Consistent with various articles we have published over the past year, per this statement by the US Government, on November 10, 2022, the Biden Administration proposed a new rule that will require contractors serving the US Federal government to publicly disclose their Scope 1, Scope 2 and relevant category Scope 3 emissions if they have Federal contracts annually exceeding $50mm.

If you have US Federal government contracts between $7.5mm – $50mm annually you will need to disclose your Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, but not your Scope 3 emissions at this time.

If you are a sub-contractor or vendor to a contractor that meets the first requirement (ie, +$50mm in annual contracts with the US Federal government), you will likely need to report your Scope 1 emissions in order for them to report their Scope 3.

This rule will likely go into effect after the 60 day public comment period, ending January 13, 2023.

Edenark Group can help your company turn this into an opportunity.

Per this Lloyd’s Bank study

• 7% of UK SMEs have already achieved Net Zero emissions

• 64% have a plan in place to reach Net Zero

• 83% say sustainability has become more important in the past 12 months

• Only 5% of SMEs are not considering Net Zero action

This article does a good job of simplifying a few of the key components of the E (environmental), the S (social) and the G (governance) in an ESG program.  It also offers a checklist for developing an ESG strategy.

If you are a SME, our STRONG recommendation is to take it slow and NOT to start with it.  We recommend you….

• Start with becoming environmentally certified sustainable. This is the ‘E’ in ESG.  This is what consumers are demanding and it typically provides you the greatest ROI.  If you pick the right program, it also provides the foundation for everything else you may choose to do later; allowing you to do it easier and less expensively.
• Then, catch your breath and get that sustainability program working to your satisfaction, generating the benefits to your company that others are enjoying.
• Next step is to pursue carbon neutrality certification. This is an easy step after your sustainability certification.  In our case, we do both (the Edenark Group ISO 14001 provides you the sustainability certification and the Edenark Group ISO 14065 / 14001 provides you the carbon neutrality certification).  This typically generates the second highest ROI, driven by market demand.
• Then catch your breath again and ensure that both programs are accomplishing your goals.
• Next step is to turn to ESG, which is far easier with a foundation of sustainability and carbon neutrality certification. We help you develop this program and the Edenark Group “A Better World Starts With Me” can be a foundational piece to this.
• Catch your breath again.
• Finally, focus on Net Zero certification. It is last as it requires information from entities outside your organization.  It is a step up from your carbon neutrality certification and again, we help you get there and provide your Net Zero certification.

Point is, start with what will have the biggest impact and work at a pace that fits your organization.  It is not hard or painful if you have the proper help and don’t try to do too much, too fast.

Per this Forbes article by Forrester, environmental sustainability

• Is a business opportunity
• Is a matter of survival
• Is a customer-obsession-enabler
• Is an integral part of business risk
• Is being supported by immense government investment

Forrester makes these three 2023 predictions

• Carbon offsets/credits will be in fashion but with less fraud
• Five Global 200 firms will announce policies limiting travel due to sustainability goals
• One carbon reporting standard will claim supremacy, allowing greater transparency

And here are some additional 2023 predictions, with our CEO’s prediction for smaller companies closing out the thoughts

The NYU Stern School of Business does an annual report on the performance of CPG (consumer packaged goods) sustainable brands versus their non-sustainable competitive peers.  Here is the report.

Key points:

• Sustainable products enjoyed a 29% price premium AND grew 2.7x faster
• Let’s say that again – They charged materially more while also lapping the field
• Are you charging 29% more while also more than doubling your competitor’s sales?
• Think of the impact on your margin of being able to charge 29% more

• Sustainable products now account for 17% of all products and produce one-third of all CPG growth

• In 2021, one out of two new products were presented as sustainable

• Carbon-labeled products have doubled since 2020

• “Our analysis demonstrates that products marketed as sustainable continue to grow faster than their conventional counterparts, drive innovation, and contribute to one third of the growth to overall CPG, despite a significant price premium. Moreover, these products not only survived, but continued to grow during the pandemic. Our research demonstrates the perceived consumer demand is realized by purchasing data, and growing,” said Randi Kronthal-Sacco, Senior Scholar at the NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business (CSB), who pioneers the research initiative.

Safran Oil Systems, a 36,250 SF manufacturer of commercial airline oil tanks, located in Fort Myers, FL, and operating as a subsidiary of Safran Aero Boosters, a $1B, Belgian-based global leader in lubrication units, oil tanks, heat exchangers, and special valves, has continued its environmental sustainability commitment by renewing and extending its Edenark Group ISO 14001 sustainability certification through 2023.

The Edenark Group ISO 14001 is the world’s premier environmental sustainability certification program and allows SMEs (small to mid-sized enterprises) the ability to attain the world’s most popular environmental certification standard via a program designed and priced specifically for them.   Edenark Group also helps clients pursue carbon neutrality and ESG compliance, using the Edenark Group ISO 14001 as a foundation for long term compliance.

The program, which allows companies to progressively improve at a pace that works for their needs, helps the organization define how it interacts internally, externally, and with the environment.  It incorporates energy/waste/water, employee health and performance enhancement, community involvement, procurement and suppliers, compliance and regulations, emergency/security, and stakeholder engagement.  Benefits include creating a culture of continual improvement, stakeholder engagement, lower costs, higher revenues and profits, improved employee performance, and…… doing the right thing for the environment and current and future generations.

“We are best of class in aircraft engine oil tanks development and production and accept the responsibility of leading this effort that will make a global impact,” said Jean-Pierre Posset, General Manager of Safran Oil Systems.  “Our organization, including our employees in Florida and the rest of the world, cares deeply about the environment and sustainability.  We are excited to receive this certification and join the others around the world that have chosen to be part of the solution.  In 2022, while recovering from the impact of the pandemic and a hurricane that devastated our community, our team showed its resolve by completing eight environmental sustainability projects that addressed issues such as electricity consumption, air quality, team health, paper reduction, recycling and Styrofoam reduction.  Further, we were able to also plan a broad list of 2023 projects that our Green Team is excited about tackling this coming year.”

“Safran Oil Systems is a pleasure to work with and is an example of what the world needs more of – an organization that produces a superior product, supports its current stakeholders, shows it cares about future generations via its commitment to sustainability certification, and makes more money due to its sustainability programs,” said David Goodman, CEO of Edenark Group.  “When an organization executes the Edenark Group ISO 14001 sustainability certification, as Safran Oil Systems is doing, it not only benefits the environment, but it also benefits its own operation,” added Goodman.

Safran Oil Systems can be reached at https://www.safran-aero-boosters.com/

Edenark Group (https://edenark.com/ ) can be reached at +1.561.512.2257

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