Event - Goodness Matters Benevity Conference

The Goodness Matters annual Benevity conference will take place on February 6 - 8, 2018 in Palm Springs, California.  The occassion also marks Benevity's tenth anniversary.  At GM2018 corporate giving professionals will gather in sunny Palm Springs to learn and participate in discussions that will augur the next era of corporate goodness. From insightful talks to client showcases, product previews to fun networking opportunities.

Sustainability in the Apparel Industry and Eco Fashion (Video)

Sustainable apparel and eco-friendly fashion is growing. This type of fashion has a much smaller environmental footprint this includes minimizing waste and eliminating the use of harmful chemicals. For years the clothing industry has been dominated by cheap imports from places like China and India, however, burgeoning consumer awareness about social and environmental issues are pushing brands in more responsible directions.

Nike has been pushed by consumers to become a more sustainable company and Patagonia has made a name for itself by being one of the most responsible and sustainable companies in the world. A host of other brands have also boarded the sustainability train. This includes accessible brands like H&M and North Face, to high end designer brands like Gucci, Calvin Klein and Stella McCartney.

Primer on Sustainability in Small Businesses

There are a number of things that small businesses can do to be more environmentally sustainable.  This both lowers costs and enhances the reputation of your enterprise. A growing number of companies are reducing the environmental impact of their businesses, so engaging sustainability is also about remaining competitive. Increasing consumer interest in sustainability makes it ever more important for small businesses to be able to meet burgeoning demand now and in the future.

Why Small Businesses are Engaging Sustainability

The size of the market opportunities is driving small businesses to engage environmental sustainability, as are concerns about survival and long term success. In addition to improving profits, reducing costs and mitigating against risk, engaging sustainability affords opportunities for collaboration and innovation.

While big corporate sustainability initiatives steal headlines, the small business community is also going green. For example, operational efficiency practices are increasingly commonplace even in small companies.

The rationale for engaging sustainability is largely about meeting and anticipating consumer demand. This translates to more customers, increased sales, higher revenues and even price premiums. Sustainability contributes to the crafting of a unique selling proposition, it helps to differentiate a company from the competition, and it offers a competitive advantage. Sustainability provides a host of reputational benefits. The latter contributes to word of mouth marketing, greater trust, improved loyalty, and enhanced employee recruitment and retention.

Why Small Businesses are Well Suited to Sustainability

Small businesses and sustainability are a perfect match. Yet their are a number of reasons why they are not adopting sustainability at the same rate as their corporate counterparts. Just like their larger corporate cousins, small businesses should adopt sustainability policies. There are good reasons why it is easier to engage sustainability in a small business as compared to a large corporation.

While they may not have the deep pockets of big corporations, a small business is more nimble and able to change directions more quickly than large enterprises.

Why Small Businesses are Not Engaging Sustainability

Many small businesses fail to realize the value of sustainability and as a consequence they are not adopting sustainability as quickly as large corporations. Despite the convincing business case for sustainability, small businesses have yet to engage in large numbers. Small business owners commonly perceive sustainability to be overly complex and too costly. The result is that small businesses are often absent from discussions about sustainability.

The inaction of the small business community does not appear to be due to disinterest in environmental responsibility. According to a Lloyds’ survey, 61 percent of small and medium business leaders practice sustainability at home, while only 43 percent incorporate eco-friendly practices at the office.

Video - Companies Combating Climate Change (CDP Report)

In this video, Lord Adair Turner, Former Chairman of the Financial Services Authority, James Bevan, Chief Investment Officer at CCLA and Paul Simpson talk about the CDP report which ranks companies in terms of their climate performance. This report comes on the heels of Standard & Poor's Ratings Services which stated that climate change will hit countries' economic growth rates and public finances. Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson recently said that climate change is, "the single biggest risk that exists to the economy today."

The Best and the Worst Climate Performers (CDP)

In addition to ranking corporate leaders, the most recent CDP report lists the leading sectors in terms of climate performance. It reviews regional and national climate leaders and laggards. The report also singled out a few large corporations which refused to disclose their climate performance data. Performance leaders are those who received an "A" grade in the report.

According to the CDP, the sectors most represented in the 2014 Climate Performance Leaders Index are Information Technology, Financials, Consumer Staples, Consumer Discretionary and Industrials. Together these four sectors constitute 86 percent of the A list index.

According to the CDP's climate performance list, almost half of the leaders are based in Europe, with a further third located in either the US or Japan. More than a quarter of the Spanish and Belgian companies that took part in CDP’s climate change program were awarded an A rating. Other nations that performed well are Portugal, the Netherlands and South Korea.

By contrast, the laggards on climate performance are Canada, Switzerland, Australia and China.

Climate Action Enhances Profit by 9.6% (2014 CDP Report)

Engaging climate change is becoming almost synonymous with profitability. According to a new study, the more a company does to address climate change the more it appears to profit. This is a solid refutation of the conservative line the we simply cannot afford to manage climate change. It flies in the face of the false argument that we must chose between combating climate change and economic growth.

Companies from Apple to Zurich are showing climate leadership is not only a corporate responsibility it is also spawns a bevy of bottom line benefits. According to new research from CDP, companies that assume the responsibility to engage climate change outperform their peers. In fact, in the period between 2010 and 2014, companies that showed leadership through action to mitigate climate change outperformed the Bloomberg World Index by 9.6 percent.

Sustainability is Profitable According to the CDP's 2014 Climate Change Report

Some interesting insights came to light in the 2014 version of the annual CDP S&P 500 Climate Change Report. Overall the report suggests that companies in the S&P 500 are actively managing and planning for climate-change and the companies that do so are more profitable. The report indicates that for companies that are addressing climate change the return on equity was 18 percent higher than their peers and 67 percent higher than companies who do not disclose on climate change. The dividend yield for shareholders was 21 percent stronger then low ranking peers.

Further their results indicate that such efforts make them more stable with 50 percent lower volatility earnings over the past decade than low ranking peers.

As explained in the report, "Investors should take note that the debate has squarely moved from the moral to the material and should reward climate leaders with higher valuation multiples."

CDP Climate Disclosure Leaders List 2014

CDP Climate Performance Leaders List 2014

Webinar - The Current & Future State of EH&S Regulatory Compliance

The Current & Future State of EH&S Regulatory Compliance: How to Implement Compliance Programs that Reduce Risks & Increase Performance will take place on Tuesday, April 22, 2014 - 11am CT/12pm ET. This one hour webinar will be presented by Enablon, RegScan, and Environmental Leader.

Most companies today manage operations globally, across national borders. Regulatory requirements are constantly evolving and it’s becoming more & more challenging to understand which regulatory changes may impact your company.

This webinar will be hosted by experts from RegScan and Enablon.

Infographic - Purpose Driven Social Brands

Complimentary e-Book: How to Add Value with Environmental Data

"How to Add Value with Environmental Data" is a complimentary e-book that teaches you how to put your data to better use. It helps readers to to take full advantage of the Environmental Data they collect.

The book is intended for those who want to know more about how environmental data already captured in your systems can be usable information that creates business value.

In the book you will learn about critical tips to help you better manage your data, streamline operations and create cost savings.

Don't wait – get the 5 Ways to Create Business Value with your Environmental Data e-book today!

Click here to download the book.

Duke Energy Does it Again: More Coal Ash in Public Water

Coal ash spills came into the popular consciousness with the widely reported Dan River Disaster. However, this is far from the only spill of coal ash. Less than two months after Duke energy spilled 30,000 tons of coal ash which decimated 70 miles of the Dan River, there was a repeat. However, this time was different, this time it was clearly intentional.

Duke energy was photographed deliberately dumping wastewater from toxic coal ash into public waterways. The Waterkeeper Alliance released aerial surveillance photos that caught Duke Energy red handed. The images show workers pumping wastewater from two of Duke Energy’s toxic coal ash lagoons into a canal that drains into the Cape Fear River, a source of public drinking water.

Patagonia Presents the World Premiere of “DamNation”

Patagonia recently announced that it is presenting the world premiere of DamNation at the SXSW. This film explores the sea change in our national attitude from pride in big dams as engineering wonders to the growing awareness that our own future is bound to the life and health of our rivers.

Dam removal has moved beyond the fictional Monkey Wrench Gang to go mainstream. Where obsolete dams come down, rivers bound back to life, giving salmon and other wild fish the right of return to primeval spawning grounds, after decades without access. DamNation's majestic cinematography and unexpected discoveries move through rivers and landscapes altered by dams, but also through a metamorphosis in values, from conquest of the natural world to knowing ourselves as part of nature.

A special panel at the world premiere of the film on March 10 at SXSW will feature Patagonia Founder/Owner Yvon Chouinard; DamNation director Travis Rummel; Joy Howard, Vice President of Marketing for Patagonia; and, Jeremy Boxer, Creative Director of Vimeo. The panel will be moderated by esteemed indie film journalist and digital innovator Eugene Hernandez, Director of Digital Strategy at the Film Society of Lincoln Center.

Employee Uniforms Made from Recycled Plastic Bottles

There are a number of greener textiles ranging from organic cotton to cutting edge silks and wools, but one of the more interesting apparel choices involves repuposing recycled plastic bottles. The fabric is called RPET which is simply recycled polyester made from post consumer plastic bottles.

One potentially lucrative uses of this textile is in the fabrication of employee uniforms. By using RPET for employee uniforms, companies looking to introduce sustainability programs enhance their corporate reputation while getting a leg-up on their competition.

Sustainable Green Fashion is Being Buoyed by Growing Consumer Demand

There is a growing wave of interest in green fashion sweeping around the world. Companies are responding to demand from socially conscious consumers who are looking for sustainable clothing. However in the absence of clear standards, it is hard to know who is truly making sustainable clothing and who is simply looking to cash in on sustainable demand.

Cotton is the worst and most ubiquitous culprit in the fashion world. Conventionally grown cotton is a major pollutant and it poses a serious health risk. Cotton uses more insecticides than any other single crop. Cotton producers around the world spend nearly $2.6 billion on pesticides each year. According to the Pesticide Action Network, an international organization dedicated to eliminating hazardous pesticides, this amounts to more than 10 percent of the world's pesticides, and nearly 25 percent of the world's insecticides. However, there is increasing interest in organic cotton which uses no pesticides or insecticides. This represents a significant improvement over traditional pesticide rich cotton textiles

The North Face Increases "Clothes the Loop" Recycling

The North Face recently announced the expansion of its apparel and footwear recycling program. The company's "Clothes The Loop" program will now be available in more than half of its retail store locations across the nation. Clothes The Loop is now available in a total of 27 The North Face stores nationwide.

The program diverts thousands of pounds of apparel and footwear from landfills. It also enables consumers to recycle their unused clothing and shoes, moving these items into a continuous closed loop product cycle thus reducing waste, preserving material resources, protecting the environment and enabling sustainable consumption. Items are either reused or reverted back to basic materials for manufacturing.

Last year the North Face pilot program succeeded in diverting 1,350 lbs of apparel and footwear away from landfills.