BOSTON, Jan. 19, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- PRESS RELEASE -- A diverse group of North America's cannabis cultivation and manufacturing experts has announced that they have come together to form the Sustainable Cannabis Coalition (SCC). The SCC will work proactively with industry cultivation and manufacturing peers and vendors to promote proven sustainability best practices that can be implemented at scale across the cannabis market.

The global legal marijuana market is predicted to reach $66.3 billion by the end of 2025. In order for cultivation and manufacturing producers to compete in a global market, they will be required to meet stringent sustainable and ethical business practices. The SCC will be a trusted resource providing foundational best practices to further promote economic benefits of sustainability as the industry continues to grow.

The SCC founders include CohnReznick, Anderson Porter Design, Valiant, Wholly H2O, Cloud Farming, Argus Controls, Conviron, Gro iQ, Trulieve, Byers Scientific, 365 Cannabis, GMP Collective, Omega Equipment and Supply, Simplifya, PathogenDx, Grow Generation, Outlaw Technology and BZAM Cannabis. These industry leaders are foremost experts in data driven business strategy, facility design, facility construction, water use, pathogen detection, energy consumption, waste disposal, economic and social impact, vertical farming, ERP and seed to sale systems, lighting, air emissions, extraction, packaging and data driven monitoring and optimization of environmental control systems.

"With investors across the industry incorporating Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors into the investment process, the creation of a coalition to address sustainability in this space is critical," said Peter Dougherty, CEO of Gro IQ and SCC co-founder. "The SCC is uniquely poised to impact the industry as it continues to rapidly evolve. As leaders in this space, it is our responsibility to provide data driven sustainability guidance to the industry while protecting both consumers and the environment."

Ira Weinstein, managing principal of CohnReznick, founding member of the coalition and author of the inaugural SCC blog, added, "ESG is a key business practice for CohnReznick and our customers. The ability to incorporate data driven best practices will help confirm for our customers both the long term economic impact on their business as well as position those companies as environmentally and socially responsible market leaders."

The SCC plans to release informative blog posts and podcast interviews bi-weekly addressing each vertical segment of the cannabis cultivation and manufacturing supply chain within the industry along with best practices for sustainability.