How to start your journey toward sustainability
The discourse around sustainability is increasing in volume and businesses are starting to understand their impact. Sustainability is a massive topic and so the prospect for many organisations is rather daunting. This blog aims to give you some clear advise around what you could do to start your journey toward sustainability.
So why is sustainability important for businesses and what actually constitutes as ‘sustainability’?
Let’s start with the facts…
Regulation: In 2013 updates were made to the Companies Act 2006 for large companies to include disclosures around greenhouse gasses, inclusivity & diversity, and human rights - these topics are all key to sustainability issues in organisations. Currently, it is just the largest PLCs that are required to communicate their findings, however, it is likely in coming years that this requirement will also be rolled out to other smaller companies. Because of this, it is recommended that organisations start monitoring their sustainability data to get ahead of the curve.
Attraction: The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) further into the spotlight. Many listed companies that monitor and report on ESG are being chosen for investment over those that do not have sustainability on their agenda. Bloomberg reported that in 2021, the increased amount invested in ESG related funds was to the tune of $40 Trillion USD and by 2025 one third of all investments will be ESG focussed.
Overshoot: The ‘E’ in ESG is often the key pillar because without our planet and its flora and fauna, the other elements are redundant. Our planet can only regenerate so much within a year and each year humanity over-consumes those natural resources. In 2021, the 29th July was the date by which Earth’s resources we’ve used up.
How can a company start on its sustainability journey?
Start anywhere - just start: I’m a huge advocate for ignoring the siren calls of ‘perfection’ - the temptation is to aim high and get things right, but in reality, it’s rarely achievable. The same goes for starting on your journey to sustainability. Start now, start before you’re ready, just start and embrace the messiness.
Be honest: Sustainability monitoring and reporting isn’t about winning. It’s about being honest with where you are now, what you’ve been doing (or not), what hasn’t gone to plan, and what you’re future plans are.
Discuss with stakeholders: Whilst sustainability is ultimately a leadership-led strategy, it’s important to be inclusive of all stakeholders to ensure your company is measuring issues that are the most important. Speak with shareholders, clients, staff, suppliers, and external partners to learn what they believe to be the most important sustainability topics in your business.
Scalable: Start small and monitor a handful of topics that you can advance upon at a later stage.
Delegate: Once you have buy-in from your stakeholders it’s time to bring in an expert, Someone who can help you develop your strategy, set up systems and processes for monitoring, who can report on your progress, and communicate it to those who need to know. At Ipsa Consulting, we offer this service in a variety of ways - speak with us to learn more.