Uplift Lifts & Bits - August 2022
August 2022 - In This Issue:
Does Your "Purpose-Driven" Brand Have Purpose?
It's Planning Season: Secure Buy-In on your ESG Budget
The UN Recognizes the Human Right to a Sustainable Environment - What Could that Mean for Companies?
Beautycounter Founder Walks the Talk – Driving Industry Change
Lifts & Bits
Does Your “Purpose-Driven” Brand Have Purpose?
Purpose has become a corporate buzzword as more customers and employees want to support companies that have a deeper-rooted meaning, beyond making money.
But while “purpose-driven” brands are everywhere, there’s a difference between a purpose statement or slogan and true impact.
At Uplift, we believe companies are purpose-driven if what they do or how they do it solves a social or environmental issue. For some companies, this is also tied to why they exist in the marketplace. At least one of the two criteria (and ideally both), should be fulfilled:
Their products were developed to directly solve a social or environmental problem.
Their operations are intentionally designed to run their business in a way that helps solve a specific social or environmental problem.
Below are three examples of companies that Uplift considers purpose-driven:
TOMS is a certified B Corporation that integrated purpose into its business model. Originallly, it set a commitment to donate a pair of shoes to someone in need whenever a pair of shoes is purchased. Now, their model has adapted, to instead donate ⅓ of their profits to grassroots nonprofits. This shift serves as a better business model for TOMS, and a more holistic way that it can support communities in need. For TOMS, how they operate acts as a vehicle to do good.
Tesla is a purpose-driven brand because the product itself (electric vehicles) is a solution to the problem of society’s over-reliance on gas-powered cars. Tesla’s stated purpose is “to accelerate the world's transition to sustainable energy.” Their purpose goes beyond selling cars to shifting the entire automotive industry to become more sustainable and to increase the use of solar energy.
Cascade Engineering is a manufacturer that has redesigned its workplace to help people who were formerly incarcerated re-enter the workforce through its program, Welfare to Career. By being intentional about hiring people who were formerly incarcerated and giving them the support tools to succeed, it is helping to solve a societal problem – as one of the primary drivers for reoffending is the lack of a job.
It’s Planning Season: Secure Buy-In on Your ESG Budget
It can be easy for sustainability & ESG to be overlooked during budgeting season if there's not a clear strategy and an executive champion. However, research shows that more companies are investing in ESG as corporate decision-makers are understanding that sustainability is smart business. Below are some tips to ensure that decision-makers in your company understand that it’s worth the investment:
Create clear objectives. Succinctly define the problem you're solving whether it is reducing greenhouse gas emissions or measuring human rights risks in your supply chain. Determine the solution your program intends to create. Distinguish between activities that are annual costs versus a one-time investment.
Integrate your objectives into existing strategy. Layer the sustainability objectives onto existing corporate priorities to demonstrate how your plan is a natural extension of work streams that have already been approved. In many cases, ESG activities can reduce costs, mitigate risks and create new opportunities in the marketplace.
Deliver a solid business case, backed with data. Define outcomes in a way that makes sense to decision-makers. For example, environmental activities can reduce your company’s carbon footprint, spur product innovations, and save costs. There are many other proof points from increasing government regulations and lawsuits, consumer and employee opinion polls, financial models, and competitor actions that you can use to back your case with data.
Identify and equip your champions. Meet early and often with allies to share your goals, get input, and secure buy-in. Allies provide critical perspectives on your objectives and business case and can help ensure resources are allocated to these important issues.
Apply systems thinking. Your ESG strategy can be flexible to complement your company's biggest needs, creating solutions in tandem with front-and-center issues. As your priorities shift, ESG practices may be scaled to meet the unique needs of each business.
Need Help? Uplift has extensive experience helping clients make the business case and budget for environmental, human rights, social impact, and ESG initiatives.
The UN Recognizes the Human Right to a Sustainable Environment - What Could that Mean for Companies?
This past July, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution recognizing a human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment. Through this resolution state governments, international organizations, businesses and other stakeholders are being called to scale up efforts to realize this right for all.
What does this mean for business? Companies will need to start approaching human rights and environmental challenges in tandem. In Uplift’s experience, where you find human rights violations you often find environmental violations and vice versa. While no one knows exactly what that will look like yet, here are a few things Uplift expects to see as a result.
New laws, policies and regulations. While this isn’t legally binding, UN resolutions influence policy development at a national, regional and global level.
International NGOs and institutions will leverage this resolution for greater advocacy and accountability for business’ impact on human rights and the environment.
Businesses should prepare for greater expectations and scrutiny. Since existing environmental and human rights laws vary greatly by country, companies will need to ensure that their facilities and those of their suppliers meet high standards. Being compliant in some locations may not be enough to respect and protect that community’s human right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment.
Stronger governance mechanisms will likely be required to ensure that progress is being made, companies are reporting against environmental and human rights impacts, and that remediation practices are in place.
What’s Inspiring Us:
Beauty Counter Founder Walks the Talk - Driving Industry Change
Gregg Renfrew, the founder of Beautycounter, believes that the critical component of its work isn’t just generating revenue, it’s also ensuring the company uses its ability to be an agent for change. Beautycounter is making beauty products that are more sustainable and using its platform to advocate for regulatory reform of its industry.
In less than a decade, Beautycounter has helped to pass 10 pieces of legislation to put better beauty products into the hands of its consumers, including one pending piece that would update the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s regulation on the industry. Since 1938, the personal care industry has had little regulation and oversight. This July, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions voted on legislation that would update these regulations.
Beautycounter's impacts extend far beyond its own products to lead industry-wide change - that's uplifting!
Uplifting News:
Uplift is Hiring!
We work together to fearlessly make the world a better place. Uplift has two new positions open to join our growing practice. Please spread the word!
VP of Communications, Advocacy & Impact
Sustainability Consultant
Visit the Uplift Careers page to learn more.
Uplift Welcomes Allison Mihalich!
We are thrilled to welcome Allison Mihalich, Sustainability Consultant, to our firm. Allison began her career supporting sustainability efforts at the U.S. Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Agency. She has advanced ESG initiatives for both public- and privately-owned businesses. Her expertise spans greenhouse gas accounting, ESG reporting, and strategic planning.
Allison earned an Executive Masters of Natural Resources from Virginia Tech, a B.A. in Environmental Studies and Geography, and a certificate in Geographic Information Systems from George Washington University.
Visit our Teams page to learn more.
