Certify

1. It may let you gain business from the public sector, as most governments have added sustainability criteria into purchasing decisions.
2. You may be able to become supplier or win business from a large company, as 97% of the procurement organizations surveyed consider sustainability/CSR important for procurement decision. https://www.hec.edu/en/news-room/state-sustainable-procurement-latest-ecovadis/hec-paris-barometer-released
3. You may have an upper hand in competing with other suppliers. US Dodd-Frank Act, UK Modern Slavery Act and EU Conflict Mineral Regulation are driving companies to assess their supplier’s sustainability credentials.
4. You should be able to attract more consumers. As per Forbes – 88% of the consumers want companies to help them make a difference. https://www.forbes.com/sites/solitairetownsend/2018/11/21/consumers-want-you-to-help-them-make-a-difference/?sh=63b431896954
5. You may be able to address the fast growing expectation on environmentally-friendly, ethical and healthy alternatives. BBC – COVID-19 and sustainability. – https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-55630144
6. You can drive financial outperformance. Oxford University –
   https://arabesque.com/research/From_the_stockholder_to_the_stakeholder_web.pdf
7. You can uplift revenue of 5-20%, reduce cost by 9-16% and increase brand value by 15-30%. World Economic Forum – http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEFUSA_BeyondSupplyChains_Report2015.pdf

Any 3rd party sustainability certification should provide more assurance to you.  This should directly improve your ability to improve your sustainability credentials. Following seems like additional benefits:

1. Free up internal resources
2. Quicker assessment because of skills & processes
3. Reduced assessment cost
4. Access to specialised talent
5. Increase focus on core capabilities
6. Improve credibility and brand image
7. Improve process control
8. Improve Key Performance Indicators
9. Improve Key Result Area awareness
10. Drive innovation
11. Improve compliance
12. Commercial advantage by differentiating you from your peers/competitors
13. Reasonably improved assurance to your stakeholders when compared with self-assessment/self-certification.
14. Reduce financial risks
15. Reduce operational risks

The list is based on 11 links after this list.

Brand Image & Company Reputation

• 1. Increase transparency
• 2. Better employee morale and talent retention linked to good labor practices
• 3. Attract talent
• 4. Healthier and safer environment for employees
• 5. Improvement of labor standards
• 6. Engaged investors
• 7. Attract investors
• 8. Make shareholders happy
• 9. Increase shareholder confidence
• 10. Sustainable brand image positively affecting credit rating and funding cost
• 11. Higher brand value through certifications
• 12. Global brand improvement
• 13. Build, enhance & protect brand to increase competitive advantage
• 14. Positive community impact
• 15. Positive environment impact with lesser pollution (air – water – land)
• 16. Improved customer goodwill
• 17. Improved health benefits for customer
• 18. Avoids serious health risks
• 19. Local job creation
• 20. Remanufacturing creates hundreds of thousands jobs
• 21. Lower noise emissions
• 22. Improve recyclability,
• 23. Redesign – Promote Innovation
• 24. Rethink – Example – Replace plastics with bio-plastic

Profit Increase / Cost Reduction

• 25. Improved energy efficiency, so reduced costs
• 26. Innovating with suppliers and customers, so reduced costs
• 27. Streamlining supply chain and logistics, so reduced costs
• 28. Resource (energy, material and water) productivity improvement, so reduced costs
• 29. Reduced waste and better equipment efficiency through total productive maintenance
• 30. Reduced transportation costs and carbon exhaust
• 31. Lower packaging costs
• 32. Higher freight utilization, so lower carbon emissions
• 33. Lower inventory costs
• 34. Opportunity to recycle or refurbish material
• 35. Remanufacturing leads to net reduction in input cost
• 36. Remanufacturing requires 85% less energy compared to manufacturing
• 37. Increase in productivity by improving efficiency and effectiveness
• 38. Companies can also charge higher price premiums up to 20%
• 39. Reduce buying and increase renting to share resource
• 40. Reuse – Promoted old end of life batteries for short term energy backup
• 41. Recycle – Old Equipment refitted to New Units
• 42. Reprocess – Modified old eqpt to suit new requirement
• 43. Refurbish equipment for life extension
• 44. Remanufacture for synergies for easy maintenance
• 45. Repair equipment to keep it in use
• 46. Recycle at end of life, and sell equipment to generate revenue
• 47. Repurpose equipment for redefined need.
• 48. Recover parts for non-repairable, non-saleable, non-refurbish able, non-reusable equipment before recycling
• 49. Rent instead of buy – Sharing of equipment
• 50. Recertify for life extension
• 51. Redefine needs

Revenue Growth

• 52. Increase exports
• 53. New revenue streams through closed loop manufacturing processes (e.g. by re-using products)
• 54. New revenue streams by selling waste
• 55. Price premium on products manufactured through clean technology
• 56. Price premium on products produced organically or through other sustainable practice.
• 57. Every dollar spent on EHS programmes result in a return of $1.5 to $6
• 58. Enter growing market of sustainable investment, goods and services
• 59. Redesigning products to meet environmental standards or social needs offers new business opportunities.
• 60. Position yourself as an industry and/or market leader

Risk Mitigation

• 61. Securing “license to operate” – establishing credibility when it comes to sustainability – through regulation compliance (e.g. through proper environmental, healthand safety programs providing high ethical standards)
• 62. Protecting social credibility to operate, so risk mitigation
• 63. Integrating sustainability aspects with corporate risk management
• 64. Developing manufacturing processes for sustainable substitutes that diversify sourcing risk
• 65. Mitigation of company risks due to unethical suppliers.

1. Harvard Business School – https://online.hbs.edu/blog/post/business-case-for-sustainability
2. Forbes – 88% of the consumers want companies to help them make a difference.
   https://www.forbes.com/sites/solitairetownsend/2018/11/21/consumers-want-you-to-help-them-make-a-difference/?sh=63b431896954
3. Fortune – Corporations want sustainable suppliers – https://fortune.com/2019/09/06/corporate-suppliers-sustainability-walmart-mcdonalds/
4. Harvard Business Review – https://hbr.org/2016/10/the-comprehensive-business-case-for-sustainability
5. Oxford University – https://arabesque.com/research/From_the_stockholder_to_the_stakeholder_web.pdf
6. BBC – COVID-19 and sustainability – https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-55630144
7. Fortune – How consumers are pushing for sustainability – https://fortune.com/2019/09/06/government-consumer-pressure-global-fashion-sustainability/
8. Forbes – Opportunity with sustainability – https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephholt/2020/01/28/sustainability-in-business-is-more-an-opportunity-than-a-threat/?sh=129d067e1b76
9. 97% of the procurement organizations surveyed consider sustainability/CSR important for procurement decision.
   https://www.hec.edu/en/news-room/state-sustainable-procurement-latest-ecovadis/hec-paris-barometer-released
10. World Economic Forum – http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEFUSA_BeyondSupplyChains_Report2015.pdf
11. OECD – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIsiB1DhyVs
12. https://www.environmentalleader.com/2016/03/6-benefits-of-becoming-a-sustainable-business/
13. https://www.rmagreen.com/rma-blog/what-are-the-benefits-of-becoming-sustainable
14. http://www.eco-officiency.com/benefits_becoming_sustainable_business.html
15. https://www.hec.edu/en/news-room/state-sustainable-procurement-latest-ecovadis/hec-paris-barometer-released

http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEFUSA_BeyondSupplyChains_Report2015.pdf

1. Revenue uplift of 5-20%
2. Supply chain cost reduction of 9-16%
3. Brand value increase of 15-30%
4. Significant company risk reduction
5. Social – Improved customer health, local welfare and labour standards (wages, working conditions)
6. Environment – Carbon gas reduction of 13-22% on overall footprint

https://arabesque.com/research/From_the_stockholder_to_the_stakeholder_web.pdf

1. 90% of the studies on the cost of capital show that sound sustainability standards lower the cost of capital of companies.
2. 88% of the research shows that solid ESG practices result in better operational performance of firms.
3. 80% of the studies show that stock price performance of companies is positively influenced by good sustainability practices.

https://hbr.org/2016/10/the-comprehensive-business-case-for-sustainability

1. Employee Morale was 55% better in companies with strong sustainability programs.
2. Employee Loyalty was 38% better in companies with strong sustainability programs.
3. Firms with greater corporate responsibility performance can reduce average turnover over time by 25-50%.
4. Firms that adopted environmental standards have seen a 16% increase in productivity.
5. Companies can also charge higher price premiums up to 20% according to some estimates.
6. Overall sales revenue can increase up to 20% due to corporate responsibility practices.
7. In the food and beverage industry, a growing number of consumers are considering values beyond price and taste in their purchasing decisions, such as safety, social impact, and transparency.
8. During the 2008 recession, companies committed to sustainability practices achieved “above average” performance in the financial markets, translating into an average of $650 million in incremental market capitalization per company.
9. Since 1994, Dow has invested nearly $2 billion in improving resource efficiency and has saved $9.8 billion from reduced energy and wastewater consumption in manufacturing.
10. In 2013, GE had reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 32% and water use by 45% compared to 2004 and 2006 baselines, respectively, resulting in $300 million in savings.
11. Wal-Mart, for example, aimed to double fleet efficiency between 2005 and 2015 through better routing, truck loading, driver training, and advanced technologies. By the end of 2014, they had improved fuel efficiency approximately 87% compared to the 2005 baseline.
12. Redesigning products to meet environmental standards or social needs offers new business opportunities.
13. Nike embedded sustainability into its innovation process and created the $1 billion-plus Flyknit line, which uses a specialized yarn system, requiring minimal labor and generating large profit margins. Flyknit reduces waste by 80% compared with regular cut and sew footwear. Since its launch in 2012, Flyknit has reduced 3.5 million pounds of waste and fully transitioned from yarn to recycled polyester, diverting 182 million bottles from landfills.

Following points makes céleste assessment unique, authentic, credible, admirable and courteous:

1. Law – Regulatory – Compliance – This British Certification is issued by an organisation registered in the UK. So it has to followfollowing strick laws while issuing certification:
   1. The Green Claims Code Sept 2021, which is exceptionally deep, broad & strict.
   2. Modern Slavery Act 2015, which is global in nature
   3. Bribery Act 2010, which is again global in nature
   4. Sanctions & Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018
   5. Data Protection Act 2018, which is again global in nature
2. Principles –
   1. We follow United Nations sustainability principles for social, environmental and ethical assessments.
   2. We follow International Labour Organisation – ILO conventions and recommendations agreed by more than 200 national governments.
3. Quality of Assessment & Certification Team – céleste assessment team consists of at least one PhD degree holder (out of 25+ in our team), so you have a high quality individual either assessing or performing the quality check.
4. Quality of Creation Team – céleste certification questions, check points and evaluation has input of 25+ global sustainability experts of doctorate level.
5. Authenticity Verification – céleste certificates are easily verifiable by anyone through a smart phone camera with a QR code reader, so fake certificates and claims are caught instantly.
6. Type of Process – This is a 3^rd party certificate, so more credible than a self-declaration, a self-certification or a 2nd party certificate.
7. Quality of Process – All certificates follow at least 4-eye approach, so minimum two person are involved in the assessment. One assessor and one quality controller. For Gold, Platinum & Diamond level, we will have minimum 6-eye, 8-eye & 10-eye approach respectively.
8. Depth of Process – céleste certificate is a result of a distinctive depth of assessment. For Silver, we follow at least 2 data check point methodology. For Gold, Platinum & Diamond levels, we follow 3 data check point methodology, which may go up to 5 data check point methodology.
9. Breadth of Process – céleste certificate undergoes bold breadth of assessment. For silver, we follow at least 2 criteria from purpose, policy, people, process, performance, public and plan. For Gold, Platinum & Diamond levels, we check on all 3 criteria from purpose, policy, people, process, performance, public and plan.
10. Transparency – Certified organization can share verifiable certificate results with anyone without extra payment to us.
11. Confidentiality – Certified organistaion has a choice to keep assessment/certificate results confidential, as we do not share their unique verifiable certification number and QR code with anyone.
12. Data Security –  Certified Organisation has a choice to keep the data in their own server, so they do not run a risk of data breach from our side.
13. Social Responsibility – We also try to train at least one person during your assessment, so that person can act as an assessment process reviewer. A part of your payment goes to training of these personnel, so you are directly supporting our social responsibility objective.
14. Affordability – Large/Medium size organisations can get their suppliers assessed and certified with a zero cost service. The costs to their micro suppliers are kept quite low.
15. Simple & Easy – The results are simple & easy to use
    1. No need to operate a new system.
    2. No need to remember login and password.
    3. No need to learn a new system. So saves time, money & efforts for training.
    4. No need of extra storage space on your server.
16. Unique & Exceptional – Inclusion of some ISO guidance
    1. ISO20400 – Sustainable Procurement Guidance
    2. ISO26000 – Social Accountability Guidance
    3. ISO14001 – Environmental Management
    4. ISO37001 – Anti-Bribery Management

Every sustainability assurance companies try their best to arrive at a reliable conclusion (rating, score or certificate). However, there may be potential flaws like:

1. Data collection
2. Data interpretation
3. Data analysis
4. Data manipulation
5. Data presentation
6. Data governance
7. Data management process
8. Human Errors

We wish to be wrong; however we think that there are no 100% reliable standards, audits, frameworks, methodologies, guidance, assessments, etc. (including céleste) in the world that exists to perfectly “score”, “rate” or “certify” sustainable companies, processes and products. Sorry, we are not perfect. However, we aim to be the best with immense respect to the amount of money you are investing.

Assessment results are kept confidential between us. Certificates are in public domain, so it can be shared with others.

Assessments are for internal improvements, whereas Certificates should improve your company credibility and brand value.

We carry assessments can be based on céleste framework, your framework or any other 3^rd party framework. However, we only issue certificate for céleste framework.