Getting started with sustainability.
01. take a step back
The various elements of sustainability are so interconnected that a narrow approach won’t deliver the impact you’re hoping to achieve. It’s when you take a step back and look at what’s going on more broadly that all the pieces start to fall into place.
Rather than just looking within your own operations or premises, you can look right across your value chain, from your suppliers through to the end of life of your products. You can assess the positive influence and impact you can have at every stage of this chain.
In going through this process you’ll likely also uncover a lot of good already going on in your business that hasn’t yet been realised to its full potential.
Holistic thinking is what we need more of in sustainability. Piecemeal approaches tend to be limited and can actually cause more harm than good.
02. Look beyond the table stakes
Carbon, waste, water quality and energy are examples of table stakes of sustainability. Consumers expect that businesses are taking action to address these aspects in their business.
But the genuine sustainability conversation runs so much deeper than this.
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals is a good place for you to start with a broader analysis. You can take each of the 17 goals and prioritise where your business has the greatest ability to impact and influence. Think about what matters to your stakeholders and create a plan for change.
Don’t be afraid to think big. Look at how your business is uniquely positioned to address global industry issues such as fair working conditions and wages or farming practices for ingredients. You can set the standard right across your value chain, which may have a ripple effect well beyond your sphere of control.
03. Be transparent, always
Sustainability isn’t always pretty. And that’s ok. Leadership never is.
As you progress along the journey, you may uncover things that you aren’t proud of. Mistakes that have been made in the past that you now need to rectify. Or simple oversights that have now been brought to your attention.
Leadership requires you to make hard decisions. Sustainability leadership is no different. In many cases you might be doing things that haven’t been done before in your industry. The key is transparency and being authentic in what you’re doing. Or risk losing credibility and doing serious damage to your brand.
Even if things aren’t perfect, talk about them. Talk about the changes you’re making and the direction you’re heading.
The beauty of transparency is that it can pave the way for collaboration and new solutions. While you may be stuck on solving a particular problem, starting a conversation may help you to see the way forward.
Don’t be afraid to lead the way. Real change happens when leaders step up to do things differently.