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Late last year we shared a blog introducing our strategy, Empower 2025, and since then we have set ourselves ambitious goals for each of the sustainability issues we have identified as being important to the business. These goals will turn our sustainability ambitions into tangible actions, and together we will strive to achieve them by 2025.

Earlier this month we were delighted to share our Sustainability Strategy Launch Report which details our Empower 2025 goals, and the achievements we have made as a business over the last year.

Discover more by exploring the links below:

• Learn about the goals we want to achieve by 2025 here.
• You can read the full report here.

If you have any questions for us drop an email to hello@justone.uk

Thought Leadership Post – From the series “Simplifying Sustainability”

Would you want to buy from a company that intentionally hides or miscommunicates key information about their products/services? We hope your answer would be no, but in many cases, customers don’t recognise when this is happening.

As consumers, we have the power to consider how our choices impact the people and world around us and, because of this, two-way conversations with businesses must be encouraged, whether that’s to understand more about their product or challenge them on their claims.

As businesses, we have the responsibility to tell the truth, communicate our services and products with accuracy and are now also bound by legal obligation to do so.

An increasing number of brands are being held under the microscope to assess their messages they and public outputs. Many of us will have seen the term greenwashing all over our news and social media, but what does it mean?

Greenwashing is any form of communication that promotes deceitful or misleading information about a company’s operations, services and products. It is harmful because it limits the consumers ability to make an informed decision on the product or service they are being advertised.

At JustOne, we want this to be an opportunity for businesses to embrace transparent communications. We know from the outset creating sustainability-focused communications can seem daunting, but we want to assure you that it doesn’t have to be. Whether you are a business owner, in sales or marketing, an activist or someone who is keen to learn how to spot and stop greenwashing, we have some steps for you.

Here are our 5 steps to spotting and stopping greenwashing:

1.Watch out for fluffy language and broad claims.

• We need to be aware of companies that are vague, don’t bring clarity to their decisions and actions, and never seem to get to the point.

• Words like ‘environmentally-friendly’, ‘kinder’, ‘greener’, and ‘sustainable’ can make it seem like a product has an overall positive impact. If these claims are true marketers must back them up with robust and the accurate evidence.

2.Be mindful of equivalents and comparisons.

• Using equivalents can help audiences understand and visualise sometimes complex data, enabling them to grasp the impact a business has. Whilst equivalents and comparisons can be powerful, consumers should be on their guard to assess that they are being used correctly and truthfully.

• Businesses should be clear what is being compared and how the comparison has been made. These claims should be based on recognised methodology and that the same aspects of a product or service are being compared.

3.Look for the evidence.

• Evidence and research can be used to back up claims and show the consumer that statements are truthful. Evidence also enables us to gain in-depth knowledge about the things we buy, and has the power to share knowledge that can be helpful for other businesses to be aware of.

• As communications are created, marketers must be mindful to research and save credible evidence that will inform what they say, and can back up any claim they make. The area of sustainability is ever-evolving, and even after the communication piece has gone out businesses should be careful to keep at pace with new evidence that comes out and reassess their claims in line with it. Many businesses look to external verification or validation of their communications. At JustOne, we provide this service to any client who requires an expert eye of the language they are using or the narrative they are telling.

4.Spot the gaps in the story.

• Does it feel like the brand isn’t telling the whole story or is hiding key facts? Too often businesses focus on the minor benefits of a product/service and fail to take a step back and show the wider picture, especially when the bigger picture shows negative impacts.

• Marketers need to be careful not to mislead consumers by over-emphasising the positive stories around relatively small impacts. When making claims businesses must be careful to bring into the picture the full lifecycle of a product or service and take into action the overall impacts. If you want to share a particular positive story about one aspect of the product, this must be presented in relation to the overall picture so that the consumer is well-informed.

5.Connect the dots.

• Sustainability is not an easy thing to communicate, but when done well it can be very impactful. Your teams need to have a good grasp of current terms, trends and phrases to avoid greenwashing. Enable your sustainability and marketing and communications teams to work seamlessly together and have strong processes for collaboration in place.

• Never forget the power of knowing who you are, and what your purpose is. Purpose-led communications come from the heart and aren’t used to continually churn out content with the hope of making profit.

While we understand that the concept of greenwashing avoidance can seem daunting to implement, JustOne is a team of passionate sustainability experts, and we can help you report and communicate your sustainability progress with confidence and accuracy.

Want to create honest and effective communications? Need some friendly support to ensure your messages are accurate? Email hello@justone.uk to book your free consultation today.

Image by Freepik

The following blog was published on LinkedIn in February 2022.

As in our personal life, all businesses require trusted relationships in order to operate successfully. Traditional stakeholder engagement is a process that passes information to a business, so they can help fulfil their needs, purpose, and build trust. But building trust requires more than sharing information. We need to share values, emotions, and beliefs; we need heart!

At JustOne, we developed the HEART Approach which aims to build long-lasting trusted connections in life and business. We believe both individuals and businesses have a huge opportunity to change our communities for the better through all our interaction. Eventually, we can solve some of the world’s biggest challenges such as the lack of social justice, the climate crisis, economic instability, and the polarisation of views to name a few.

We need each other

We are social beings that require others, not only to feel comfortable and safe, but also to ensure we have the necessities of life. In times of collective crisis, we always see more people helping each other, because we can empathise with the situations of others.

“Cooperation lies at the heart of human lives and society — from day-to-day interactions to some of our greatest endeavours.”*

We need each other, especially in our globalised economy, therefore it is safe to say that trust should be at the heart of a truly healthy, happy, and functioning world. Choosing to be selfish (and yes, this is a choice) may seem like the most logical and rewarding in a competitive world, but when we share knowledge, resources, and skills, we accomplish a lot more… and humanity evolves.

So why is there so much rivalry, bigotry, and conflict in the world? Much of it, particularly in business, comes down to trusting each other. If you choose to give and build trust (yes, this again is a choice), and are determined to overcome any obstacles that stand in your way, we know relationships become much stronger.

Studies have shown that people who feel the positive effects of trust are the ones who value compassion over power and achievement.* Whether it be personal or business relationships, trusting each other will lead to true cooperation, sharing, increased prosperity, and in some beautiful cases… love.

The Results

We at JustOne spent last year developing systems in our business that utilised the HEART Approach to build trusted relationships. This is what happened:

Client Engagement

All our team were educated and engaged with the HEART Approach, and we asked them to employ it with our clients. At first, there was a feeling in the team that “we do this anyway”, but in consciously following this process, we found ourselves planning an overarching ‘way of being’ in every meeting or workshop. Here are some examples:

• We deliberately employ ‘humility’ for onboarding new clients by asking questions, listening attentively, and understanding challenges. We talk a lot less in these meetings and become a sponge for client stories, giving us more nuanced information to advise clients even better.
• As facilitators in client workshops where there would be debates, we were clear that we had to encourage ‘respectfulness’ so that everyone was heard, differing viewpoints were encouraged, and we found mutually beneficial decisions could be made. We noticed a considerable increase in optimism, passion, and enthusiasm at the end of each session. We also found that clients were much more likely to give us unsolicited feedback on ways we could improve, or on how good the sessions were.
• We encourage open and honest conversations with our clients regarding fees; that starts with the understanding of their situation. As our services transform businesses for the future, we have developed an equitable tiered fee model based on value to the client. This enables us to charge what clients can afford – higher fees for larger companies, and low or no-profit fees for small companies or charities. We place clients into a tier based on their accounts (i.e. annual turnover, profitability, number of employees, etc.), and ensure we adopt a humble attitude because we don’t know the ins and outs of a client’s challenges. After giving our fees to a client, we ask them to let us know if the fees do not match their budget – we say:

The overall result was much closer relationships with our clients….

“JustOne is one of the most inspiring companies and teams I have had the privilege to work with… I can say it’s 100% the best decision you could make. Matt Sal and the team at JustOne are great listeners and phenomenally good at what they do. For anyone interested in a sustainability career, you could not choose a better company.”

– Dominic Offer, Director of Client Engagement & Sustainability Committee at Bristol Global Mobility

Our client relationships are much longer lasting too. Because we trust each other, we are given further mandates to help clients achieve their goals, we are referred to work with their suppliers, and clients feel free to ask us questions at any time; whether we are getting paid or not. Overall, we gained ten more clients, our revenue doubled over one year, we hired three more team members, and our impact on society, environment and economy increased due to our reach.

There wasn’t one client that couldn’t work with us on the HEART approach, but when it came to potential clients, we were much more aware of companies that would be hard to work with, who didn’t align to our values, or were more interested in ticking boxes than creating a sustainable impact. In those instances, we chose not to peruse the work. Because of these learnings, we will use 2022 to develop a system to choose our clients and sectors better. Nice and Serious, one of our partners, have starting thinking on a Moral Compass tool that we will explore.

Collaboration over competition

JustOne was founded on the principle that we can collectively solve the world’s biggest problems if we collaborate. We believe sustainability professionals, more than anyone else, should demonstrate and encourage collaboration, because we are bound by a common purpose to make the world a better place. If we focus on this purpose, we should not try to out-do each other, but collaborate by bringing our knowledge, services, and innovations together.

From day one, we have been developing partnerships with our peers to do just this; and we are proud to have 10 purpose-led companies on board that align with our values. Building trust between peers and competitors isn’t always easy, but using the HEART Approach, it’s really worked well. The result is that our clients love that we can solve most of their challenges with a one-stop-shop for sustainability know-how. All our partners benefit from gaining new customers, and the world benefits from more companies taking sustainable action. About 60% of new business comes from our partners, which provides us with extra financial security. Thank you partners:

Meeting individual employee needs

When we applied our HEART Approach to our team, ‘humility’ made us flip the standard employee management business model on its head. Instead of asking “how can employees fit the business need?” we asked, “how can the business fit individual employee needs?”. We are all very different and require bespoke solutions to maximise our happiness, health, and wellbeing.

We have taken time and effort to listen to each other and adopt changes into our policies and procedures. For example, our bereavement policy only included immediate family; it did not include specific groups of people that were held close and dear by our colleagues. We thought, who are we to decide if someone feels bereaved? Because we 100% trust our people, we changed our policy to give 100% discretion to the employee; their manager just needs to be informed. We hire and develop people based on their attitude and values, so we are confident they will not abuse the system because they care about the business, their clients, and colleagues. As we grow, we will continually hold conversations on all our policies.

The happiness and wellbeing of everyone we work with is crucial; particularly our employees and freelancers. By understanding their needs and wants, we create personal development plans to achieve both career and life goals. For example, I’ve always wanted a dog but my job meant I would not have the time to care for it. Now, one of the goals on my plan is “get a dog by the end of 2022”, so we are changing how my time is used in the business to accommodate this life goal. Embracing diversity means we understand everyone has different ambitions. Whether it be getting a dog, having a child, or even achieving a new fitness goal, our business will do what we can to help people be happy; and that builds trust.

EMPOWER 2025: Our Business Strategy

Business as usual is no more. To really spark positive change and remain true to our purpose, we need evolve consistently, and we want other companies to do the same. That is why we will be a testing ground for ideas and innovations that will challenge the status quo, and create truly sustainable businesses. We will take on all the risks so your business doesn’t have to.

Late last year we launched our Empower 2025 strategy framework with a vision; by 2025, we will be an exemplar business by continually pushing the boundaries of sustainability; empowering others to learn, transform, and thrive. We will test any feasible idea if it will take us closer to this vision and, whether they work or not, we will communicate our progress so others can build on what we have done.

The HEART approach has inspired the framework of Empower 2025, and will shape the long term goals we are currently creating and will launch later this year. These goals will turn our sustainability ambitions into tangible actions, and together we will strive to achieve them by 2025. We know we aren’t perfect, and we will face challenges along the way. But from challenges arise new opportunities and our commitment to you is to remain humble and real by sharing both our victories and learnings with everyone.

Now it’s your turn

The HEART approach isn’t only for JustOne. It’s for everyone. We are passionate about sharing the possibilities this approach could have for your business. We will be developing a thought leadership paper and running complimentary HEART workshops with some of our clients. If you are interested as well, please send us a message.

We would also love your feedback on this approach – feel free to challenge us too! If you have something you’d like to share, please do so in the comments below, or send me a direct message.

Lots of love 😉

Dave

*https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-018-0389-1

A note from Dave:

With everything happening in the world right now, I felt it important to get this blog out. There are so many good, caring people in our world. It’s easy to forget this when we watch the news, full of conflict and rivalry. I’ve always believed that business has the ability to solve world problems. If we can teach people processes and technical skills to make or sell things, we can also teach people values and emotional skills to be kind, caring, and trustworthy. Maybe then, as we live our lives, we will create a world of cooperation over conflict. Businesses can do more to foster happiness and peace than we realise.   We need each other to survive and thrive. At JustOne UK, we developed the HEART Approach which aims to build long-lasting trusted connections in life and business. We spent last year applying the approach with all our stakeholders. This blog showcases the results. The HEART approach:

And here is how I applied it to my life:

Early last year, I uprooted myself after 17 years in London and moved to Brighton. I saw this as a way to really focus on my health and wellbeing. I don’t have family in the UK so my friends have always been my extended family, so the need to develop strong relationships is really important to me. I thought my move to a new city was a great opportunity to consciously work through the HEART Approach:

Using humility, I asked questions and listened to new people I met rather than talking too much like I normally do in new situations. I found I assumed less about people based on immediate impressions, what they looked like, or my own preconceptions. I really got to know them, and they about me. I also quickly gained a lot of knowledge about Brighton life that made my integration much easier.

I found that empathy for others followed naturally. I was identifying with their challenges and celebrating their successes.

Because I was able to learn and identify with them, I could see things from their point of view and was able to accept them for who they are; rather than casting judgement quickly.

I met many people that held opinions different to my own; particularly around politics. Instead of dismissing those opinions and pulling each other into rude tussles (which we especially see on social media), a mutual respect formed. I can easily see these wouldn’t have formed if we didn’t accept each other’s stories and worldviews beforehand.

After almost a year of living in my new city, I can happily say that I have a lot of new friends. I also have a handful of trusted relationships that I can rely on – people that I can count on when I need help or if I feel down; and they can count on me too.

Thought Leadership Post – From the series “Simplifying Sustainability”

It is almost certain that your business has an impact on the environment and its day-to-day activities cause greenhouse gases to be emitted, either directly or indirectly. Therefore, to start addressing this impact, it is crucial to understand your carbon footprint. But what is a carbon footprint?

A carbon footprint is the total amount of greenhouse gases (which are gases in the Earth’s atmosphere that trap heat) that are emitted by the activities of a person or business. These greenhouse gases drive to the climate crisis, and it is therefore the responsibility of all businesses to understand their carbon footprint and take positive action.

The science is clear: to avoid catastrophic climate change, global carbon emissions should reach net zero by 2050. At JustOne, we want to help all businesses adopt Net Zero practices and support them with creating their roadmaps to showcase how they will set and achieve their targets. We understand this can be a daunting task and setting a net zero carbon target takes a lot of planning.

However, here are some immediate steps you can take to reduce your impact – and save money too:

1. Measure and review your carbon footprint

You can’t manage what you don’t measure, and to take positive action you are going to need to understand your carbon footprint. This will help you identify the areas where you can make the most impact.

From a recently conducted survey, we’ve received feedback that while many businesses have the desire to take positive action for people and planet, cost and poor quality data have been identified, as major reasons holding businesses back. 

In response, JustOne recently launched our Carbon Footprint Service, priced at cost only. This is because we believe taking meaningful climate action shouldn’t cost the earth. Our goal is to empower as many businesses as we can, so we refuse to make a profit on climate action essentials. If you would rather do it yourself, we can also support you with guidance and then help you verify the data.

To discover how we can help you successfully reduce your carbon footprint and become a Net Zero business, get in touch today at hello@justone.uk

2. Minimise your energy demand

Once you know where your carbon emissions come from, you can start planning on how to avoid them. In many cases the key emission sources relate to energy needed for lighting, heating and cooling.  Some simple steps to minimise your business’s energy demand include making the most of natural light and ventilation, turning off lights and appliances when they are not in use or installing motion sensors. You can also turn down your thermostat by a degree, tweak time controls for your heating and cooling, or invest in insulation.

3. Increase efficiency

Making your business more efficient is another great way to reduce your carbon footprint. There are several ways to do this, but one of the most effective is to invest in energy-efficient technology. These can include LED lights which use about 75% less energy than incandescent lighting. Another opportunity is to regularly maintain your operating equipment so that it runs efficiently, and to replace it with energy-efficient alternatives at the end of its life.

4. Consider renewable energy options

Another way to reduce your business’s carbon footprint is to switch to renewable energy sources. This can include solar panels and wind turbines. It is worth noting that while onsite renewable sources of energy are better, they may not be economically feasible. As such, switching to a green tariff is also an option.

5. Reduce waste

Waste reduction is an often-overlooked part of reducing your business’s carbon footprint. To start, look at your business’s processes, assess your procurement data for better efficiency and see where you can reduce or eliminate waste. If you produce a lot of waste, consider reusing it as a resource in another business process and investing in recycling or composting facilities. You can also encourage your employees and customers to recycle or compost their waste.

6. Educate your employees and customers

Finally, one of the best ways to reduce your business’s carbon footprint is to educate your employees and customers about sustainability. Encourage them to make positive choices, such as recycling, composting, and using public transportation. This is an opportunity to lead your sector and industry by making sustainable choices in your own business and converting your actions into engaging stories to tell.
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JustOne is a team of passionate sustainability experts, and we can help you calculate your business’ carbon footprint. We’re currently offering free discovery calls to help people take positive action in their businesses. To speak to expert sustainability consultants, email: hello@justone.uk

Your friends at JustOne UK| Sustainability consultancy

Image by Freepik

In this next employee letter, our Senior Sustainability Consultant, Lindsey Matejczyk, takes a look at answering three big questions that are asked about greenwashing and shares key recommendations on how to spot and avoid greenwashing, and take action.

1. What is greenwashing?

In its simplest form, greenwashing is any form of communication that promotes deceitful or misleading information about a company’s operations, services and products. It’s used as a way of gaining brand reputation and customer loyalty from people who would choose to support a company for their positive sustainability claims.

It’s important that consumers are able to spot greenwashing to ensure we don’t buy products based on lies. It is also crucial for communication and marketing teams to have the skills and knowledge to create messages that are impactful and honest.

Where have we seen greenwashing take place?

In February 2020 the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) banned a Ryanair advertisement over claims of greenwashing. The advert claimed that the airline was the most carbon efficient in Europe. Authorities stated that the advert contained misleading comparisons, and misuse of data to create a competitive advantage.

We all need to be on our guard…

In 2015, Nielson’s Global Corporate Sustainability Report, found that 66% of consumers would spend more on a product if it comes from a sustainable brand, and that jumps to 73% among millennials. Whilst this is great news, it is clear that companies now have financial incentives to take action for people and the planet. With trust in leadership, governments and society decreasing, we all need to be on high alert for fake news and potential greenwashing.

But there is good news…

We also know that consumers, and especially millennials, are becoming more and more critical of what brands and people are claiming in public spaces. This may well result in an increased awareness of how both actions and words are perceived, and therefore a genuine commitment to authentic communications is needed.

2. How can you avoid greenwashing and take positive action?

–> Be able to spot greenwashing:

Watch out for fluffy language.

• We need to be aware of companies that are vague, don’t bring clarity to their decisions and actions, and never seem to get to the point.

Ask yourself the question, how transparent is this company?

• Companies should be as transparent as possible in their communications. No company is perfect, but it’s evident that consumers want to buy from places that are real and share their highs and lows.
• Take a look at Adidas, who in 2021 was found guilty by the French Advertising Ethics Jury for a claim that their Stan Smith trainer was made from at least “50% recycled materials”. What they failed to mention was that only the upper part of the shoe was made from 50% recycled material, rather than the complete shoe.

Be on your guard when you see equivalents.

• Equivalents need to be backed by raw data with clear calculations that support the comparisons being made.

Ask your questions!

• Open channels of communication between consumer and brands are key for accountability and sustainable growth.

–> Ensure you and your teams create meaningful communications:

Tell the whole story. And we mean, the WHOLE story.

• Don’t fall into the trap of emphasising one small sustainable element when the wider story could be easily scrutinised and picked apart for not being sustainable. Ask yourself; what are the challenges we need to communicate, learn from and take action on? What are the opportunities and successes we can celebrate?
• In 2021, Ace and Tate shared a blog that set an example of being honest about the challenges and mistakes they’ve made as a business whilst working on their approach to becoming a sustainable business. As they stated their short comings, they also shared how they are taking action and what steps they are taking to solve the issues they face.

Be honest and tell the truth.

• If you feel nervous about sharing something because of the accuracy or truthfulness of the post – just don’t do it. Do your research, engage with stakeholders and map out the challenges you face with the idea to share them.
• Brands that engage with key stakeholders, and develop robust internal communication review processes will share messages that are both impactful and honest.

Know who you are, what you sell and who is involved.

• Never forget the power of knowing who you are and what your purpose is. Purpose led communications come from the heart and aren’t used to continually churn out content with the hope of making profit.
• Ensure your communication and marketing teams really understand your products and/or services, who is involved in the creation and delivery of them and what their impacts are.

Invest in your people and connect them.

• Invest in your people by training and upskilling them so they are able to speak authentically and honestly about your sustainability approach. Sustainability is not an easy thing to communicate, and your teams need to have a good grasp of current terms, trends and phrases to avoid greenwash.
• Enable your sustainability and marketing and communications teams to work seamlessly together and have strong processes for collaboration in place.

3. What is happening to prevent greenwashing?

Have you heard of the recently launched Green Claims Code? The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)’s Green Claims Code states that unclear communications from businesses regarding the environmental claims of their products and services could now lead to prosecution. This code applies to both marketing to consumers, and to other businesses. All claims made must:

✔️ Be truthful and accurate ✔️ Be clear and unambiguous ✔️ Not omit or hide important relevant information ✔️ Have fair and meaningful comparisons ✔️ Consider the full life cycle of the product or service ✔️ Be substantiated

We all have a hugely important part to play in this Decade of Action. With 193 governments agreeing to deliver the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, great change lies ahead and we need everyone to take action.

In order to successfully contribute towards the SDGs businesses must address them in tandem with one another and understand where goals intersect. As a society we must work together in less fragmented approaches if we are to create meaningful change.

The latest SDG report indicates that despite some progress being made over the past four years across most goals’ efforts slowed down or even reversed. ​It’s time to shift our efforts up a gear by working together and collaborating with our industries and peers.

At a quick glance the 17 goals, 169 targets and 247 indicators can seem rather daunting, but no matter the type or size of business, everyone can contribute to the SDGs in meaningful ways.

Here are our 4 simple steps to SDG success:

1. Get to grips with the goals:

Take time to acquaint yourself with the goals and understand the meaning behind each one of them and where they work powerfully together. Talk to your people, investors and communities about them to understand their opinions, hear their perspectives and gather their expectations. Investing time and resource in this stage will help you create a strong strategic plan later.

2. Prioritize, prioritize, prioritize:

It is crucial to understand the goals that are most material to you so that you can concentrate your efforts and resources to create the most impact. Although the goals have been made so that any business in any sector can adopt them, you might find that some of the goals do not actively correlate with your business.

3. Proactively plan:

How will you reach your goals if you don’t have a map to get there? From ideas to action, this is the step where you can create positive impact. Our robust and holistic approach to strategy development involves integrating the SDGs at every stage of the process. It is critical that we set long term goals that align with the SDGs alongside yearly, trackable targets and appropriate KPIs.

4. Communicate your progress:

Regular communication builds trust, ensures knowledge building within your industry and enables you to openly celebrate your achievements with the world. Develop a communications plan that transparently reports on both your successes and challenges faced. Understand who your priority audiences are when communicating on the SDGs and use this opportunity to get creative.

To address systematic problems, change the status quo and sustain positive impacts we must choose collaboration over competition. Discover how you and your business can help solve some of the world’s biggest problems by getting in touch with us at hello@justone.uk

Lindsey Matejczyk is a Senior Sustainability Consultant at JustOne.

Image downloadable from https://www.globalgoals.org/resources/