Sustainability is something that an increasingly large number of businesses are committed to. But, in many cases, it’s also something that might get in the way of another key objective: that of growing the business.
Let’s take a look at how you might approach scaling in a sustainable way, that will lead to both long-term growth, and the achievement of your environmental, social and governance goals.
Understanding the Business Case for Sustainability
In many cases, business growth and sustainability can be mutually supportive. When a business is seen to be pursuing sustainable goals by environmentally-conscious consumers and stakeholders, the result can be an uplift in your reputation. A recent survey suggests that around £1 billion is being pumped into green technologies every year into green technologies. This indicates some widespread support for these initiatives.
Assessing Current Sustainability Practices
Any attempt to raise the performance of your business should proceed from an attempt to gauge its current performance. This applies to sustainability as much as it does to other aspects of the business. Your sustainability goals should ideally be aligned with your broader business objectives, and not undermined by efforts in other areas of the business. In other words, decision-makers in every department should be aware of what you’re trying to achieve when it comes to sustainability. This will help to ensure that everyone is pulling in the same direction.
Implementing Scalable Sustainable Solutions
So, how can sustainability be made to scale alongside the rest of your business model? There are a number of steps you might consider.
To begin with, you might look into optimising your supply chain. This will help to eliminate needless expenditure, and these savings will tend to multiply as the business grows larger. More generally, a proactive approach to waste-reduction can drive down the environmental burden imposed by your business, in a way that can compound as you scale up.
In some cases, it might be advantageous to transition to renewable energy sources like wind and solar, which can be scaled relatively easily. Virgin Money, for example, recently invested £18 million into improvements to a major solar park in Norfolk.
Leveraging Expertise for Sustainable Growth
Growing a business in the right way can be difficult. For this reason, it’s a good idea to collaborate with sustainable business specialists, whose insights can steer you in the right direction. With their help, you can weave sustainability into all of your business practices.
Engaging Stakeholders in Sustainability Initiatives
The best transitions toward a sustainable business model are performed with the backing and consent of employees, customers, investors, and broader society. The more transparent you are, the less likely you’ll be to face backlash, and the more likely success will be.
Measuring and Reporting Sustainability Performance
Finally, you’ll need to come away with an idea of how successful you’ve been. Establish what you’re looking to achieve, and what success is going to look like. Set out your key performance indicators ahead of time, and make sure you’re on the right side of any incoming regulations regarding ESG reporting.
