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Many endeavors in the business world are optional, but one that is becoming increasingly imperative is sustainability strategy – and not just because it can help to save the planet, but because businesses are likely to suffer without a viable plan in place.
What is a sustainability strategy, why is it important that businesses make the time and effort to develop the right sustainability strategy for their business, and what are the consequences if they don’t?
A sustainability strategy, sometimes also referred to as a corporate responsibility strategy, is a set of actions which provide a guideline for companies to pull their focus towards investments and improve performance levels – and also engage their stakeholders. A sustainability strategy will often include ESG principles such as environmental and social issues, in addition to the economic impacts of a company’s activities. Ultimately, a sustainability strategy can help companies to cultivate greater value without causing harm to the environment or society.
👉 A good sustainability strategy always starts with a company determining their main mission focus and reasoning for creating the business in the first place. This helps companies develop the appropriate and most suitable sustainability strategy for their business.
In order to curate a viable sustainability strategy, companies must be determined to focus on the issues which pertain to their company the most – and be willing to work through complex situations for the sake of sustainability.
One of the most crucial parts to any sustainability strategy is to implement goals and initiatives that will help to encourage sustainability across the company. Examples of this include creating a plan to actively reduce greenhouse gas emissions, reduce superfluous consumption of finite materials, seek to implement energy efficiency wherever possible, cultivate a sustainable supply chain, and aid in supporting society in whichever way possible.
👉 However, this is not a definitive list, and there is much more that can be done to implement a sustainability strategy – as different strategies are likely to work best for different companies.
Here are a few of the most commonly used strategies and key elements for a sustainability strategy:
Ultimately, a viable sustainability strategy will not only benefit the company in question, but also help to improve the surrounding environmental and societal circumstances.
In today’s world, a sustainability strategy is more important than ever – as it can provide a wide array of benefits to companies such as helping to attract and keep stakeholders engaged in the company, create opportunities for creativity, and lead to long-term financial success and a more resilient supply chain.
However, a sustainability strategy is not just a cherry on the cake anymore – it’s becoming something all companies will have to make the effort to adhere to, seeing as the world (government and political bodies, in particular) are growing more aware of the urgent movement to act against climate change.
👉 Think of a sustainability strategy a lot like someone with a lactose intolerance refusing to take a digestive enzyme supplement before eating ice cream. Sure, they can go ahead and have dairy without taking a digestive enzyme first – but it’s pointless to not when the person can. The same goes for a sustainability strategy – even though it isn’t compulsory on paper, it is becoming an implied requirement.
👉 One of the main reasons why a sustainability strategy is no longer an option for companies is because governments and implementing stricter climate legislation and regulations that companies are being required to comply with – and developing a sustainability strategy can help to ensure that companies are ready to adhere at any given moment. This is extremely important given that new environmental legislation is being drawn up, and prevents companies from running around trying to move around business operations for the sake of adhering to these new rules.
A sustainability strategy can help companies to be proactive rather than reactive – as addressing sustainability issues ahead of time and stay ahead of future environmental and social regulations.
In short, a sustainability strategy is important as it helps companies proceed with their main mission without ignoring environmental and social responsibility. Businesses should care about a sustainability strategy as it can help them to manage risks, improve relationships with their stakeholders, comply with environmental regulations, reduce business costs, and create a successful and sustainable business.
As explained, developing a sustainability strategy can help businesses in a multitude of ways: such as by engaging their stakeholders and promoting sustainability across the company and supply chain as a whole. In the long run, seeking to create a viable sustainability strategy is the better choice in the long run over choosing to not.
Some companies may find bypassing the benefits of a sustainability strategy easy, or may not view developing a sustainability strategy worth their time or financial resources – but overlooking the consequences could prove more challenging.
Consequences of not developing a sustainability strategy include bad business reputation, supply chain that lacks resilience, poor mamanget of finite resources, less engagement on behalf of stakeholders, and decreased customer and investor satisfaction or interest in financially supporting the business. In addition to this, many governments around the world are making sustainability reporting more compulsory – such as with the SEC disclosure rule and the CSRD. Failure to comply could give companies a bad name and cost them financially with hefty fines.
👉 In the end, companies who seek to implement a sustainability strategy will help their companies from lagging behind from complying with environmental regulations and standards in the future.
The choice is clear: governments, customers, and investors are all in favor of companies who value developing a sustainability strategy over those that don’t.
If businesses want to stay ahead of the curve, they’ll take the plunge and start to develop a sustainability strategy – if they don’t already have one. Often, developing the perfect sustainability strategy is best when done with expertise from carbon accounting companies like Greenly. However, it’s not impossible for companies to set out and develop a sustainable strategy on their own.
That being said, it’s important to keep in mind that curating a sustainability strategy is complex and is best done with third party assistance.
There are five key steps to building a sustainability strategy:
At the end of the day, a sustainability strategy is becoming a lot like proofreading a paper that’s already been checked by autocorrect – it may seem fine to turn it in as is, but going the extra mile can certainly prevent mindless errors in the long run. The same goes for a sustainability strategy, and if companies want to avoid scrambling to comply with the expectations of environmental regulations and stakeholders – they’d be wise to get started now.
If reading this article about why sustainability strategy is no longer optional for companies has made you interested in reducing your carbon emissions to further fight against climate change – Greenly can help you!
Developing a personalized sustainability strategy that’s just right for your company can be difficult on you own, but don’t worry – Greenly is here to help! Our climate experts will help you step by step to curate the perfect emissions reduction and sustainability strategy for your business. Book a demo with one of our specialists today to see how we can help you get started in your climate journey.
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