a ‘people piece’ incorporated in our sustainability program.  In response, we ask – “How can you have a corporate sustainability program and not address the employees?” For most companies, your people are your biggest cost, biggest risk, biggest time commitment and biggest opportunity.  If we can help your people become happier, healthier and more productive, not only are they more efficient and costs go down, but they are more willing to help others and help the planet.

The Big 5 (insomnia, stress, anxiety, physical pain and mental acuity) collectively cause your company to lose around 5% of your annual GNP, or about $10,000 per year per full time employee.

This CNN article talks about dementia risk rising if you live with chronic pain, such as cancer, arthritis, back pain, neck pain, nerve pain, et cetera.

Further, if you have chronic pain in multiple locations (ie, both knees), your risk rises significanty.

Sleeping less than 6 hours in midlife raises the risk of dementia by 30%.

In the US, 20% of all adults live with long-lasting pain, impacting their risk of dementia.  Other countries have similar studies.

There are not many of us who do not know someone suffering from dementia.  This is a global problem.

This is why we have A Better World Starts With Me and Gym For The Brain as part of our service.  We address the Big 5 and help individuals become happier, healthier and more productive.  In turn, this helps your company. 

The unemployment rate in the US is at 4.1%.  The EU is roughly 6%.

How do you find, hire and retain workers in a sellers market?

This article in the New York Post reports on this study and is consistent with other studies we have reported.  Key points

• Almost two-thirds of respondents stated they were more likely to apply to a job for a company that committed to sustainable practices.
• Three out of five respondents said they avoid employers they perceive as having a negative impact on the environment.
• 54% of respondents said that sustainability played a role in their motivation to work remotely.

Simple math – If you are looking to hire and 60% of the possible candidates will avoid you if they perceive your company is a negative impact on the environment, your hiring effort will be negatively impacted.

Sure, you can mask it.  But once they learn the truth, and they quit, the cost to you will be greater than had they not taken the position in the first place.

The Under 40 worker wants to work for a company that can prove it cares about the environment.  The Under 26 worker has an even higher expectation of same.

Those are the workers that are the future of your company.

If want an advantage hiring and retaining workers, read this on what you want in a sustainability program, watch this master class, and contact us.

2024 is 75% 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 plan went wrong.

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 have done for your 2024 plans?

What could it do for your 2025 plan?

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

Most of us are beginning 2025 budget season….and will be trying to find a way to achieve next year’s growth goals.

Per an 8 country (US, Germany, Italy, France, Japan, China, India and Brazil) study by Boston Consulting Group, discussed in this article….

• 80% of participants reported considering sustainability when making a purchase
• 70% are suspicious of potential greenwashing activity by businesses
• 20-43% are ‘silent stakeholders’, which are defined as consumers willing to be persuaded to choose a product that makes a credible and compelling sustainable statement

When you are planning for 2025 and looking for low hanging fruit, think about the combination of these three points – the vast majority of consumers are looking for sustainable companies but are wary of those that falsely claim they are sustainable; and 20 – 43% of them are ‘up for grabs’ in that they are willing to be convinced to choose your product if you can convince them you are legitimately (ie, certified) sustainable.

Think of the impact that 20-43% would have on attaining your growth objectives.

Edenark Group can help you become certified sustainable, differentiate from your competitive peers, and appeal to those consumers.  Here is a flyer on the benefits of our program.

Workers around the world want their employers to put more attention against environmental impact; and are willing to put their money where their mouths are.

Per this Honeywell Survey

• 91% of respondents would forgo job perks if the cost was reinvested in reducing their workplace environmental impact
• 26% would sacrifice some of their pay if the funds were invested in reducing environmental impact

Are you spending money against reducing environmental impact?  Are you generating a positive ROI from it?  If your answer to either question is ‘no’, watch this webinar and give us a call.

When we start 2025 and the shift from voluntary to mandatory reporting of sustainability data kicks in, all accounting professionals will feel the impact.

Per this article, from SEC Climate Reporting to ESG Documentation, to Supply Chain Information Requests, to Scope 3, big and small accounting firms will be taxed with the impact of sustainability demands.

This brings us to a post we did a while back, where we question how well accounting firms are going to be in providing guidance on a topic most have never experienced. 

If you really want to differentiate your accounting firm from the competition, and give good advice to your clients, walk the talk, like this CPA firm – become a certified sustainable business and add street smarts to book smarts.   

This also will allow you to satisfy your client’s Scope 3 requirements.  

You will benefit and your clients will benefit.

If you want to have experience in a topic you are giving advice on, and want to differentiate from your peers, read this on what you want in a sustainability program, watch this master class, and contact us.

Some people say all marketing and promotion is a form of deception.

Knowing consumers want to support environmentally sustainable companies, is it wrong for companies to misrepresent their environmental commitments?

If you ask the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and the Australian Federal Court, the answer is yes – if you greenwash you will be pursued.

Current score – ASIC 1, Greenwashers 0

This article discusses the $11.3 million penalty that Mercer Superannuation (Australia) Limited has agreed to pay for greenwashing.

Simply stated, we all know consumers are demanding your company prove its environmental commitment.

Those consumers will move their business from you to a sustainable company.

You feel the pressure.

Do you do what Mercer did and risk being caught or do you do the right thing and get certified/verified?

If you want to be on the right side of the law, do good for the environment, and also get ahead of your competitors, read this on what you want in a sustainability program, watch this master class, and contact us.

Per Deloitte –

• 83% of M&A buyers would pay a 3% premium to acquire a company with solid environmental, social and governance performance
• 14% of M&A buyers would pay a 6% premium to acquire a company with solid environmental, social and governance performance
• 67% of M&A buyers would seek a 3% discount if your environmental, social and governance performance is weak
• 73% of M&A buyers have killed a purchase due to what they uncovered in their due diligence on environmental, social and governance performance

These numbers will continue to trend stronger for environmental, social and governance performance. 

Remember, it takes time to build a program.  If you plan to sell your company in 2025, you have already lost the opportunity for a premium and you are now just looking at how much you will be shorted, assuming you can even get the deal done.

If you don’t mind being seen as a leader that is helping the environment, and also want to sell your business at a premium, read this on what you want in a sustainability program, watch this master class, and contact us.