Originally featured on
Kochie’s Business Builders Episode 26 Series 15 –
Catch-up on what happened when Greener Founder, Tom Ferrier, sat down with David Koch to explain why sustainability makes good business sense, and how Greener for Business helps Aussie businesses make the switch to be kinder to the planet.
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Read the full interview transcript
[Intro]
Coming up on Kochie’s Business Builders, meet the founder who’s helping to explain why sustainability makes good business sense. .
[Kochie]
G’day and welcome to a special episode of Kochie’s Business Builders where we’ll be taking a closer look at sustainability and social impact. Joining me today to help unpack the issue is a founder who’s making it simple for your business to get on board with sustainable practices. Tom Ferrier. Tom is the founder of Greener, a clean tech startup that is helping Aussie businesses make the switch to be kinder to the planet.
Tom, good to see you. Thank you for joining us today.
[Tom]
Great to see you Kochie
[Kochie]
Um, Greener is all about passion and purpose. Why? What drives you to to start a business called Greener?
[Tom]
It really was one of those things that mom and dad used to say to us. Always have fun, always dream big and always do your best. And probably about when I was mid twenties, I lost my best friend to cancer and at that time I actually took a bit of a step back and said to them, the best friend was my dad. I’m gonna do something super big, super impressive, and I’m going to make you proud. And ultimately that’s what I’ve been trying to do ever since change the world.
[Kochie]
Isn’t that interesting? Because you’re a serial entrepreneur. Greener is just your latest venture. Purposed was a previous venture of yours and it, it was the same thing wasn’t it? It was how to create a social impact.
[Tom]
Look, it was. I was leading the IT strategy at Brambles at the time, and I thought, hang on, this is time to really go out and give it my all. And I also thought that if I’ve made it at the big end of town, surely it’s got to be simpler at the smaller end. How wrong was I?
Startups are notoriously difficult and I just didn’t know it. And I thought we’ve got a real problem we’re looking to solve. I thought we validated the problem, but ultimately after 18 months of just pushing and pushing and pushing, my mentor sat me down and said, Tom, I’m going to ask you a really confronting question.
And the question was, Is what you’re doing a good idea people will buy and use, or is it just a good idea? And I was a deer in the headlights, I knew the answer. It sort of focused me in a few different ways. It focused me on the fact that you can’t just go out and think that you’re doing the right thing and…
[Kochie]
Yeah.
[Tom]
I call it vanity validation. We were getting so much support, big businesses, big names saying, this is great, we’ll help. But unless they bring out their checkbook, it’s just because they don’t want to hurt your feelings. And so I really said from that moment forward, whatever I do next, whether it be back in big corporate, or another startup venture, let’s make sure that we get the proper backing first and that, test everything to make sure it’s a good idea people will buy and use.
[Kochie]
Yeah, I reckon so many small business owners would be nodding their head there to say people don’t want to be mean, so they just agree. Those learnings, how did that help you build Greener and the idea?
[Tom]
Well, it was funny because it was probably about a month after that moment, um, when the mentor said that, that, I’ll level with you, Kochie, I couldn’t get out of bed. Right. I was the founder of a business called Purposed, but I had no purpose, and I was struggling. And someone forced me to go to an event one night, and I went along, and a person that I didn’t even know came up to me and said, did you know that everything we buy has a hidden price tag on the planet?
That price tag’s carbon, the key contributor to climate change. I wasn’t in the mood for a conversation like that. I didn’t even want to be there. But something clicked when they said that, and they went on to say we could stop this crisis if we all got our carbon footprints below two tonnes per annum.
[Kochie] Right.
[Tom]
So I went, well, hang on. I didn’t know we could solve this massive crisis. I thought it was too far gone. And so from that moment on, I haven’t stopped thinking about… How do we reduce that hidden price tag? And ideally, let’s make sure that we do it in a way that people will buy and use, so it’s not just another good idea.
[Kochie]
Stick around. Don’t go anywhere. Tom is going to be back shortly. To show us the route where we can all make a difference. .
[Kochie]
We’re back with Tom Ferrier, founder of Greener for Business, and we’re chatting all things sustainability. So if you’re keen to lessen your business’s impact on the planet, listen up, Tom, how do businesses, line by line, go through and understand the impact they make on the planet?
[Tom]
Well, the beautiful thing is you don’t have to anymore. We’ve really built a platform that helps them save money and the planet at the same time. And we start with the low hanging fruit. So a business simply logs into our free platform and in under a minute gets their own personalised pathway to reduce emissions, but also save money.
And how we’ve done it is we’ve worked with the best, from Harvard’s Behavioral Science Team to the University of Sydney Carbon Data Team to really make sure that we’re not just telling businesses what to do, but we show them how to do it. And under each one of these actions is a simple step by step guide that’s underpinned with market leading offers from some of the biggest names in the country for their more sustainable solutions. That way we help businesses save money and the planet at the same time.
[Kochie]
Okay, so all the hard work; because, you’re quite right most businesses are doing it tough at the moment and they think, Hey, I want to do what’s right for the planet. I’ll put that on the back burner because I’ve got to make a profit at the moment. So you’ve taken out all of the complexity that businesses would need to go through.
[Tom]
Absolutely. Kochie, 43 percent of businesses this year are non profitable, based on what the government’s telling us. But what many people don’t know is that 40 percent of the country’s emissions come from small businesses. So we really re looked at those two problems and said, if we can find a solution that solves both of them in a way that solves the immediate need for business, which is their cash flow, but also addresses that longer term challenge that we’re all going to face, called climate change, we thought we could be on to a winner. And the early results are looking positive.
[Kochie]
OK, what’s the biggest feedback you’re getting from small businesses who go through the process? Because I imagine a lot would say, hey, this is going to cost me money, uh, costs are going to go up to go for a renewable alternative. Is that a myth?
[Tom]
It used to be fact, but right now the tides have turned and today it’s the biggest myth that we’re facing and the biggest challenge that we’re having to overcome. And so what we’ve really done is led with case studies of businesses that traditionally would have had to pay more, but we’re delivering amazing savings.
Just recently, we saved Ray White Clayfield 400 a year on energy and took three cars off the road in emissions. And so once we get the case studies out there, people are going, hang on, I’m going to give it a go, and more often than not, we’re saving considerable sums of money.
[Kochie]
And within those companies who are going through the process at the moment, what reaction are they getting, number one, from their staff? And number two, from consumers?
[Tom]
The staff of these businesses are saying, how can I get the message out there so we get other businesses to follow suit? And that’s exactly what we want to hear. That’s music to our ears, because our goal is to see every business in the country get greener by 2030. I think we’re also seeing from consumers… Consumers are wanting to know where to shop and how to use their dollar for good. And we’ve actually got a separate consumer solution that is showing that 65 percent of users are shifting their spend. So the proof is there. It’s really exciting. And we’re seeing some serious impact being had at the same time.
[Kochie]
Because, uh, people and consumers are often sceptical, aren’t they? So there’s been a lot of instances of greenwashing, corporate saying they’re doing the right thing but they don’t. Um, how powerful a message is this for small businesses to get across and show their credentials?
[Tom]
Look, the proof’s in what we’ve seen just since launch. We’re having businesses ring up saying, how do I get this message out there further? I want a sticker on my window. I want you guys to spin up mini websites for me because this is the message we need to get out there and these businesses don’t know how to tell the story and nor should they. They’re flat out just trying to keep the lights on. So we’re extremely lucky that there’s so much excitement and buzz around what we’re doing and this coalition of partners that we’re bringing to the table has already seen us attract marketing reach of over a million small to medium businesses.
[Kochie]
Okay, and as you say, commercially, it makes sense for small business to do it. Uh, really important. . Now, research by McRindle suggests almost two thirds of Aussies are more aware of the impact of their purchases than a year ago and 41 percent are concerned about the environmental credentials of brands. So what challenge does this pose to businesses? And Tom, are they slow to adopt these sustainable practices? Do, do we need a kick up the backside?
[Tom]
What I’ll say is, everyone wants to do the right thing, but they’re so time poor, cash poor, and ultimately need a greater incentive most of the time. Now, you’ve got pockets of businesses out there that are really leading the charge and others that are lagging, and we’re seeing that businesses that are taking that advice and getting better for the planet are reaping the rewards from the consumer.
[Kochie]
Does it give them a competitive advantage?
[Tom]
I’d say it does today, but I don’t think it will for long. And the reason I say that is it’s going to become a strategic threat for those that don’t. Everyone is starting to get on this bandwagon and so should they. We’re running out of time when it comes to taking material action and so the longer businesses wait. They’re going to become extinct. Consumers are shifting their spend. B2B businesses are shifting their suppliers because they’re being forced to. So, yeah, today it is a competitive advantage, but I don’t think it’s going to be for too much longer. It’s something they just have to do.
[Kochie]
Isn’t that interesting? It’s like having a digital footprint. Previously, it was an opportunity. Now… It’s the biggest risk to your business if you don’t have one. Same with sustainability practices. That’s got to be driven by staff and customers as well as a really powerful reinforcer of it, isn’t it?
[Tom]
Absolutely. Staff and customers are some of the biggest reasons that these businesses are doing it. Again… Cost savings, great. But if you want to build a loyal workforce, if you want to build a loyal consumer base, you need to be focused on the things that matter to them.
[Kochie]
So what’s the next step for Greener for Business?
[Tom]
Look, we’ve just launched with a coalition of some of these countries. biggest names. Um, whether it be Origin Energy, NAB, we’ve got Sendle, we’ve got Appliances Online, and they’re all bringing market leading offers to help these businesses take up greener solutions. What’s also exciting is so many councils across the country have taken the solution and are putting it in the hands of their constituents to help them achieve their net zero targets.
Our whole ultimate goal here at Greener is to get every business in the country to get them greener and ultimately By 2030, we want to halve emissions in small to medium business, and that would take the equivalent of 25 million cars off the road in emissions.
[Kochie]
Mate, congratulations, no one can argue against what you’re doing, but most small businesses have no idea how to do it and the direction they need to take. Greener for Business sort of holds our hand, gives us a process, um, and it achieves everything for us both ways. Mate, congratulations. Thanks for joining us.
[Tom]
Thanks, Kochie appreciate it.
[Kochie]
Really appreciate your time. Hasn’t it been fantastic learning all about, um, Tom’s entrepreneurial journey, but also Greener for Business and the process that you can take. It’s so easy to do. You’ve got to do it. To find out more, head to greener. com. au