For organizations that have created a home-grown sustainability program, self-certify, then promote themselves as sustainable, there is risk of being exposed for Greenwashing.

This risk is growing.

However, per this article, an Edenark Group commercial partner, Before3020, Inc., and its partner, Hong Bao Media, have developed a wonderful service for you – they will audit your sustainability program and communication for vulnerabilities and provide you direction on how to correct your deficiencies, saving you potential embarrassment. 

“This course offering is best compared to a corporate sustainability “hackathon”; we find the vulnerabilities in the sustainability efforts and communications to save you from embarrassing and potentially costly allegations of greenwashing”, noted Robert van Zwieten, Before3020, Inc.’s fractional COO/CFO, and a Board member of Hong Bao Media.

If you are starting today, clearly it is better for your brand and more cost-effective to become certified under a globally-respected program.  This PPP gives you direction on what kind of a program to seek.  But, if you already have a self-made program and recognize it might expose you, this ‘sustainability hackathon’ by Before3020 Inc and Hog Bao Media is a great way forward.

This podcast, titled “Why sustainability is THE business opportunity”, covers a lot of ground and talks about:

Key Global Challenges to transition our world, all impacted by sustainability

• Digitization
• Globalization
• Urbanization
• Demographic Change
• Climate Change
• Business Model Innovation
• Wellness/Health

Out of this, just on its own, Climate Change is a +$100 trillion opportunity over the next 25 years.  Wrap sustainability around it and the others, and you have where your company needs to be.

Why does becoming sustainable help a company?

• Customer support
• Higher employee engagement
• Lower operating costs
• Less waste
• Lower money costs

Taking the last point (lower money costs) further

• Lenders assess risk
• Sustainability lowers risk
• The cost of money to sustainable companies is, therefore, lower
• Soon, it will be hard to borrow if you cannot prove you are sustainable

Being able to prove your company is sustainable (ie, being certified) will put you in the middle of the greatest opportunity of our time.

Per this article, titled, “The beginning of the end?: Scientists sound the alarm as Antarctic sea ice hits record low for second year running”, the sea ice in Antarctica is melting at a record level.

That’s bad enough.  But add it to this article, titled “So-called Doomsday Glacier is in trouble, scientists say after finding surprising formations under ice shelf”, which says if the Thwaites Glacier, which is the size of Florida and nicknamed ‘Doomsday Glacier’, collapses, it could cause an immediate 2 foot rise and a possible longer-term 10 foot rise in sea level.

It is possible the glacier will not break free and all will be fine.  However, a 2021 study suggested it could fracture within five years. 

If global warming continues to melt the sea ice, as discussed in the first article, odds are, Thwaites’ grip will weaken.

If your company wants to do more than cross fingers, contact us.  We can help you help Thwaites not be so Doom and Gloom, which will help all of us.

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. 

We are excited that Fintech Finance News is promoting 5AM Global d/b/a Breathe!™ for its pursuit of the Edenark Group ISO 14001 environmental sustainability certification.

Breathe!™ is producing a Web3 Universe convention at the Las Vegas Convention Center this May 3-5, 2023.  If you are involved in, or interested in, the Web3 Universe, this is the event you want to attend.

Further, if you care about the planet and our environment, follow the lead of 5AM Global d/b/a Breathe!™ and pursue the Edenark Group ISO 14001 certification for your company.

Climate feedback loops are cyclical chain reactions that happen when one change triggers further changes, in a process that keeps on repeating itself. Some of these feedback loops drive down warming, but others amplify it.

Take Arctic ice, for example. Warming temperatures cause sea ice to melt, revealing the dark ocean water beneath. As dark surfaces absorb more heat than reflective surfaces like ice, the ocean warms and more ice melts.

This article says scientists have found 27 feedback loops driving up global temperature, while seven are helping to slow the pace of global warming.

It’s too late to fully prevent the pain of climate change; but if we take meaningful steps now, we can reduce the severity of the pain.

Join us and thousands of your corporate peers in being part of the solution.  Besides doing the right thing for the planet, your company will benefit.

This article speaks to the impact of the new EU rules on sustainability and carbon disclosures for Asian suppliers, but the message is the same, no matter where the supplier is located, and consistent with what we have been reporting.

The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), due to be rolled out in 10 months, will require companies to disclose how sustainability issues, such as climate change, impact their business and how their operations in turn affect people and the planet.

Some 50,000 companies – all large companies and listed small and medium-sized firms – will have to make such disclosures, up from 11,700 large companies and public entities with more than 500 employees mandated under existing legislation. Auditing of the disclosures will be mandatory.

These companies will in turn require their global suppliers to disclose their sustainability data, such as greenhouse-gas emissions, so that they can calculate their own environmental footprints and social risk exposure.

• There is no escape’ from impending European Union rules requiring sustainability reporting
• Countries including Germany, the UK, Australia and Norway already have rules in place focusing on specific environmental and social aspects, and coming EU regulations will bring these all together
• Ultimately, if some suppliers fail to show that they are fulfilling those expectations, at some point, companies sourcing from them will tell them that they are a risk to their reputation and therefore not eligible for the business relationships

If you are a supplier to a larger company, regardless of where that larger company is located, the benefits of becoming certified sustainable, then certified carbon neutral, then building an ESG program, are clear.

Further, for suppliers that get ahead of this, there is opportunity to take market share from those that delay.  This PPP will help define what to look for in a program.

It was wonderful to see this article on a speech given by Stephen Liptrap, of LifeWorks, where he said:

• “Both the environment and people’s mental health were taken for granted in the past. We now know that such inattention has dire long-term consequences. We have also seen that doing the right things for both people and the planet is aligned with better business performance. In our people powered economy, an organization’s actions and investments in the mental health of their people will increasingly be a differentiator….”

The integration of people – ie, employee performance, health and happiness – is a foundational component of the Edenark Group ISO 14001 program and incorporates the A Better World Starts With Me services and the Gym For The Brain services.

As stated in this PPP, if your sustainability program does not have a ‘people piece’ that addresses employee performance, health and wellness, you do not have a complete sustainability program.

The video in this article covers the following points:

• A recent McKinsey & Co study shows that 60% of companies that introduced sustainability strategies saw improved profitability (we are seeing 100% in our studies)
• Publicly-traded companies are now being required to report their net zero and emission strategies, which will pressure the non-public companies that serve them
• Sustainability strategies will be expected by Boards of Directors
• Workers are making decisions on who they will work for based on if the company is sustainable

Is your company a) using sustainability to be more profitable; b) addressing your carbon emission reporting; c) executing a sustainability strategy; and d) using your sustainability stature to hire the best talent?

This article speaks to Hong Kong SMEs, but the message is the same, no matter where the SME is located, and consistent with what we have been reporting

• ESG is set to become a key factor for [SMEs] to increase their advantage, raise their reputation and attract investors
• Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) stand to attract more business opportunities from larger, listed companies if they can manage to satisfy increasing demands for disclosures about their progress on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues
• Lots of large-cap companies are enhancing their third-party risk management system, [through which] SMEs will be required to submit ESG data
• Some SMEs will be required to go through supplier due-diligence processes
• As larger firms begin reporting on their scope 3 emissions – a category that includes activities throughout their supply chains – SMEs must have sustainability, carbon neutral and ESG programs if they want to do business with those big corporations

If you are a SME, the benefits of becoming certified sustainable, then certified carbon neutral, then building an ESG program, are clear.

Further, for SMEs that get ahead of this, there is opportunity to take market share from those that delay, further improving the ROI of the process.  This PPP will help define what to look for in a program.