How do you know if an organisation is sustainable?

If, like us, you’re passionate about sustainability in business, then it’s important to make sure you’re paying attention to what organisations are saying, and why. It’d be great to think that businesses are sustainable because it’s the right thing to do morally, ethically and for the environment - but it’s not always that simple.  

Being a truly sustainable organisation isn’t always easy. In this blog we explore how you can tell whether an organisation is being completely honest about their efforts - if they’re telling you the bad stuff, as well as the good.

Are the organisation's standards sustainable?

The first indicator of a company’s sustainability is whether it adheres to its chosen internal sustainability rules, externally audited sustainability standards and/or any governmental standards. 

For example, an internal sustainability rule might be that they proactively employ people from a wide array of genders, economic or ethnic backgrounds. A quick check on their LinkedIn employee list will show you whether this is true, or whether like so many others, they have more middle-aged white Pauls, Peters, or Johns than women on their board. 

An externally audited sustainability standard might be GRI, B-Corp or  ISO 14001 which individually, or collectively can represent the bigger picture of how an organisation is handling its affairs in an ethical, environmental and socially-just way. 

A governmental standard might be the number of times they’ve been fined in the last 12 months for not following the correct restrictions.

Is the organisation proactively being sustainable?

An organisation actively being sustainable isn’t just about slapping a sticker on their website or switching to recyclable products. 

There are any number of systems, processes and changes that need to occur incrementally for an organisation to truly become sustainable. This could mean the number of finite planetary resources or raw materials that are used, the amount of waste each employee produces, the emissions that they generate, and a lot more besides. 

But it can also be about acting sustainably; in how they treat their customers, staff, and local community and how honest they’re being with them about their efforts and what they’re hoping to achieve. 

If we assume that an organisation just started being sustainable right from the word go, that’s not really realistic. And it’s utter nonsense - there is no such thing as a perfectly sustainable company. 

If they want their customers to believe in what they’re reaching for, they have to begin with first what they didn’t do well, and what they’ve learnt from it.

Are its effects sustainable?

What are the effects that the company produces? 

The effect that a company can have on the environment involves; its “Air emissions, Land contamination, Noise, and Waste disposal and discharges. These are all governed by the policies and procedures of Environmental legislation” - Principal People.

Not only is there legislation in place for what effect an organisation is having on the environment, but also how it’s marketing those effects; if a company is advertising that it’s ‘going green’ when it’s not. 

This is recently governed by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

It is “in the interest of companies to be mindful of the environmental effect it has, not only due to the risk of court action and legal fees, but also to the stakeholders involved in a company, there is more of a need now to be seen to be more environmentally friendly”. - Principal People. 

Are their products or services sustainable?

Is the company involved in the entire process from the initial idea, right through to the finished product?

This means the whole product life cycle; from the raw materials that they dig up, to the final disposal; whether their suppliers use renewable energy sources; the amount of carbon dioxide produced by making or moving the products, and if the product may be recycled or reused.

It’s one thing for an organisation to say they’re sustainable if it’s in obvious ways, but another if they’re not involved in the entire process from start to finish, and doing everything they can to make sure every step is made in a sustainable way.  If they’re not in direct control of the entire process could there be room for problems along the way...

The point here is - what’s the hidden cost? 

Take chocolate brand Nestle for example, who have had lawsuits filed against them due to using child slavery to cut costs. 

Energy companies advertising ‘green’ tariffs but charging through the nose for it - by still having to ‘top up’ the high demand of electricity with wholesale price gas! 

Recently we’ve seen the attempt of McDonalds to cut single-use plastic by replacing their previously recyclable straws with a poor performing paper one, that actually can’t be recycled!

Is the system sustainable?

The national or international relationships and the impact they have on the local community - the government we vote for, the laws we stand by, the countries we associate with.  Are their people being treated in a way which is benefitting both them and the organisation?

The problem is - can one person’s opinion REALLY change years of ‘oh but it’s always been like this’?

Except the problem is... So much bigger than one person. 

We’re being fed all of this sustainability-led advice and propaganda, but really, it’s the bigger SYSTEMS that need to put the work in to make the difference.

Governments, organisations, laws and policies.

There is a need by those who have more money and pay less taxes, to keep things exactly the way they are, because it’s more profitable for them that way.

It’s better for us and for the environment to ‘shop local’- but as long as rent prices on shops are so expensive, and it’s cheaper to buy processed over-sugared and salted plastic packaged food instead of buying fresh, locally sourced, unpackaged and un-pesticide(-ed?!) fruit and vegetables, how can we possibly be expected to?

Trust your gut.

Ultimately, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Trust your gut and buy from brands that you feel are doing the right things for the right reasons.

By considering these sustainability indicators and through analysis, we can develop a point of view towards the sustainability of a company and identify the aspects that it could improve to reach a good balance.