This report is a summary of 640 studies over 10 years.  That’s a LOT of data. 

You already know most of what it says.  Some of the numbers below might be a bit different than what you were expecting, but the overall message, which is that companies that can prove their environmental sustainability commitment are doing much better than their peers; and the value is far, far, far greater than the cost of becoming, maintaining and promoting your sustainability commitment (ie, certification and verification).

Further, the gap between certified sustainable companies and their non-certified peers continues to widen.  As government compliance, Scope 3 mandates, consumer demand, corporate demand, lender demand, investor demand, and employee demand grow, you are falling further behind every year if you are not certified.

You have budgeted money for a variety of things for your business in 2026.  None of them will deliver the combined ROI numbers you see below.

As you go through the bullets, think about what these performance numbers would mean for your company in 2026 and future years.

As to Performance against the stock market, environmentally sustainable companies:

• Outperformed the stock market by 206% – 1,681% over the ten-year period

As to Growth, environmentally sustainable companies enjoyed:

• 2x – 5x growth versus their competitors
• (Poor sustainability performance drives a loss in revenues by as much as 10% annually)

As to Products, environmental sustainability products:

• Grew 6x faster than their non-sustainable competitive peers

As to having a Sustainability Label or Badge, it can:

• Increase consumer demand 13 – 14% immediately after you start promoting it

As to what consumers are willing to spend, consumers are Paying (not just saying they will pay):

• 10% – 150% more for products from sustainable companies

Procurement managers will Pay:

• A 15% premium for sustainable products or services

Environmentally sustainable companies have a Cost of Debt that is:

• 42% lower than their non-sustainable competitive peers

Companies that can prove their sustainability claims enjoy a Cost of Equity that is:

• 29% lower than their non-sustainable peers

As to the cost associated with Negative Events, a company with a strong sustainability brand:

• Will lose an average of $1.14 billion less in market value when faced with a negative brand event than a peer that does not have a strong sustainability brand

As to using environmental sustainability as a Branding Tool to take business away from competitors, here is the annual dollar amount being taken by sustainability companies from their non-sustainable competitive peers:

• $9.4 billion annually switching in the food and grocery industry
• $8.4 billion annually switching in the general insurance industry
• $6.2 billion annually switching in the pension fund industry
• $3.9 billion annually switching in the retail grocery industry
• $3.6 billion annually in the energy provider industry
• $2.6 billion annually in the banking industry
• $2.6 billion annually in the automotive industry
• $2.5 billion annually in the telecom industry
• $1.9 billion in the fashion and retail industry
• $1.9 billion annually in the quick service restaurant industry
• $1.0 billion annually in the liquor industry
• $0.5 billion in the airline industry

As to Firm Value, environmentally sustainable companies saw a boost of:

• Enterprise value of 36% – 180%

As to a company’s Financial Performance, sustainability has the potential to boost:

• Profitability by as much as 21%
• Shareholder return by as much as 6%

As to a company’s Sales and Revenues, sustainability can increase:

• B2B sales by as much as 20%
• B2C sales by as much as 20%

As a Vendor, being sustainability can:

• Boost your sales by over 2.2x
• Increase share price by as much as 5.62%
• Increase profitability by as much as 3%
• Increase trade credit by as much as 17.6%

As to Risk and Financing Costs, sustainability can:

• Reduce the risk of investing in an asset by +30%
• Reduce the risk that impacts your company by 71% if you advertise
• Reduce the cost of equity by +14%
• Reduce the cost of debt by +10%
• Improve your credit rating by 4.5% per unit of improvement on your sustainability rating
• Reduce your loan default rates by as much as 0.3% for each unit increase in sustainability performance

As to Human Resources, sustainability can:

• Improve talent attraction by as much as 69%
• Decrease employee turnover by as much as 57%
• Improve employee morale by as much as 55%
• Boost employee productivity by as much as 21%
• Reduce employee wage costs by as much as 12.4%

As to Cost Reduction, sustainability can:

• Reduce operating costs by as much as 45%
• Reduce supply chain management by as much as 16%
• Lower overall COGS by 2.6%
• Lowers overall SG&A

Each of the above bullets, on its own, is greater than the cost of having your company become and maintain its sustainability certification.  Added up, nothing you will do in 2026 will deliver more value. 

Oh, and it helps the environment and future generations too!

So, will you continue to ignore the data, or will you act?

If you decide to act, read this on what you want in a sustainability program, watch this master class, and contact us.

Here are ten 2026 sustainability predictions from Sustainability Magazine:

• Sustainability will be positioned as a profit center by a growing number of businesses – Duh. It’s about time!
• Claims will be audited more – Like all things, there will always be organizations that try to cheat the system. But it will become harder to make claims without supporting certification and verification.
• More spending on resilience and climate adaptation – The numbers don’t lie and they show a progressively angrier planet. More money is going to be spent on preparing for extreme climate events.
• Data centers will focus more attention on sustainability – As demand for energy from data centers grows, their need for efficiency will force them to embrace sustainability.
• Cost containment and Scope 3 mandates will drive circularity – As companies look for cost savings and mandate compliance, circularity will advance as a tool.
• Transparency (ie, telling the truth) will increase – A willingness to admit to shortcomings and missed goals will translate to more organizations using progressive improvement standards versus numerical scoring standards.
• Acknowledgement of the real environmental cost of AI – The bandwagon has been full of those looking to capitalize on the speed of AI, but few have been willing to admit to the environmental damage it causes. This will begin to balance in 2026 as the true costs of AI start to become clearer.
• Increased supply chain vendor sustainability accountability – Organizations will dive deeper into their supply chains for sustainability transparency, creating opportunity or headache, depending on if the vendor can prove its sustainability commitment.
• Career opportunity – The demand for green skills in the workforce continues to increase.
• Increased green space deployment – More use of nature-based solutions (ie, green infrastructure) will occur in cities and buildings.

Per this article, HSBC has published its 2025 Sustainability Pulse Survey, and it produced the following:

• 95% of respondents see sustainability as a commercial opportunity
• 85% of respondents see sustainability as key to attracting long-term capital
• 29% of respondents expect to invest +10% of CAPEX into climate/sustainability over the next three years
• Sustainability has moved from a transition phase to early maturity and is becoming “business as usual”
• Corporations are treating sustainability as an essential part of value creation
• It has become much easier to measure/validate ROI

If you are not in step with the above, read this on what you want in a sustainability program, watch this master class, and contact us.

If you want to see a clear indicator of what separates sector leaders from the laggards pursuing them, look no further than the Bain & Company chart presented here.

Is your company certified sustainable?  If not, there is a pretty good chance we know which color your company falls under.

The fourth edition of the United Nations Global Climate Litigation Report is now available.

A few takeaways:

• 1986 – The first climate case
• 2017 – 884 cases were filed across the world
• 2020 – 1550 cases were filed across the world
• 2022 – 2180 cases were filed across the world
• 2025 – 3099 cases were filed across the world

• 64% of the 2025 cases are in the US

• 55 global jurisdictions in 2025

• 70% historical success rate for claimants

Comments:

• If you continue to hold to the belief that consumers do not care if your company is sustainable, why are companies making environmental/sustainable claims at all?

• Given that approximately 70% of CEOs admit their company is greenwashing, the 70% success rate for claimants, and the case law this is creating, don’t expect the number of cases to go down.

• The Activist playbook has changed. In the early years of climate lawsuits, activists only targeted the big guys.  But lawsuits cost money.  The 70% claimant success rate has attracted investors willing to fund cases.  But to get that money, an activist needs a resume that shows a success rate.  Big companies have deep pockets for defense.  Small companies do not have deep pockets, are usually sloppier with their false claims, are thus easier to beat, and allow the activist to pad their resume.

Story:

• Tagging onto the above comment, we know a lady who sells multi-level-marketing vitamins. She approached us via social media.  The manufacturer she works for claims it is a green company, but it does not have a certification to back it up.  It is greenwashing.  The lady has the typical MLM website, where she has her name attached to the bigger brand.  She is happily claiming she is a green company.  She has no idea she is greenwashing.  An activist contacted us, as they know what we do and saw the social media link with this lady.  They have targeted her because she is easier to beat than the manufacturer.  She is in the crosshairs and does not know it.

Recommendation:

• If you are making any kind of green, environmental, eco, sustainability claims and are not certified via a globally respected program and 3^rd party verified on same, do yourself a favor and stop. You might be in the crosshairs right now and do not know it.

If you are making claims and are not certified/verified, read this on what you want in a sustainability program, watch this master class, and contact us.

We continue to hear people say various versions of “Sustainability is coming.”

If we look at the Bain & Company chart we see that in just the past six years, Business-driven support for pursuing sustainability has increased 59%, from 34% to 54%.

In other words, rather than pursuing sustainability because they are being forced by compliance or consumer demand, over half of all CEOs are pursuing it because it makes them more money (which, of course, ties back to consumer demand; but it shows consumers are acting, not just talking).

Sustainability has past the “coming” period of its life.  It is past the Innovator and Early Adaptor phases and is well into the Early Majority phase of market acceptance.

Our tag line, “Doing the right thing can lead to a good thing!” is being followed by the majority of business leaders.

If sustainability is not a money-making tool for your business TODAY, not only are you in the minority, but you are also losing ground every day.

If you would rather not be losing ground to your competitors, read this on what you want in a sustainability program, watch this master class, and contact us.

For purposes of this question, we are not going to include the revenue-side gains that come from 7 out of 10 consumers willing to move their business to a certified sustainable company, or the margin-side gains of being able to sell product at a higher price as a certified sustainable company, or the cost of money gains of being a certified sustainable company, or the hire/retention of employees gains of being a certified sustainable company…..

We are only going to look at expense-side levers, such as energy efficiency, circular design and supply chain localization.

With those parameters, what percentage of industrial emissions could be abated today with your company enjoying POSITIVE ROI from the project?

1. 0%
2. 10%
3. 25%
4. 50%

Per this article, the answer is C – 25%.

Let’s say that again – with no revenue-side contribution, your company could reduce its carbon emissions by 25% via positive ROI projects.

An additional 32% of emissions could be eliminated via programs that might deliver a positive ROI.

That’s over 50% of your carbon emissions before we even start adding the revenue-side benefits of becoming certified sustainable and having the world’s 23^rd ranked website/blog helping you promote your certification to a sustainability-certification-starved global market.

This is change-the-world + improve-your-company kind of stuff that you can do….at a profit….if you want.

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

Per this article:

• Employees Expect Purpose – 2/3 of employees say their employer is not doing enough to address climate change and sustainability. Do you think they will stay with you when they have the chance to jump?
• Investors Value Transparency – Companies that act on sustainability attract more capital.
• Consumers Demand Action – Companies that can prove their sustainability claims are growing faster than their peers.
• Gain a Strategic Advantage – Becoming certified sustainable is the most ROI-positive way you can differentiate your company from peers.
• Future-Proof your Business – Becoming certified sustainable allows you to address compliance and global risks.
• Build Resilience – Certified sustainable companies are stronger, more profitable and better prepared for economic changes.
• Unlock Innovation – Becoming certified sustainable allows your company to drive growth and create innovative solutions for consumer and regulatory demands.
• Create Long-Term Value – Certified sustainable companies are simply more profitable and have higher valuations.

Not a bad group of benefits….on top of doing the right thing.

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

Per this article, Sustainability = Higher Profits

• Energy cost reduction
• Waste reduction
• Cheaper access to capital
• Premium pricing
• Attracting and keeping top talent
• Driving innovation
• Improving processes
• Reducing climate risk
• Reducing regulatory risk
• Reducing reputation risk
• Reducing supply chain risk
• Winning new business from clients/customers that want sustainable vendors

And finally, after you improve your valuation via the benefits of the above….

• The majority of investors will give up to a 10% price premium for companies with a mature sustainability program

So, if you become certified sustainable, not only will you improve your profitability and valuation, but you will also get a bonus premium for having a mature sustainability program.

Not bad.

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

Per this study, 68% of Americans, across all demographic groups, will pay more for sustainability.  (This is consistent with many studies over the past few years.)

Here is the caveat – trust, clarity and value determine if they follow through.  (Again, consistent with prior studies.)

• If you claim you are sustainable, but are not certified/verified, don’t expect results.
• If, due to you not being certified, your claims are confusing, again, don’t expect results.
• If your offer is simply not a good value, don’t expect results.

Net, before you say this, and all the other studies saying the same thing, are wrong, you might want to test it.

• Have your company become certified sustainable.
• Have the entity that got you certified help you craft and publish your messages.
• Make sure your offer is a competitively good value.

If being attractive to 68% of your prospects is appealing, read this on what you want in a sustainability program, watch this master class, and contact us.