What can companies do quickly to make a sustainable impact?
Managing different priorities within an organisation to keep up to date with future trends and our VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity) world is difficult for many companies. We regularly experience a tension between short-term profit targets and long-term vision.
How do we deliver true impact? One proven framework to deliver long term sustainable growth, is by looking at things differently, i.e. factoring in stocks and flows of natural, social human and manufactured capitals.
Adhering to minimum social and environmental standards as a company is no longer enough to overcome mounting pressure from internal and external stakeholders. There is a growing need to be a step ahead of the competition in order to survive as a business. In addition to the more rounded investor requirements (focused on ESG), and public pressure surrounding the climate ’emergency’, companies are now facing peer pressure not to be left behind. As our work with Enfield Borough Council demonstrates, even local authorities (who would have previously been slow to act on climate change) are driving action through their own developments, and in turn its policies to drive change.
Sketch diagram showing strategic approach for clients - Net Positive Solutions
It’s refreshing to come across organisations asking for help to be more sustainable. It’s either carrot or stick - Yes, there are some who come to the table to avoid being left behind, but more often than not, they soon realise that they are doing stuff, they just don’t have a joined up strategy. More than once, we’ve been approached by organisations who want a silver bullet (usually in the form of a net zero strategy), but as we work with them, they realise that net zero maybe part of the solution, but not the end goal. We’re also finding that more and more actively want to promote their social and environmental ethos as part of their renewed strategy.
One size fits all?
Set up properly, the governance of an organisation should reflect the type of business and how they want to do business. Disclosure is an important part of how an organisation works, but also how transparent they are. A good example of this are Sage Homes - having worked with our team to develop their ESG strategy in 2021, they now have a dedicated team and reporting structure in place, together with a short-medium and long term roadmap.
How do we put a strategy together?
We usually work with companies in a variety of ways, depending on their starting point. In most cases, it makes sense to start by creating a baseline and understanding what’s material to the company in question, and importantly, to their stakeholders. Other organisations have different priorities - this varies from understanding their carbon footprint to understanding how their business models can adapt to factor in more sustainable products and services. It doesn’t have to be daunting, but the key to any successful sustainability or ESG strategy is being true to the organisation’s purpose.
#ESG #Sustainability #strategy #purpose