Large companies may have many resources, but that doesn’t make setting and reaching sustainability goals all that much easier. Actually, the bigger the company the bigger its carbon footprint likely is, and the sheer data needed to make realistic progress can become something that requires an entire department to parse out.
PPAI understands that a sustainability journey needs more than a map; what it requires is more like a GPS that can track all the steps you’ve taken.
- That mentality is at the heart of PPAI’s recent partnership with Green Business Benchmark, offering PPAI members discounts to the sustainability software.
- Any interested promo firms can look to Hit Promotional Products as a case study. The supplier began working with GBB in hopes of satisfying greater client expectations for sustainability answers.
“Green Business Benchmark became the central tool for managing Hit’s sustainability program,” the software company stated in an assessment of its work with the supplier.
GBB offers sustainability management, program management, benchmarking and well-respected certifications. Interested members can access that discount – and learn more – by clicking here.
Unlocking “Transformative Power”
Hit Promotional Products – PPAI 100’s No. 4 supplier – was going to enhance its sustainability efforts, with or without GBB. Around 2021, it was becoming clear, largely through an increase in sustainability questions from requests for proposals (RFPs), that client and end user demand was heading in one direction when it came to transparency on issues like carbon emissions data.
GBB allowed Hit to embark on this journey without losing countless employee hours to the sheer research, data collection and process implementations. The choice to go with GBB came down to the software’s ability to simplify the management and tracking of sustainable initiatives.
“With the support of Green Business Benchmark’s initiative library, Hit avoided extensive research and instead directed its efforts toward implementation,” according to the case study.
- By streamlining initiative implementation and creating intuitive leadership engagement, Hit has been able to track and showcase its progress, strengthening relationships with both clients and suppliers.
“Our partnership with GBB has proven valuable due to its ease of helping us find, learn about and implement sustainable changes for our company,” says Natalie Sheffey, director of sustainability at Hit Promotional Products. “GBB’s platform has saved us time and resources by helping us target relevant sustainability and responsibility initiatives. It helped lay the foundation for a sustainable program that we can build on for years to come.”
The software is designed to help organizations tailor initiatives and goals – both GBB-specific sustainability scores as well as existing outside frameworks or certifications – while tracking their progress along the way or adjusting and adding to those goals.
“This is a really good starting place, and it’s a great place, even if you’ve already started some initiatives and put in some effort, to come back and benchmark yourself,” says Elizabeth Wimbush, PPAI’s director of sustainability and responsibility.
To Wimbush’s point, the motivation for implementing GBB goes beyond help with the overwhelming task of beginning a sustainability journey. It’s also a template for lasting impacts. In Hit’s case, for example, the partnership positioned the company for future growth and success in meeting stricter ESG and regulatory standards.
“This collaboration demonstrates the transformative power of aligning strategic sustainability efforts with the right software, driving operational excellence and strengthening market positioning,” says GBB’s case study with Hit.
