6 Things to Know When Building an Authentic Green Brand

In short

In his earliest Entrepreneur article, Rob Lancit argues that becoming an environmentally sound business takes a review of the whole operation: products and services, vendors, suppliers, office supplies, distribution and partnerships.

He makes six points. One, the issue is urgent to customers: he cites a Science Advances survey in which 77 percent of Americans called climate change a serious threat, and notes that Millennials and Gen Z, the most concerned groups, are gaining purchasing power. Two, assess your current environmental, social and governance practices, with a specialist consultant if needed. Three, write sustainability into the core values and mission, set key performance indicators early, and consider a Green Operations team to oversee the effort. Four, look everywhere: energy use at headquarters, materials, how a service is delivered, vehicles and internal waste. Five, buy from other green brands and set a formal policy for the supply chain. Six, make the results match the claims.

The sixth point carries the warning. A brand that treats sustainability as decoration is greenwashing, a word he says is fast becoming a synonym for fraud. His standard is that the commitment is real and measured, or it should not be claimed.

Summary by the editors of this site. The original is Rob’s own writing; read the original at the source.