How do I get started on sustainability in my business?
“The way to get started is to stop talking and begin doing” - Walt Disney
According to the UN Sustainable Development Goals the 2020’s are known as the decade of action. What this means is that we have 10 years to achieve the 17 globally agreed sustainability goals that will lead to peace, societal wellbeing and environmental protection (no pressure!)
However, despite this important era in time, many businesses (and individuals) are struggling to figure out where to get started with sustainability practices. And understandably so! It is a topic that is full of ideas, concepts, frameworks, misinformation and confusion. And let’s be honest it takes changing a lot of ingrained behaviours - which is never easy.
No wonder this leads to a lot of meetings, workshops, discussions and chitchat!
So where do we start? Do we create an organisational sustainability policy? What about an emissions inventory or waste audit? Do we need agreement and alignment before we get going through a strategy? What about a pilot sustainability project? And what even is supplier diversity?!
Quite simply, all of these pieces of the puzzle are important! So it doesn’t really matter where you start from. I’ve seen lots of companies start at with strategy, others focus on getting into sustainability projects and other measure their sustainability data. It all depends on what’s important to their people or what is going to have the most influence. The most important thing is to actually get going on whichever of these pieces are the most congruent to you and your company rather than waiting a moment longer.
In fact the biggest difference between some of the best sustainability leaders in the world (e.g. Yvon Chouinard) and us is their ability to shift from thinking and dreaming to making change through action. Action and application is where change occurs. Our mantra at Third Era is “Messy Action is better than no action” and we lead our programmes and services with this in mind.
10 actions you can take to begin your corporate sustainability journey:
Complete your company's emissions inventory.
Ban single use coffee cups (and lunch containers) in your office.
Implement a car free day policy.
Establish a green team.
Invite a sustainability expert to run a session with your staff (I love Bead and Proceed).
Bring in a compost / worm farm provider to your office (try We Compost or Why Waste).
Replace your cleaning products with eco-products (I like Will&Able or Ecostore).
Increase your sustainability signage and information for staff (e.g. waste sorting, turning of the lights).
Switch your coffee and tea to fair trade (try TradeAid or Charity Tea).
Start a sustainability conversation with your clients and suppliers to enrol more people in the decade of action!
“What a wonderful thing it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world” - Anne Frank.
If you are ready to take your sustainability to the next level, take a look at Third Era’s foundations programme. We can help you shift from thinking and talking about sustainability to strategic aligned action!
