Sustainability has been a buzzword bandied about in business circles for well over a decade now.
It’s on the pursed lips of everyone from HR Directors to CEOs.
Drill down into its true meaning, however, and many will begin to struggle to find a definition that accurately reflects all of its important attributes.
If you’re keen to secure and succeed in an executive or management role, it’s important that you bring a definition of sustainability that is easy for all employees to grasp, works to promote eco-friendly and people-empowering practices and, ultimately, boosts the business’s bottom line.
It’s a big ask and so to help you we’ve come up with the three supporting pillars of sustainability.
Environment
It doesn’t matter in which sector you operate, inevitably your business will make its mark on the environment, both locally and globally.
Some of the biggest corporations leave a surprisingly small carbon footprint, thanks to the forward-thinking strategies put forward by senior managers.
Conversely, a small company with no thought for promoting eco-friendly procedures can leave a telltale trail like muddy welly bootprints on a white shagpile carpet.
True sustainability means constantly monitoring performance and always looking for ways to improve your go-green credentials.
Society
Any business strategy with sustainability at its heart will only succeed if it brings people with it. There’s not much point in going paperless in the office in a bid to save rainforests if you don’t at the same time encourage staff and customers to follow your example in the home and outside office hours.
Sustained change means widening its scope and making sure there’s never any let up.
So let this message of society-wide change be a strong element in how you market your company ethos, as well as your products and services.
Finance
Now here’s the crux of the matter. If it’s going to work not only right now but for many years to come, sustainability in business needs to be profitable.
If the business does not thrive, neither do its aspirations for long-term environmental or social improvements.
Finance Directors and company accountants are instrumental in making sure a sustainable policy is responsibly costed and is, therefore, manageable long-term.
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