Groundwork Impact — Impact strategy for founder-led consumer brands

Is this you

You probably recognize one of these.

Three situations where founder-led brands tend to reach out. If any of these sound like the week you're having, we should talk.

Scenario 01

You have a buyer meeting coming up.

A retail review or category buyer wants documentation. You have good practices and a real story, but pulling it together in a way that holds up to scrutiny isn't how you want to spend the next two weeks.

Scenario 02

Your team has grown past your voice.

You started this brand because of what you care about. Now there are 40 people, three departments, and a marketing calendar — and the values are getting interpreted in ways you wouldn't have chosen. You need them written down, sharpened, and built into how the company operates.

Scenario 03

You're doing the work but not getting credit.

Real impact practices in your supply chain, your sourcing, your team. But the brand isn't getting credit — the metrics aren't sharp, the language is fuzzy, and customers can't tell what you actually stand for. The substance is there. The story isn't.

None of these? Tell me what you're working on.

What working together looks like

The first engagement is three weeks.

We start with a scoped Truth + Fit Playbook. Clear deliverables, defined timeline, no open-ended retainer. You'll know within the first two weeks whether the strategy is going to land.

Phase 01 — Truth Week 1

Audit what's real.

A clear-eyed look at your current impact work — claims, practices, gaps, and where your language exposes you to regulatory or reputational risk.

You leave with

Current-state impact audit
Risk and exposure review
Honest read on what's working

Phase 02 — Fit Week 2

Match the strategy.

Not every impact priority fits every brand. We narrow to the two or three that actually align with your category, your operations, and where you can credibly lead.

You leave with

Priority impact areas, matched to brand
Defensible impact language
What to claim, what to retire

Phase 03 — Playbook Week 3

Make it usable.

A playbook your team can actually execute. Not a strategy deck that lives in a folder — a working document that travels into marketing, ops, and the conversations you're already having with buyers and investors.

You leave with

Executable team playbook
Messaging guardrails
Path from here, if you want it

Start with a fit call →

Why Groundwork

Three things make this different.

Regulatory fluency.

FTC Green Guides, CA SB 343, B Lab V2.1. The standards have moved fast, and the language that worked three years ago now creates exposure. We build claims that hold up — to retailers, to lawyers, to the next round of scrutiny.

Founder-led, by design.

This isn't impact consulting for enterprise CPG. We work with growing consumer brands where the founder's instincts still drive the company. The process fits how you actually operate — fast, lean, decisions made in the room.

Embedded, not extracted.

The strategy gets built inside your business, not handed off in a PDF. We stay close enough to help it land — through the buyer meeting, the team rollout, the next campaign — so the work actually shows up in the market.

Liz Edwards, Founder of Groundwork Impact

Who you'll work with

"Built in, not bolted on."

Liz Edwards founded Groundwork after years of working at the intersection of mission and operations — across nonprofit leadership, social enterprise, and the creator economy. She started this practice because most consumer brands don't need a vendor who hands them a sustainability deck. They need a partner who treats their values as the work itself, and builds the structure into the business rather than around it.

Liz Edwards · Founder

Also: Co-founder, Glow · COO, IYB

Next step

Let's see if there's a fit.

A 30-minute call. No prep required. You tell me what you're working on, I'll tell you honestly whether Groundwork is the right partner for it — and if not, I'll tell you who might be.

Recommended Book a 30-min fit call

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Prefer email? Reach me at liz@groundworkimpact.com
I read every message and respond within two business days.