Is your Chief Financial Officer seeking more opportunities to enrich the company? The time may be ripe to introduce the financial fruits of sustainability products and initiatives, increasing your CFO's happiness.
In this feature, we examine how income statements can benefit from the Human Impact + Profit (HIP) approach: the potential for increased cash from customer sales and reduced monetary outflows for the costs of materials, people, and taxes. Being more HIP can boost your firm's bottom line.
Given world trends toward improving five factors of human needs — Health, Wealth, Earth, Equality, Trust – companies selling HIP products tend to experience higher sales growth. This can result from selling higher volumes of product, charging higher prices, or both.
Higher Volume Potential from HIP Products
Hannaford Brothers, founded in 1883, is a food retailer operating 170 stores across 5 states in New England, including its home state of Maine. Hannaford instituted a "Guiding Stars" program for rating food quality (including natural, organic, and healthy choices), which they describe as "nutritious shopping made simple." (bit.ly/cObcjE) One star is for Good, two is for Better, and three is for Best. The ratings value whole grains, dietary fiber, minerals, and vitamins higher, but rank products with added sugars, sodium, cholesterol, trans-fat, and saturated fat lower. Hannaford has applied for a patent on its rating system.
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