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?

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/

First, by the end of this year, over 50% of the world’s economies will have government-written laws on mandatory sustainability reporting, with teeth (ie, with fines for non-compliance).  The EU and UK, among others, already have programs in place.  California just passed Bill 253 and the US SEC is expected to have its new rules finished in the next few weeks.  

Second, even without the above, every company that has made, or is going to make, a Net Zero pledge, MUST address its Scope 3 emissions……which means its vendors (mostly SMEs) must have a sustainability / carbon program to remain a vendor.

Third, 97% of all large companies have sustainability programs.  By internal mandate, they are required to use sustainability vendors. Does the Procurement Department ask?  No.  But if you are bidding a job and you tell them you are certified, if your product is equal in price/value, you will win that bid.

Fourth, 7 out of 10 consumers will move their purchases if they find a legitimate (ie, certified/verified) sustainable company offering the same thing.

Fifth, the #1 thing consumers are looking for, when checking out a new company is if it is sustainable.

Sixth, 25% of consumers (B2C and B2B) have already changed vendors due to sustainability and the next 25 – 43% is in play right now.  Somebody is going to win that business.

Because of the above, and some other benefits, certified sustainable companies are growing up to 20x faster than their peers.

There is nothing that will have a bigger impact on your desire to differentiate from your competitive peers and take market share, than to become environmentally certified sustainable.  

Oh, you are helping the planet and future generations too.

If this sounds interesting, watch this master class and contact us.

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.

As expected, and per this article, California Governor, Gavin Newsom, has signed SB-253 and SB-261.

SB-253 will require all companies (public and private) operating in CA with annual revenues exceeding $1b to disclose direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions.

SB-261 will require companies that generate more than $500mm in annual revenue to publish climate-related financial risk reports, beginning in 2026.

If you are not running a company of the above size in CA, why should you care?

• ‘Indirect’ includes vendors. If you are a vendor, or a vendor to a vendor of a CA company, and you wish to remain so, you will need to address this.
• California is following similar laws now in the EU. Expect the US SEC to follow suit.
• Expect other countries and states to follow suit.
• Someone from your competitive peer group is going to get ahead of this and take market share.
• Someone from your competitive peer group is going to ignore this and lose market share.

For some, this will be an opportunity.  For others, it will be a confusing and financially painful problem.

Per this article, due to “the expectation of competitive advantage derived from an image of sustainability has opened the door to green and social washing”…and created an environment where risks and damages are growing.

Last year, greenwashing accounted for 1 in 5 cases of corporate risk incidents tied to ESG, but this year, it is 1 in 4.

Companies know sustainability = money, so many are happy to mislead/greenwash.  Look for ‘self-audits’ and ‘self-certifications’ as an easy giveaway. 

However, it is getting harder to get away with the lie.  Per the article, “in recent years, symbolic sustainability has backfired for many, as media, public, and regulators criticize unfounded claims”…doing more damage to the brand than the sales gains had won.

Simple rule – An organization that promotes any green-related action without a valid, legitimate 3^rd party certification/verification is greenwashing.

Prediction – Watch for those that are currently greenwashing to go to the next level of misinformation – ie, getting 3^rd party certified by their Uncle Vinnie or some non-globally-respected organization. So, when they say they are certified/verified, as for the name of the certifier/verifier. 

If you want the benefit they are trying to gain, but don’t want the risk of getting caught for greenwashing, watch this master class and contact us.

On September 8, 2023, the United Nations published its first Global Stocktake report (link) on the progress made by nations in addressing climate change.

The UN outlines in the report that the world is rapidly approaching a critical juncture in the fight against climate change, and immediate action is imperative.

Quick Summary

Stated simply, we continue to move in the wrong direction.

Who can solve this?

There is no central world government, so there is no Big Brother riding to the rescue.

The world economy is driven by small to mid-sized enterprises.  If you run a SME, the ball is in your hands and it is your game to win or lose.

If you would like to be part of the solution, watch this master class and contact us.

As we have been saying for over a year and as this article repeats, mandatory corporate sustainability reporting is here.

Are you ready?

Do you know how to turn this into a victory?

If you want to benefit from the inevitable, watch this master class and contact us.

Do you care as much as the six young people in this article?

They are trying to protect their future and are demanding climate action in Court.

If you want your company to align with the views of your future customer, watch this master class and contact us.

Per this CNN article, the past 7 years have been the warmest on record.

If you run a company and you know:

– Becoming certified sustainable is the right thing to do

– Consumers are demanding it and moving their purchases to certified sustainable organizations

– Employees are demanding it

– Certified sustainable organizations make more money.

– Governments are creating standards and laws that will require sustainability and penalize false claims

– If you choose the right program you can become certified sustainable via a globally-recognized program at a fraction of the historical cost and time investment….and help the planet….and make more money.

Why not make more money by doing the right thing?