Upside ESG Research Report
Stop Chasing Unqualified Sustainability Leads. Start Closing Deals.
Our research of 189 mid-market manufacturers shows what they really want from vendors, where they are on the sustainability spectrum and what signals you can look for to find ready buyers.
The Problem: Despite growing demand for solutions, most climate tech and sustainability solution providers waste time on prospects who were never going to buy. Traditional lead gen—conferences, webinars, firmographic lists—can't distinguish between companies in "learning mode" and those with allocated budgets and active projects. Meanwhile, research firms like Verdantix claim the industry is poised for significant growth -- so why can we find them?
How Prospecting Is Different: In sustainability procurement, engagement alone doesn't predict purchasing. A prospect can attend your webinar and be 18 months from budget approval. Another with zero web presence might have urgent customer mandates driving immediate spend.
But there are signals you can decode.
What This Report Does: We applied our ESG Buyer Readiness Framework (U.S. Patent pending) to analyze 189 U.S. mid-market manufacturers using 250+ buyer readiness signals across three dimensions: Risk Exposure, Budget Capacity, and Commitment Level.
The Finding: 67% earned scores indicating near-term buying potential—but they require sector-specific intelligence to identify. This report shows you how to find them and what types of messages will resonate.
The person behind the report...
Between 2006 - 2016, Heather sold (and delivered) ESG strategy, carbon accounting and climate tech solutions to Fortune 500 and mid-sized enterprises. She served for five years as Joint Chair in the development of the first Sustainability Standard for Professional Services, advising US EPA and Government Services Administration on sustainability in government procurement.
For the past 10 years, she has worked at the intersection of sustainability solutions buyers and sellers in her role as Chief Connector of the Connecticut Sustainable Business Council. And for the past 18 months, she's worked with dozens of mid-sized manufacturers looking for sustainability solutions.
After two decades of selling sustainability solutions, I got tired of wasting time on prospects who weren't ready. So I built a framework to stop the guessing game. This report shares what I've learned.”
Understand Buyer Readiness and Mid-Market Sustainability Procurement.
Download the free report and learn how to identify companies that are actually ready to invest in sustainability solutions.