Corporate performance today is measured in more ways than just ranking the quality of its products and services, the health and safety of its workplace, and the financial returns it generates. Now, environmental, social and governance (ESG) metrics are included in the evaluation. One aspect of ESG evaluations is measuring how a company handles the demands of climate change, which is essentially an issue of the sustainability of its business practices.

Sustainability means striking a balance between the environment, equity, and the economy. As Rich Lesser, CEO of BCG, recently told a Fortune magazine editor: “There’s a level of engagement at the most senior levels of companies on tackling climate change that has never been higher.” Lesser went on to say that climate change is “getting the kind of attention that digital and technology were getting five years ago.” He further commented: “Increasingly, this [climate change] will be one of the defining questions about how you build competitive advantage in the decades ahead.”

With stakeholders increasingly focused on company ESG practices, those receiving low rankings may find themselves offsides with institutional investors and struggling to access reasonably priced capital, limiting growth prospects. Embracing sustainability can boost ESG ratings, but it means reassessing all aspects of a company’s operations, starting at the top with its mission statement and corporate vision. With a new “tone at the top,” managements can begin considering how to adjust their inputs and operations to make their businesses more sustainable. That often begins with utilizing inputs created from non-polluting sources, which enables the production of more environmentally friendly products.

Establishing the gameplan for transforming a low-ranked ESG company into a highly ranked one is simple. Following it is harder. It begins by understanding the starting point, which is challenging given the lack of standardized ESG metrics. Management needs to make its own assessment of where the company ranks based on metrics it can measure and control. From there management can identify the steps necessary to improve the company’s ranking, with one of the first being selecting sustainable inputs. Producers of sustainable inputs will gain market share and improve profit. The focus on sustainability is driving significant change in the corporate world that will never reverse.

For this Company Spotlight, we interviewed Viridis’ CEO (Carl Rush) and CFO (Randy Whitaker) about how the company is creating the first commercial-scale renewable ethyl acetate production facility in North America. Viridis is a manufacturer of renewable chemicals with a focus on the safe, environmentally sound, and economically viable conversion of bioethanol into useful products previously derived from oil or natural gas. For more information on Viridis, please visit www.viridischemical.com.

Background: After over a decade of working together at Waste Management and Emerging Infrastructure Capital Partners, Carl Rush and Randy Whitaker co-founded Viridis Chemical in 2020 after identifying an opportunity to purchase Prairie Catalytic, a facility purposed for producing renewable ethyl acetate (ETAC) whose previous owner could not raise the capital required to complete construction. Given Carl and Randy’s……..…..READ MORE

Lilac Solutions is a lithium extraction technology company based in Oakland, California. Lilac has developed a patented ion exchange technology that facilitates production of lithium from brine resources with high efficiency, minimal cost, and ultra-low environmental footprint. The new funds will be used to ramp production of the company’s unique ion exchange beads, expand its teams of engineers and field operators, and deploy the technology globally.

Priority Power is an independent energy services provider offering smart energy solutions and streamlined transitions to carbon neutrality to commercial and industrial customers in North America. To date, Priority has reduced over 7mm metric tons Green House Gas emissions and currently serves 7,000 commercial customers in North America totaling over $2.7 billion of energy procurement under management.

Related Press Release: Priority Power Announces Investment by Oaktree Capital

EnerVenue builds simple, safe, maintenance-free energy storage for the clean energy revolution – based on technology proven over decades in extreme conditions, now scaled for large renewable energy integration applications. EnerVenue provides an affordable alternative to lithium-ion batteries with capabilities well-suited to harsh-desert, remote project sites and to customers desiring ‘install and forget’ energy storage solutions. The company is headquartered in Fremont, California.

Silfab Solar is the North American leader in the design, development and manufacture of ultra-high-efficiency, premium quality PV modules. Silfab leverages 40 years of solar experience and best-in-class technologies to produce solar modules from facilities in the state of Washington and Toronto, Canada. Each facility features multiple automated ISO 9001-2015 quality certified production lines utilizing just-in-time manufacturing to deliver Buy American approved PV modules specifically designed for and dedicated to the North American market. This investment will be used to expand Silfab’s US solar production and supply chain footprint, and service the growing consumer appetite for American-made, premium-quality solar panels.

Headquartered in Austin, Texas, WIN-911 is a leading industrial monitoring, alerting and notification software. WIN-911 helps protect over 18,000 facilities in 80 countries on six continents and can deliver critical machine alarms via smartphone app, voice, text, email, and in-plant announcer — speeding operator response times and reducing system downtime and maintenance costs.

Related Press Release: The CapStreet Group Announces Investment in WIN-911

Energy Technology Musings

Sustainability is Key to Being a Good ESG Corporate Citizen