Soccer’s world governing body, FIFA, claimed the 2022 World Cup in Qatar was carbon neutral.

Switzerland, France, Belgium, the UK and the Netherlands all filed complaints, via the Climate Alliance (a group that functions as a watch dog against Greenwashing) saying the claim was not true.

The Swiss Fairness Commission ruled against FIFA.

FIFA has since admitted that its claims were not true.

So, if we agree FIFA should not have made a false claim; what could FIFA have done?

• FIFA could have hired a globally-recognized 3^rd party to calculate the carbon footprint of the World Cup;

• FIFA could then have addressed some of the carbon emissions via having that 3^rd party help them become certified sustainable via a globally-recognized program. This would have included a go-forward carbon reduction plan;

• There would certainly have been a gap between what their initial sustainability effort accomplished versus what the carbon footprint was calculated to be. To get to carbon neutral, they would have had to cover that gap;

• To do that, they could have used legitimate/audited carbon credits that their 3^rd party auditor would certify against;

• Then, they could have sold sponsorship packages to advertisers, allowing FIFA to recover 100% of above costs (advisor, sustainability projects, sustainability certification, carbon credits, carbon neutral certification) by allowing the sponsors to promote that they helped fund the Certified Carbon Neutral 2022 World Cup.

How fast do you think those sponsorship packages would have sold out?

Doing the Right Thing can lead to a Good Thing!  It’s not that hard.

Last Friday (28 July 2023) was Plastic Overshoot Day – the day plastics produced exceeds global waste management capacity. 

68.5 million tonnes of plastics, or 43% of the plastics produced this year, will become pollution.

Plastics production has grown 20x faster than plastics recycling capacity over the past 10 years.

Think about this next time you purchase a bottled water.

Many articles, like this one, talk about the sacrifice organizations need to make to pursue sustainability.  In effect, ‘Give up on short-term ROI goals and focus on long-term ROI goals;’ or, ‘think in non-financial ways.’

Those folks have never sat in the corner office.

You don’t have to settle for a bad program and only look for long-term, or non-financial, benefit.

If you have a good sustainability program, you will see short-term positive ROI.

If you have a really good sustainability program, you will receive comments like this, as your clients are seeing a positive ROI even before they are certified.  We do this by helping our clients promote their sustainability journey. 

Then, we give our clients a list of no-cost / low-cost sustainability ideas that they can implement with no impact on the budget.

Maybe we coin a new financial phrase – “Super-Duper-Fast-ROI”

If you want Super-Duper-Fast-ROI from your sustainability program, contact us and find out how Doing the Right Thing can lead to a Good Thing…..quickly!

Earth Overshoot Day is the annual day we consume more than the Earth is able to generate that year. 

Today, 2 August, is Earth Overshoot Day for 2023.  For the balance of 2023, we will be consuming more than the Earth is producing.  We are not just borrowing from future years, we are reducing the capacity of Earth to produce in future years by draining the resources. 

In total, we are consuming 1.7 Earths every year. 

If you overspent your take home pay by 1.7x every month, how long would you last?

The very good news is our post-COVID consumption has remained flat.  That means we have been able to slow our consumption growth.  Now, we need to reduce it.

Thousands of organizations around the world are involved in this effort.

If your company would like to be involved, contact us.

You have to make decisions every day on where to spend money.

Per this article –

97% of B2B corporate buyers say a vendor’s sustainability credentials (ie, validation/certification) and positioning are important in their buying decisions. 

• You are saying, “That’s not what I am seeing from my clients.”
• Think about it this way – +97% of large companies have a sustainability program, yet less than 1% of SMEs have a sustainability program. The procurement departments of those big companies know there is a 99% chance the bidders are not sustainable, so they don’t bring it up. 
• But what happens when a single bidder becomes certified sustainable and promotes it?
• Studies show, if their price/value is similar, they win the job.
• Certified sustainable companies are growing up to 20x faster than their non-certified peers.
• Net, from a ROI standpoint, there are not many things you can spend money on that will have a greater ROI than becoming certified sustainable.

87% of companies believe they will lose investors if they do not have a clear sustainability strategy.

• Studies show you will raise more money and raise it faster, if you are a certified sustainable business.

84% of companies believe they will lose employees without a clear sustainability strategy.

• Odds are, they are right, as 29% of employees say they plan to leave their employer due to not being satisfied with their environmental/social efforts.

If these points make you consider incorporating a sustainability plan, but you don’t know where to start, watch this master class, then contact us.

Per this article, if July has felt like the warmest month, in say, the past 120,000 years, to you, there is a reason – it was. 

Scientists say this is the hottest temperatures in human history.

But, like they say in sports, records are made to be broken.  This one might not last a month.

If you believe this is someone else’s problem to solve, you might not like the outcome.

What if your business could be part of the solution and be rewarded by consumers for doing so?

This master class discusses that point.

Think about all those companies that have publically stated that they will become net zero by a certain date.

None of them can do that without their vendors having a verified/certified sustainability and carbon program.

As we have repeatedly stated and as this article discusses, supply chains will determine if companies meet their net zero targets.

Now think about the money your company is spending trying to win new clients – In your promotions, what point of difference are you using to differentiate your company from your peers?  Is it really a point of difference?  Is it really something your prospects need?

For them to become net zero, they need to find vendors that are verified/certified sustainable with carbon emission programs.

If you want to take market share, watch this master class and contact us.

We all know extreme heat drains your energy and efficiency. 

This article discusses how extreme heat could cost the U.S. $100 billion in lost productivity and, if not addressed, could sap one-sixth of global economic activity ($14 trillion) by 2100. 

9 out of 10 consumers want to know that your business is doing something about this and they are rewarding certified sustainable companies with their purchases…causing certified sustainable companies to be growing up to 20x faster than their non-certified competitive peers.

If you want to be part of the solution and take market share, watch this master class and contact us.

This article, titled “The Small Business Blind Spot in Supply Chains” talks about a topic we have been posting on for a while –

• Over 70% of a company’s greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) are via its supply chain
• Climate change is causing companies to set goals to reduce their GHG
• 90% of these companies then force their suppliers to take action on sustainability
• The majority of their SME suppliers are not prepared for this

The article does not suggest the client company give its SMEs a pass.  It says the client company should start the process with its supply chain NOW, so SMEs can decide if they wish to remain a vendor, and if so, how they are going to achieve their sustainability targets.

If you are a SME supply chain vendor and want to proactively get ahead of this in order to take market share, watch this master class, then contact us.