2022 was another a great year for Emerger Strategies! In fact, 2022 was our best year yet, and I want to thank all of our clients for their dedication to using their businesses to solve social and environmental problems. Emerger Strategies continues to renew customers, as well as bring in new clients, such as SEW Eurodrive, Blue Sky and Tarpon Cellars, who are looking to measure and improve their sustainability rankings, enhance customer loyalty and boost financial performance. Here’s a few highlights from 2022:
- Since 2016, we have helped RepYourWater improve their sustainability assessment score from 30% to 208% (any score over 100% is positive impact), while increasing their customer loyalty 58%, and boosting their sales 87%. We attribute RepYourWater’s success to effectively marketing and communicating their sustainability story over the years and demonstrating their commitment to sustainability by donating 3% of annual sales to conservation, being a Zero Waste operation as well as being Climate Neutral Certified.
- In 2020, we conducted a Sustainability Assessment and developed a custom Strategic Sustainability Plan for Z-Man Fishing Products. As a result of Z-Man executing our plan, they have eliminated their power bill (cost reduction) and reduced their carbon footprint by 438 mtCO2e through the installation of a solar array on their roof. Additionally, Z-Man also created a new revenue stream by finding a buyer for their waste, which is helping to keep tons of waste out of the landfill.
- Emerger Strategies was named one of the 12 Most Innovative South Carolina Based Sustainability Companies & Startups by Futurology.
- I am still pinching myself, but I was honored to be named one of Garden & Gun’s 15 Southern Future’s “highlighting fifteen people, places, and ideas forging the South of tomorrow.
- I had the opportunity moderate the “Bridging the Gap between Economy and Ecology” panel discussion at the American Fly Fishing Trade Association Industry Summit. Panelists included: Corinne Doctor from RepYourWater, Laura Schaffer from Orvis and Ted Manning from Patagonia.
Originally, Emerger Strategies carved a niche by working with companies in the fly fishing industry, as I am a passionate angler and enjoy helping people, but Emerger Strategies has grown outside of the fly fishing industry to include clients in the outdoor industry (Crazy Creek), manufacturing (SEW Eurodrive) and even a winemaker (Tarpon Cellars) amongst others. If there’s a lesson to learn about the thirst for sustainability, it’s that there are thousands of small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) who simply want to do the right thing, but can’t afford to hiring an internal Director of Sustainability, and that’s where Emerger Strategies thrives as our clients outsourced sustainability team.
I’d also like to take the opportunity to thank Brooks Scott and Kellen Sullivan, who are part of the Emerger Strategies team, for their hard work and dedication to helping our clients solve the world’s biggest social and environmental challenges. So with that, I’d like to thank each and every one of our clients for their support and commitment and I look forward to another great year!
If we can help your business measure and improve your sustainability rankings, enhance your customer loyalty and boost your financial performance, please don’t hesitate to reach out!
Sincerely,
Rick