February 2025 - 38

POHMER ON ...
The Many Layers of
SUSTAINABILITY
Communicating your sustainability involvement increases the propensity of your existing
and potential customers supporting you over competitors.
reduce carbon emissions, and decrease the impact of your
buildings, spaces and processes.
By Stan Pohmer
S
ustainability is the ability to meet the needs of
the present without compromising the ability
of future generations to meet their own needs,
according to the UN World Commission on Environment
and Development (1987). It often involves balancing
environmental, social and economic considerations.
Heavy, ponderous and intentionally vague, yet, at
the same time, an all-encompassing goal with built-in
flexibility so that it can be adopted by all businesses (big
and small), governments, organizations and individuals in
some form. Though the " save the planet and all who live on
it, today and in the future " stated scope of sustainability
is broad, no single entity can achieve the goal by itself;
in reality, it relies on the cumulative impact of all players
working both collaboratively and individually.
It's based on actions, activities, policies, projects and
investments that entities can subscribe to in its entirety
or in smaller chunks, as the participants' abilities and
capabilities (and funds to invest) may allow. Some
companies and organizations participate in sustainability
activities simply because it's the right thing to do;
others may seek third-party certification of adherence to
established criteria that can be used in marketing and
communicating their sustainability efforts.
For businesses, sustainable development means taking
purposeful actions to track and reduce your environmental
footprint, even as you work to grow your organization. If
your business is committed to sustainability, it's important
to optimize your operational systems, drive efficiencies,
38 | LAWN & GARDEN RETAILER | FEBRUARY 2025
Measuring Sustainability
Sustainability is a journey; one can never fully achieve
complete sustainability. Though the goals may be carbon
neutrality, the reduction of your environmental footprint, or
mitigating climate change and many more, the organization
can choose what activities it can effectively implement
and afford. Whatever area of involvement you engage in, it
should meet the following three criteria:
* It should be good for the earth.
* It should be good for your business.
* It should be good for your customer.
Many growers and garden retailers are already actively
engaged in creating and implementing sustainable practices,
which you should be proud of - and you deserve to be
recognized for your efforts. Unfortunately, many of you aren't
getting credit for your accomplishments and investments
because you haven't told your customer about what you've
done and are doing. Further, there's nothing wrong or
misleading in taking credit for some of the sustainability
accomplishments of your supply chain partners.
For example, if you buy in your annuals and your growers
have reduced their pesticide use by 75% by using biocontrols,
you can take credit for that! What's also important is to be
able to quantify your sustainability wins. For instance, if you
(or your supplier) reduced water usage by changing to drip
irrigation, hydroponics, ebb and flow tables, or by capturing/
reusing water runoff, you should be able to quantify the old
versus new water usage, either in a reduction of gallons used
or a percentage reduction; this increases your credibility as
well as protecting you from greenwashing challenges.
Sustainability will always be a work in progress, but
take credit for your involvement and accomplishments
through in-store signage, your website and consumer
marketing activities. These vehicles could also act as
educational efforts to show your customers how they can
become more sustainable.
February 2025

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of February 2025
