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What is the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF)?
The Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) aims to assess the environmental impacts of our products throughout their lifecycle.
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Over the past year, from devastating wildfires in Hawaii to and massive floods in Russia, people have started to see the negative impact of climate change firsthand like never before – which has elicited people to start shifting gears and become more serious about climate change.
Stakeholders are an essential part of any business, but how can your company ensure that your stakeholders don’t get in the way of your sustainability efforts?
In this article, we’ll review why stakeholders are important, how stakeholders could impact your company’s sustainability efforts, and how to prevent your stakeholders from ruining your sustainability plans.
Stakeholders refer to the people who are either involved or impacted by a company’s current business endeavors, ergo the term “stakeholders” to represent people who have “stake”, or some type of involvement or relation to the project in question.
Think of planning a road trip with your friends – the car company you choose to rent from and friends you choose to travel with would all be considered stakeholders in your roadtrip. The same goes for businesses, as anyone from surrounding communities to research institutions associated with your product or service could be considered stakeholders.
Examples of stakeholders could include:
Stakeholders are important because they can have a direct influence on a project. For instance, if investors aren’t happy with the product or service – they won’t continue to invest more money into the company. If locals aren’t happy with how production for your company’s product impacts their daily lives, such as contributing to nearby air pollution, they could boycott the company altogether.
👉 Therefore, it’s imperative to keep your stakeholders both informed and engaged regarding your current company activities – as stakeholders have the power to deter your business plans and even sustainable efforts from being successful.
Stakeholder engagement is important for sustainability as stakeholders are paramount to ensure that new corporate sustainability initiatives are well implemented. Therefore, seeking to involve your stakeholders can help to make certain that all sustainability efforts are understood by all third parties.
Think of trying to incorporate a new routine within a group. It is important for not only the group leaders to understand the new initiatives, but for all of the members of the group to comprehend and want to implement those changes as well. The same goes for essential stakeholders in your organization.
Here are a few more reasons why stakeholder engagement is important to develop your company’s sustainability strategy:
👉 Overall, stakeholder engagement is important for sustainability given the outside expertise and new ideas that your stakeholders could provide to your business – helping to further push your sustainable initiatives.
There are several ways in which stakeholders could impact your company’s efforts to implement greater sustainability, such as by refusing to invest in your brand, lack of materials from suppliers, or lack of trust from consumers.
Stakeholders don’t only have the power to determine the financial success of your business, but also the influence to sway if your current sustainability efforts will be successful – as their cooperation is essential for your sustainable initiative to prove effective.
Some additional ways that your stakeholders could have an impact on your sustainability efforts include:
👉 Ultimately, stakeholders have the ability to influence the direction of your sustainability initiatives as a result of their own individual preferences and actions – making it crucial to communicate your current and future sustainability goals with stakeholders.
There are several ways that your company can prevent your stakeholders from getting in the way of achieving your sustainability goals, but the most effective way to ensure your stakeholders don’t get in the way of your sustainability efforts is to practice good communication.
One of the best ways to ensure that your stakeholders don’t implicate your current sustainability efforts is to remain proactive and provide as much information in advance as possible.
Here are some ways to implement better communication methods regarding sustainability with your stakeholders:
💡 It’s important to make sure your conversations with your stakeholders are personalized to ensure effective communication.
It’s one thing to inform your stakeholders about your sustainability goals, but it’s another thing to gain their support. Luckily, it’s possible – such as by working to understand their needs and involving them in the decision making process.
If your company plays your cards right, you may not only be able to prevent your stakeholders from getting in the way of your sustainability efforts – but you could get your stakeholders to help support your sustainability strategy.
Some ways to get your stakeholders involved with your sustainability strategy include:
Overall, your stakeholders have exceptional sway over your company’s sustainability efforts – meaning it is imperative to ensure they fully understand what is at “stake” for them, and to pontificate how your sustainability initiatives could benefit them as well.
If reading this article on if sustainable countries already exist has made you interested in reducing your carbon emissions to further fight against climate change – Greenly can help you!
At Greenly we can help you to assess your company’s carbon footprint, and then give you the tools you need to cut down on emissions. We offer a free demo for you to better understand our platform and all that it has to offer – including assistance with boosting supplier engagement, personalized assistance, and new ways to involve your employees.
Click here to learn more about Greenly and how we can help you reduce your carbon footprint.