Sustainability Program

If your company has become a more sustainable and greener business, you have a powerful and beneficial story to share with your employees, customers, partners and investors. Your “sustainability story” includes your sustainability mission, the commitments you’ve made, the initiatives you’ve completed and the list of your accomplishments.

Our members continue to amaze us with their commitment to sustainability and their innovative green and social responsibility initiatives. They lead by example and demonstrate how business can be used as a platform for good. Now that 2022 is over, we’d like to take this time to recognize some of our member companies via our fourth Annual “Best of GBB” Awards. Our members are regular companies.

There are many business advantages of running a sustainable business, but getting there is not easy and often starts with engaging employees to create a green company culture. Companies need an official sustainability program that guides green teams and enables employees to implement the green initiatives that best suit their business.

Held annually on April 22nd, Earth Day is a worldwide event that raises public awareness and encourages individuals, companies, communities and whole nations to participate in environmental protection activities.

In this Green Business Bureau article, we’ll take a brief look at how you should account for business emissions at the corporate and product level, using the GHG Protocol’s scope emission classification system. We’ll run through two examples to help you understand how to apply scope emissions in your business.

B Corp Certification presents a set of guiding principles that support organizations to minimize their impact on the environment and society. With over 6,000 certified B Corps, this has become a globally recognized certification body.

Home-cooked meals and family traditions, rooting for your favorite football team, connecting with your loved ones and that cozy feeling of holiday cheer – There are many reasons why Thanksgiving is one of America’s most beloved holidays. While we’re busy getting in the holiday spirit, we may forget to think about the environmental and social impacts of our celebrations.

A 2020 research project led by the Centre for Innovation Management Research (CIMR) at the Birkbeck University of London, investigated the behavior of large-capital companies with respect to Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG). The majority of companies were found to cherry-pick favorable data that gave the philanthropic image the brands wanted to create.

Many business owners today want to become more sustainable. They want to become a greener business. They know it’s good for business. In fact, their customers may demand it. Employees often demand it. But it’s not always easy. There are serious sustainability challenges that are stopping many business owners from becoming a green business. What are these challenges and how can they overcome them?

Many companies use a sustainability framework or environmental management system to aid them in their implementation of environmental programs. If you are looking for a standard that is also certified, the ISO 14001 certification standard is an option you may want to consider, particularly if you are a manufacturing company.

If your company is working toward improving its sustainability performance, you need a strategy, plan and roadmap. There are ten steps we’ve defined at Green Business Bureau to gear your company’s purpose, culture, focus and actions towards sustainability

A water audit, also known as a water assessment, is an analysis of a business’s water usage to identify inefficiencies and potential cost savings. It documents all the different ways your business uses water within its operations, when and how much water is typically consumed, and identifies opportunities for reductions.

Biophilic design has three main applications: direct experience of nature, indirect experience of nature, and the experience of space and place.[4,5] The implementation of these applications would be different depending on the project and its context.

Measuring sustainability as an internal business process requires proper selection of key sustainability metrics and a means of making effective process improvements. These measures provide real-time data, a much needed quantitative basis for organizations to strategize and mitigate environmental, social and economic risks.

If you’re a committed green business looking for eco-friendly ways to package your product, then you’ll be delighted to know the market is growing with boxing and shipping options that are reusable, recyclable, biodegradable, and made from recycled material. We review some of the major providers that offer the best eco-friendly alternatives for boxes and packaging below.

Organizing a constructive and progressive green team or sustainability committee within your company can be one of the most empowering and valuable moves on your sustainability journey. Sometimes though, it can be a bit daunting to get one started, especially if you don’t have a serious focus on sustainability within the business yet and commitment from all executives.

If you own and operate a plumbing business, it’s time to get serious about going green in order to stay ahead of the trend and secure your business for the future. The younger generation has demonstrated an increasing interest in environmental sustainability, seeing that 87% of consumers prioritize sustainable businesses.

Carbon accounting – also known as a carbon or greenhouse gas inventory – is the process of measuring the amount of carbon dioxide, or other greenhouse gas (GHG), an organization emits. The aim is to help the entity understand its climatic impact.

If your company is investing in green initiatives and working toward becoming a more sustainable business and/or company, you need a strategy, plan, and a roadmap. A sustainable business journey starts with establishing a clear company purpose and mission, creating the right culture, and engaging employees.

To give you some perspective on the importance of sustainability in the sports industry we consider the carbon footprint of the 2010 South Africa World Cup, the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, and the 2016 Rio Olympics together. These three global sporting events generated the equivalent of burning 11 billion pounds of coal, releasing a total of 10.05 million tonnes of CO2e.

Catering is an essential service for countless companies, organizations and private events, but with that comes environmental and social impacts. Thankfully, there are many opportunities to improve the sustainability of your catering services, whether it be how the food is sourced, prepared, transported or served.

The voluntary carbon offset market is rocketing, with the Ecosystem Marketplace reporting an annual market value of ~$1 billion in 2021, which was an all-time high. As the market grows, the number of offset projects, plus project diversity, has expanded. This can make things difficult for business leaders like you, looking to reduce their carbon footprint through purchasing offsets.

Customers, employees, partners, communities and shareholders all benefit from a commitment to sustainable practices which seek to protect the planet, treat employees with respect, and engage with the community in a positive manner.

The field of sustainability in business offers many career paths, including roles in corporate, consulting, government and entrepreneurship. Some roles are very specialized and may require a degree or certification in a specific sustainability field.

The International Standards Organization (ISO) has developed over 18,500 international standards, and of high significance is ISO’s environmental management system standards titled ISO 14001 (for ISO 14001 certification).

ISO 14000 gives the framework, requirements, and standards for the implementation of an effective company-wide environmental management system (EMS). ISO 14000 is in high demand as corporate CEOs, business leaders, and green teams recognize the seriousness of sustainability for business viability, but struggle to take action.

Organizations across the board from brick and mortar, fully remote to international companies may be interested in funding green projects. Your options include grants, loans, lending platforms, and even the Climate Pledge Fund.

The voluntary carbon offset market is projected to reach $700.5 million by 2027 – with an 11.7% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) – hence the need to understand the difference between carbon offsets vs carbon credits has never before been this pressing.

Businesses today need to know and understand their carbon footprint in order to make progress toward becoming a more sustainable and eco-friendly business. Once you know your carbon footprint, you can measure the progress of your sustainability program and green initiatives by tracking the reduction of your carbon footprint.

As the old adage says, what gets measured gets done. And with a sustainability scorecard, you can hold yourself accountable while providing a formal structure for your sustainability program, with goals and KPIs that can be measured.

An ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) certification is a 3rd party verification system used to accurately show your company has completed key sustainability initiatives, and has become a sustainable business.

The benefits of sustainability certifications for business go well beyond a rating, a seal or certificate of proof. The process itself becomes a journey to create a green corporate culture and a more sustainable, socially responsible business. A sustainability certification program engages employees and drives company-wide commitment and purpose.

The U.N. SDGs are driving governments, individuals, universities and businesses to adjust their practices to achieve benchmarks and secure a sustainable future by 2030. SDG 12, Responsible Consumption and Production, is one of the most applicable and easiest ways for companies to incorporate the UN SDGs into their business practices.

With many employees working from home or remotely, companies need to adjust their approach to sustainability in the workplace. Your sustainability program may need new green initiatives and more involvement from your employees since their homes have become part of your carbon footprint.

In this Green Business Bureau article, we present a case study to showcase Costa Rica sustainability. Our aim is to highlight what’s possible from adopting a forward-thinking, positive mindset and an innovative approach to drive a green transition on a country-wide scale.

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is the most prominent green building rating and certification system used throughout the world. LEED can be a very beneficial certification to pursue, however understanding the process of getting certified can be confusing, which is why we at the Green Business Bureau have put together this article, to support your certification efforts.

With consumers becoming more socially and environmentally conscious, CSR has become a must for building and maintaining a positive brand image and attracting customers, employees, and investors. Moreover, CSR initiatives can also help companies mitigate risks, improve operational efficiencies, and ultimately contribute to long-term financial success.

Green certifications are valuable programs that can help companies demonstrate their sustainable products, services and practices to employees, customers, partners and investors. If you want your business to be a great business with passionate employees and customers who respect and admire your business and brand, you’ll need to credibly and transparently show them you care about the environment.

ESG compliance lays out the standards and responsibilities of an organization, to meet the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) needs appropriate to a business, which is communicated with ESG reporting.

Despite the continued CEO efforts and rising customer, employee, investor and political interest, many businesses are struggling to integrate sustainability into the core of their operations. In 2019, a mere 16% of executives stated sustainability as a built-in business function.