Sustainable Outreach

Sustainability Awareness Grows

Not surprisingly, with all the hype about it, sustainability has come of age over the past decade.

“There has been what I call a ‘sustainability shift,’” Steve Ashkin, president of The Ashkin Group explained in Facility Executive. “More companies now realize that sustainability, cost savings, risk aversion, and business growth, all go hand in hand.”

Ashkin detailed what was accomplished in the past 10 years to provide insights into where sustainability will go in the next decade. The following are among the sustainability accomplishments he listed:

• 10 years ago, only about 20% of the S&P 500 Hundred companies published sustainability reports. Now, that is closer to 90%.
• The 2019 Business Roundtable released a new “Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation,” asserting that U.S. companies should transition from focusing primarily on profits to “supporting communities and protecting the environment by embracing sustainable practices.”
• A decade ago, only about 40% of U.S. adults believed protecting the environment was a top priority. Today, that number is closer to 60%.
• By 2019, power generation in the U.S. from renewable energy sources surpassed power produced from coal.
• The U.S. Energy Information Administration reports that U.S. coal mining output has declined 27% over the past decade; coal is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions.
• Power generated by renewable energy sources increased 26 times from 2009 to 2019, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by two billion tons in 2019 alone
• Recycling and composting in the U.S. has gone from just over 75 million tons in 2010 to nearly 100 million tons today.
• The number of Americans employed in the U.S. solar industry has more than doubled since the beginning of the decade. There are now more people working in solar power industries than in oil, coal, or gas.

Ashkin concluded: “Simply put, sustainability is where the jobs are. In the next 10 years, we will see sustainability become one of the leading drivers of the U.S. economy.”

Entrepreneurs and Sustainability

Entrepreneurs and startups are searching high and low for investors to fund their dreams of launching sustainable businesses – small or large. Why? Because entrepreneurs and investors are confident in a great return on their investment.

According to Alex Gold, CMO of Myia Health, writing in a recent edition of Entrepreneur, at a Demo Day event in Silicon Valley several months ago, “Nearly every entrepreneur was discretely focused on building an outwardly sustainable enterprise. From alternatives to plastic packaging to next-generation milk replacements, this crop of entrepreneurs placed sustainability benefits front and center as a product attribute. Additionally, they were looking for investors that shared their vision of a more equitable and sustainable world.”

Gold offered these stats to prove his case: From 2007 to 2008, venture capitalists poured more than $6 billion into clean-tech enterprises, on top of the Federal government’s investment of $40-plus billion in tax breaks and subsidies. One firm alone, Khosla Ventures, recorded in excess of $1 billion of related investments. 

Furthermore, as the climate crisis becomes more acute, consumer attitudes toward sustainable businesses are fundamentally shifting toward the positive side and compelling businesses to take action. They are supported in this trend by state and local governments that have jumped on the sustainable bandwagon, for example, by banning plastic bags and straws.

Gold continued: “And as a new crop of entrepreneurs rapidly start businesses with sustainability as a foundational tenet, there is much we can learn. Chief amongst these is creating a product that consumers will not just like, but love. By focusing on product first and foremost, entrepreneurs will be able to convince consumers of an attendant sustainability-value proposition. Second, entrepreneurs should partner with sustainability-focused organizations that provide crucial third-party credibility.”

However, there’s a caveat. Businesses can’t merely claim they’re sustainable. Consumers aren’t gullible and naïve. Quite the opposite. They’ll certainly spend money with a sustainable business, but it has to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that it’s sustainable. “The easiest thing for entrepreneurs to do is partner with leading organizations, nonprofits and advocacy groups to substantiate the environmental and sustainability benefits of their product. It is not enough to just claim that you are sustainable, you have to prove it and make a commitment to doing so over the lifecycle of your company. This could involve significant supply chain audits, certifications and other mechanisms by which entrepreneurs can prove the conscious nature of their organization,” Gold pointed out.

In other words, entrepreneurs must develop products that consumers love and then to substantiate any claims of sustainability, they need to partner with leading sustainable organizations in their supply chain.

If you’ve leaped onto the sustainable bandwagon with your new business, don’t keep it a secret. Share the news with others in your market, community, town and supply chain. And when it comes to marketing, Gold suggests working with organizations that get it like The Lonely Whale Foundation, whose Museum of Plastic provides sustainable organizations the opportunity to drive valuable earned media while consciously raising awareness of the challenges of single-use plastics.

“But there is no doubt that the opportunity to thrive economically and conscientiously is riper than ever before,” Gold said.

So, if you’re looking to launch a new businesses – sustainable business – there’s money to be had from investors that know the sustainable business is very likely to do very well.

Samsung Leads in Sustainability

Electronics giant Samsung has started off the new decade by winning three prizes sponsored by several organizations that reflect the company’s commitment to pursuing sustainable recycling, upcycling and waste management practices.

At the 2019 Sustainable Materials Management (SMM) Electronics Challenge awards ceremony, hosted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Samsung received the Champion and Tier Awards, and at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) Innovation Awards, Samsung was recognized as this year’s winner for promoting efficient resource use.

The SMM Electronics Challenge, hosted since 2014, is the EPA’s annual awards ceremony recognizing participants for their commitment to sustainable materials management and the responsible recycling, honoring those companies who, in the US, voluntarily engage in recycling programs. In the Champion Award category, Samsung received its third Cutting-Edge Award since the award’s creation in 2016, which recognizes participants for pioneering ideas in electronics sustainability. The company was recognized for the Galaxy Upcycling project, a project dedicated to reusing end-of-life mobile phones for both environmental protection and societal gain. The award-winning Galaxy Upcycling project transforms obsolete mobile phones no longer in use into internet-of-things (IoT) devices with the power to benefit underserved communities.

In the Tier Award category, Samsung has, for the sixth year in a row, been awarded Gold, an honor bestowed upon only those companies that send at least 96% of all used electronics to certified third-party recyclers. Samsung was recognized for collecting and recycling 60,000 tons of waste electronics in 2018, along with once again only making contracts with only those vendors certified by e-Stewards, a third-party certification management program for electronics recyclers. Furthermore, the company actively participates in eCycling, a voluntary e-waste collection program for companies organized by the CTA (Consumer Technology Association).

At this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Samsung received a wide range of honors at the CES Innovation Awards, with products and services from display technologies to mobile devices awarded for standing out in the industry as leading, innovative solutions. Among these, Samsung’s The Serif Eco-Packaging design has been recognized for promoting the efficient use of resources. The Eco-Packaging design allows consumers to upcycle the packaging of a product into small, versatile pieces of furniture.

Small Business Extracurricular Activities

In addition to the United Nations and its various agencies, departments and programs as well as multinational corporations, schools and businesses can also play a crucial role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Small businesses can help with this process by educating students and employees about sustainable development and the SDGs. By reaching out to grammar schools and high schools, small businesses can help train a new generation about the importance of the SDGs. Including the SDGs in a school’s curriculum is a great way to use students’ passion and youthful energy to point them toward opportunities to help their community.