The Age of Sustainability Certification Confirmation Has Begun
Question: If your company is not environmentally certified sustainable and you are competing against a company that is, besides slashing your price/margin, how do you plan to compete, given the below?
Per this article, a study of +1,000 small to mid-sized businesses found that prior to engaging a supplier, partner or stakeholder
- 89% will check sustainability credentials
- 58% will ask for their certification
- 34% will review the company’s green policies and practices on its website
- 31% will check the company reports and mission statements that outline green objectives
- 28% will ask the company about its attitude towards sustainability
- 22% will check references regarding sustainability
Given what we do, we are excited by the numbers, but admit they appear high. We have been seeing data with numbers roughly 50% of these.
If we go with what we have seen, which might be stale, but is certainly more conservative, we arrive at the following
- 45% will check sustainability credentials
- 29% will ask for their certification
- 17% will review the company’s green policies and practices on its website
- 16% will check the company reports and mission statements that outline green objectives
- 14% will ask the company about its attitude towards sustainability
- 11% will check references regarding sustainability
Either way, we all know what the trend line is….and the top numbers may already be more accurate.
What is your plan? If you don’t have one, watch this and contact us.