Hi there,

Thanks to everyone who responded with book suggestions last month -- I have a long list of great reads ahead of me this summer. (And if you haven't already ready it, I *highly* recommend Station Eleven. I read it in a single day and couldn't put it down.) Hope you enjoy our newsletter this month!

--Jennifer Woofter, SSC President

What Holds Companies Back

Dispatch from SSC President Jennifer Woofter

I've been doing some serious business development work over the last couple of months, and it's been fascinating to see which companies have committed to moving forward with their sustainability goals and which have stalled. 

The thee new clients that we've taken on have these things in common:
  • A clear external deadline -- upcoming deadlines for DJSI, CDP, UN Global Compact, or a customer supplier scorecard are all driving a need to act.
  • A defined person with sustainability responsibilities -- there is a very specific individual who is tasked with meeting sustainability objectives (not just a "team" or "working group.")
The three companies that are still waiting to make a decision have these things in common:
  • Fuzzy vision of sustainability -- the company's environmental and social goals and priorities shift depending on who you talk to.
  • Multiple levels of sign-off -- there are at least two (and sometimes three) levels of authorization to obtain before we can sign a contract and move forward with the project.
There are so many lessons here, for both consultants and in-house sustainability professionals. As SSC continues to evolve its client acquisition process, I'm wondering: what other green lights and red flags should we be looking for? If you feel inspired, drop us a line and let us know your thoughts!
 

Mark Your Calendar


Mentor Capital Network Annual Gathering
The United Nations
New York City
July 9th & 10th

This annual gathering of the Mentor Capital Network features entrepreneurs, mentors, funders, and more who are working to make the world a better place through business. The annual gathering will feature keynote speeches from world leaders in social enterprise, presentations from more than two dozen social entrepreneurs from around the world, networking sessions, and more. Find out more information here and register for the event here.

You Might Like...


We are inspired every day by the work of our fellow sustainability professionals. Here are three resources and tools that have caught our attention. 
  1. Feeding Ourselves Thirsty - this Ceres report focuses on how the global food sector - agriculture, meat, beverage, packaged food - is managing water risks
  2. State of Green Business 2015 - every year, GreenBiz publishes a report that allows insight to how companies are doing with their environmental performance
  3. 2015 Energy and Sustainability Predictions - Ecova surveyed over 500 energy, facility, finance, and sustainability professionals to see how companies are approaching sustainability management

(If you have another resource to suggest, just let us know. We might include it in an upcoming newsletter!)

Featured White Paper for May


Green Marketing: Think Before You Act

This paper provides a brief background on green marketing and the associated risks of greenwashing.  It describes the important role of standards and certifications in green marketing, offers an analytical framework to help businesses choose among them, and explores the other green marketing tools as they are most appropriate for each company.

Best of Our Blog

Here are the links to some of our blog posts over the past month:

How Sustainability is Saving Chinese Textile Mills Money

Introducing RILA’s 2015 Retail Sustainability Management Maturity Index

What Does It Take to Be Environmentally Sustainable in the Retail Sector?

Choosing Sustainability Management Software for Your Business

Do Sustainability Consultants Need to Blog?

10 Steps to Building a Better Business Case

3 Skill Sets Every Sustainability Consultant Should Have
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