A Guide to Sustainability Certifications for Marketers

a-guide-to-sustainability-certifications-for-marketers

A Guide to Sustainability Certifications for Marketers 

[[p]]With more consumers looking to invest in sustainable products and services, a&nbsp;verified,&nbsp;third-party certification can help&nbsp;demonstrate&nbsp;a brand&rsquo;s commitment to the planet and society.&nbsp;&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]For marketers, a certification offers&nbsp;a great way&nbsp;to stand out from competitors,&nbsp;[[a href="https://digitalmarketinginstitute.com/blog/what-is-content-marketing" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank"]]create engaging content,[[/a]]&nbsp;and&nbsp;[[a href="https://digitalmarketinginstitute.com/blog/how-to-generate-high-quality-leads" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank"]]generate high-quality leads[[/a]].&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]Sustainability certifications are awarded to companies that have&nbsp;demonstrated&nbsp;a commitment to environmental, social, and economic performance principles.&nbsp;&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]But with so many certifications that offer frameworks to assess a company&rsquo;s impact on the environment,&nbsp;[[a href="https://digitalmarketinginstitute.com/blog/corporate-16-brands-doing-corporate-social-responsibility-successfully" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank"]]corporate social responsibility[[/a]], and economic sustainability, which ones are right for your brand?&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]In this blog, we look at some of the best certifications to help assess,&nbsp;demonstrate&nbsp;and progress your sustainability ambitions in the areas of:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[ul]]
	[[li]]Corporate&nbsp;sustainability&nbsp;[[/li]]
	[[li]]Supply chain and products&nbsp;[[/li]]
	[[li]]Green buildings&nbsp;[[/li]]
	[[li]]Carbon and climate commitment&nbsp;[[/li]]
	[[li]]Waste and circular economy&nbsp;&nbsp;[[/li]]
[[/ul]]

[[p]]Corporate sustainability involves the integration of&nbsp;environmental, social, and governance (ESG)&nbsp;factors into a company&rsquo;s business model and strategy. It helps businesses focus on long-term value creation rather than short-term profit.&nbsp;&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]It also encourages stronger governance and more informed decision-making, while giving investors clearer insight into long-term risks and opportunities,&nbsp;according to&nbsp;[[a href="https://www.oecd.org/en/topics/corporate-sustainability.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank"]]the OECD[[/a]].&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]Pro tip:&nbsp;For a deeper dive into how these principles are shaping the retail sector, explore our recent podcast&nbsp;on&nbsp;[[a href="https://digitalmarketinginstitute.com/resources/podcasts/sustainability-in-retail" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank"]]sustainability in retail[[/a]].&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;[[/p]]

B Corp certification illustration/Source: Nimble  

[[p]]A&nbsp;[[a href="https://digitalmarketinginstitute.com/blog/a-guide-to-b-corp-certification" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank"]]B Corp[[/a]]&nbsp;is a certification that has been independently verified to meet&nbsp;high standards&nbsp;of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability.&nbsp;&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]The assessment process to get the certification examines how a company treats customers, employees, communities, the&nbsp;environment,&nbsp;governance,&nbsp;and decision-making.&nbsp;&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]The&nbsp;initial&nbsp;stage is to take a free&nbsp;[[a href="https://bcorporation.eu/become-a-b-corp/b-impact-assessment/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank"]]B Impact assessment[[/a]]&nbsp;to get a score.&nbsp;Businesses&nbsp;that quality must get&nbsp;a score of&nbsp;at least&nbsp;80 out of&nbsp;a possible&nbsp;200 points.&nbsp;&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]Examples of companies with a B Corp certification are Patagonia, Ben &amp; Jerry&rsquo;s,&nbsp;and&nbsp;[[a href="https://digitalmarketinginstitute.com/resources/case-studies/innocent-drinks-using-fruit-to-power-a-marketing-machine" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank"]]Innocent Drinks[[/a]].&nbsp;&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)&nbsp;is a non-profit&nbsp;organization&nbsp;that provides the world&rsquo;s most widely used, voluntary standards for sustainability reporting.&nbsp;&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]Its mission is to promote transparency, trust, and accountability by enabling companies to be transparent about their impact on climate change, human rights, and corruption.&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]Over 14,000 organizations in over 100 countries use these standards with 73% of the world&#39;s 250 largest companies adopting them to build sustainable, long-term value that benefits people and the planet.&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]Examples of companies that have adopted GRI for reporting are Ford, Under&nbsp;Armour,&nbsp;and Coca-Cola.&nbsp;&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]EcoVadis&nbsp;provides sustainability ratings for businesses by evaluating their sustainability policies,&nbsp;actions,&nbsp;and disclosures. The aim is to help&nbsp;companies&nbsp;manage supply chain risk, improve sustainability, and benchmark performance against peers.&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]It uses a 0&ndash;100 score to rate businesses on four key themes: Environment, Labor and Human Rights, Ethics, and Sustainable Procurement.&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]Depending on the score, a business can be awarded a medal (platinum, gold,&nbsp;silver,&nbsp;or&nbsp;bronze) that&nbsp;demonstrates&nbsp;their commitment to sustainability.&nbsp;&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]Examples of companies with&nbsp;a&nbsp;EcoVadis&nbsp;rating are Schneider Electric, L&rsquo;Oreal,&nbsp;and Unilever.&nbsp;&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]Supply chains&nbsp;is&nbsp;an area that businesses can significantly&nbsp;improve&nbsp;on&nbsp;by committing to and getting verification from a third-party.&nbsp;&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]These types of&nbsp;certifications&nbsp;can help&nbsp;demonstrate&nbsp;responsible sourcing, ethical production, and environmental stewardship across operations to help you support transparency, strengthen consumer trust, and align procurement practices with sustainability and ESG commitments.&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]A&nbsp;Fair Trade&nbsp;certification is an independent and rigorous assessment of a&nbsp;product&rsquo;s&nbsp;supply chain to ensure it was produced, traded, and sourced under ethical, social, and environmental standards.&nbsp;&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]Many products bear the Fairtrade label to show that farmers, workers, and artisans in developing countries received a fair deal for their work such as good working conditions, better prices, and fair terms of trade&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]Examples of companies that use products with a Green Seal certification are&nbsp;[[a href="https://digitalmarketinginstitute.com/resources/case-studies/starbucks-connecting-people-through-coffee" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank"]]Starbucks[[/a]], Clipper Tea,&nbsp;Aldi,&nbsp;and Lidl.&nbsp;&nbsp;[[/p]]

Bananas from Colombia with Fair Trade Logo and Fairglobe. Source: Shutterstock

[[p]]The Rainforest Alliance certification&nbsp;seal (recognized&nbsp;by the green frog) shows that products were produced in ways that support biodiversity, ecosystem conservation, improved farmer livelihoods, and human rights.&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]For businesses, the certification provides credibility, supply-chain risk&nbsp;management,&nbsp;and support for legislative requirements.&nbsp;&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]To get a certification, you need to sign a license agreement, complete a risk assessment,&nbsp;&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]receive an audit (if applicable), and&nbsp;get a license to trade.&nbsp;&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]Examples of companies with&nbsp;a Rainforest&nbsp;Alliance certification are Costa Coffee,&nbsp;Nutella,&nbsp;and Fyffes.&nbsp;&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]][[a href="https://us.fsc.org/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank"]]The Forest Stewardship Council[[/a]]&nbsp;(FSC) is an independent organization that promotes the environmentally sound, socially beneficial, and economically prosperous management of the world&#39;s forests.&nbsp;&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]It offers many certifications that certify businesses, forest owners, and forest managers to help support responsible forestry. Companies that receive certification&nbsp;demonstrate&nbsp;their&nbsp;commitment to&nbsp;sustainability and sourcing their timber and wood products from responsibly managed land.&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]Examples of companies with an FSC label are IKEA,&nbsp;Allbirds,&nbsp;Tesco,&nbsp;and Pukka Tea.&nbsp;&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]A Marine Stewardship Council certification assesses and verifies if fisheries are well-managed and sustainable.&nbsp;&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]Products that meet MSC standards can display the blue fish label, which shows customers that&nbsp;seafood&nbsp;was caught in a way that protects marine life and ocean ecosystems for future generations.&nbsp;&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]Examples of companies with an MSC certification are John West,&nbsp;Walmart,&nbsp;and Whiskas.&nbsp;&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]Green Seal is a United States-based organization that provides third-party certification for products across the globe in the categories of:&nbsp;&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[ul]]
	[[li]]Cleaning solutions&nbsp;&nbsp;[[/li]]
	[[li]]Laundry care&nbsp;&nbsp;[[/li]]
	[[li]]Sanitary paper (paper towels, toilet paper, etc.)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;[[/li]]
	[[li]]Hygiene products&nbsp;&nbsp;[[/li]]
	[[li]]Floor care&nbsp;&nbsp;[[/li]]
	[[li]]Printing or&nbsp;writing&nbsp;paper&nbsp;[[/li]]
[[/ul]]

[[p]]Certifications are awarded to products that meet environmental standards by evaluating them against requirements such as their use of resources, environmental impact, and the impact on consumer health.&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]Examples of companies that use products with a Green Seal certification are Marriot,&nbsp;Hilton,&nbsp;and 3M.&nbsp;&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]Green building certifications are used to review and assess a project or development&rsquo;s environmental and sustainability performance.&nbsp;&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]These certifications are necessary as the built environment is having a significant impact on the climate crisis due to emissions generated in the construction lifecycle or operational emissions.&nbsp;&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]As a result, the popularity of these certifications&nbsp;have&nbsp;grown due to the emergence of CSR and ESG policies and initiatives, according to&nbsp;the University of the Built Environment.&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design or LEED&nbsp;is a U.S. Green Building Council-developed rating system for sustainable, energy-efficient, and healthy buildings.&nbsp;&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]It provides a framework for design, construction, operation, and maintenance and certifies projects as certified, silver, gold, or platinum based on performance in areas like energy, water, and materials.&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]Examples of companies with a LEED certification are Amazon, Diageo,&nbsp;and&nbsp;[[a href="https://digitalmarketinginstitute.com/resources/case-studies/johnson-johnson-big-pharma-pioneers-on-the-front-line" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank"]]Johnson &amp; Johnson[[/a]].&nbsp;&nbsp;[[/p]]

BREEAM Certification Process/Source: JosTec 

[[p]]The Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method, or BREEAM, is a sustainability assessment and certification method for&nbsp;master planning, infrastructure, and buildings in the UK.&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]It evaluates energy efficiency, water use, materials, waste management, pollution, and occupant health. The aim is to mitigate environmental impact, improve sustainability performance, and add value through third-party certification.&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]Projects that are certified receive a rating (pass, good,&nbsp;very good, excellent, or outstanding) depending on the outcome of the assessment.&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]Examples of companies with a BREEAM certification are&nbsp;Decathalon, the Central Bank of Ireland,&nbsp;and Panattoni.&nbsp;&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]The&nbsp;[[a href="https://www.dgnb.de/en/certification/buildings" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank"]]DGNB[[/a]]&nbsp;or German Sustainable Building Council Certification is a sustainability assessment system for buildings, interiors, and districts.&nbsp;&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]Established in 2009, it evaluates projects across environmental, economic, social, and technical aspects over their entire life cycle. Rather than outlining specific measures, it sets targets for overall building performance to encourage innovative and tailored solutions.&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]The certification levels awarded&nbsp;are in&nbsp;platinum, gold, silver, and bronze.&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]Examples of companies with a DGNB certification are Hilti Group, LHI,&nbsp;and Bauer.&nbsp;&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]Carbon and climate commitment certifications are essential for validating emission reductions, ensuring transparency, and tackling climate change.&nbsp;&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]They provide credible, third-party verification to build trust with stakeholders, allow carbon market trading, and guide companies toward science-based, actionable climate goals.&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]International Standards or ISO standards on sustainability offer businesses a clear and practical way to&nbsp;operate&nbsp;efficiently,&nbsp;comply with&nbsp;legal&nbsp;requirements,&nbsp;meet stakeholder&nbsp;expectations,&nbsp;and support UN Sustainable Development Goals.&nbsp;&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]Key ISO standards&nbsp;in the area of&nbsp;sustainability&nbsp;are:&nbsp;&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[ul]]
	[[li]]ISO 14001 (environmental management)&nbsp;&nbsp;[[/li]]
	[[li]]ISO 50001 (energy)&nbsp;[[/li]]
	[[li]]ISO 26000 (social responsibility)&nbsp;[[/li]]
	[[li]]ISO 14064 (greenhouse gases)&nbsp;[[/li]]
	[[li]]ISO 17298 (biodiversity)&nbsp;[[/li]]
	[[li]]ISO 14092 (climate change&nbsp;adaption)&nbsp;[[/li]]
	[[li]]ISO 14044 (environmental management)&nbsp;[[/li]]
[[/ul]]

[[p]]Examples of companies with ISO standards are Toyota,&nbsp;Nestle,&nbsp;and Amazon Web Services.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) is a collaboration between CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project), the United Nations Global Compact, the World Resources Institute, and the&nbsp;World Wide&nbsp;Fund for Nature.&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]Its mission is to drive the private sector to take immediate, deep, and rapid action against climate change. It does this by providing standards ([[a href="https://sciencebasedtargets.org/net-zero" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank"]]the Corporate Net-Zero Standard[[/a]]), tools, and validation to ensure targets are aimed at limiting global warming to 1.5&deg;C and achieving net-zero by 2050.&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]Examples of companies that have committed to the SBTi are&nbsp;[[a href="https://digitalmarketinginstitute.com/resources/case-studies/apple-a-masterclass-in-style-and-branding" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank"]]Apple[[/a]], Amazon,&nbsp;and Meta.&nbsp;&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]1% for the Planet aims to connect businesses, individuals, and nonprofits to drive environmental action by donating at least 1% of their annual revenue to approved environmental partners.&nbsp;&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]The&nbsp;organization&#39;s&nbsp;mission is to prevent&nbsp;[[a href="https://digitalmarketinginstitute.com/blog/greenwashing-in-marketing" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank"]]greenwashing[[/a]]&nbsp;and ensure that companies and individuals contribute to solving the planet&#39;s most pressing environmental issues in the areas of climate, food, land, pollution, water, and wildlife through certification.&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]Examples of companies with&nbsp;a 1% for the Planet certification are OXO, Clean&nbsp;Kanteen,&nbsp;and&nbsp;Caudalie.&nbsp;&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]100% Renewable Energy Commitment Certification or RE100&nbsp;a global&nbsp;initiative led by The Climate Group and CDP that brings together businesses committed to sourcing their electricity from renewable sources.&nbsp;&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]Companies that sign up - known as members - pledge to reach 100% by a target year that&rsquo;s no later than 2050 to speed up the transition to zero-carbon grids&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]Companies can do this through on-site generation,&nbsp;purchasing&nbsp;Renewable Energy Certificates, or direct Power Purchase Agreements. Progress must be&nbsp;reported&nbsp;annually to ensure transparency and accountability.&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]Examples of companies committed to RE100 are Google,&nbsp;[[a href="https://digitalmarketinginstitute.com/resources/case-studies/nike-always-ahead-of-the-curve" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank"]]Nike,[[/a]]&nbsp;and Tata Motors.&nbsp;&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]Waste and circular economy certifications can be used by companies to validate sustainability claims, reduce operational costs, ensure legal compliance, and improve&nbsp;[[a href="https://digitalmarketinginstitute.com/blog/how-to-manage-your-brands-online-reputation" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank"]]brand reputation[[/a]].&nbsp;&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]They can help&nbsp;facilitate&nbsp;the transition from linear &lsquo;take-make-waste&rsquo; models to regenerative systems, boosting market advantage, supporting ESG goals, and enhancing resource efficiency, according to&nbsp;[[a href="https://circulareconomy.ie/zero-waste-to-landfill-certification/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank"]]CEC[[/a]].&nbsp;[[/p]]

Cradle to Cradle certification product standard scope/Source: C2C 

[[p]]This certification is a standard for products designed for a circular economy with a focus on safety, sustainability, and regenerative design.&nbsp;&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]Products are evaluated across five categories: material health, product circularity, clean air/climate protection, water/soil stewardship, and social fairness. Certifications are awarded in tiers from Bronze to Platinum.&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]Unlike traditional sustainability, which often focuses on reducing negative impacts, Cradle to Cradle aims for a positive, regenerative impact.&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]Examples of companies with&nbsp;a C2C&nbsp;certification are Zalando,&nbsp;L&rsquo;Oreal,&nbsp;and The Home Depot.&nbsp;&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]The TRUE (Total Resource Use and Efficiency) Certification is a rating system for businesses to&nbsp;validate&nbsp;their waste reduction efforts.&nbsp;&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]This certification requires companies to divert at least 90% of non-hazardous waste from landfills, incineration, and the environment to&nbsp;maximize&nbsp;resource efficiency,&nbsp;lower&nbsp;carbon footprints, and&nbsp;support&nbsp;public health.&nbsp;&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]Examples of companies with&nbsp;a TRUE&nbsp;certification are Colgate-Palmolive, General&nbsp;Motors,&nbsp;and Lush.&nbsp;&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]There are a wide range of certifications that can assess the sustainability of a company (and improve it) and show consumers that you are dedicated to creating positive change for the planet and society.&nbsp;&nbsp;[[/p]]

[[p]]So,&nbsp;if&nbsp;you&rsquo;re&nbsp;looking to&nbsp;[[a href="https://digitalmarketinginstitute.com/blog/social-media-strategy" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank"]]build brand awareness[[/a]]&nbsp;and help a company grow, a certification can help build consumer trust, drive meaningful engagement, mitigate&nbsp;risk,&nbsp;and attract investors.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;[[/p]]

A Guide to Sustainability Certifications for Marketers

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