Strategy: where to start?

Define your commitment

Strike a balance between ambitious but possible! Start small, think big.
Your strategy can be as ambitious as Net Zero or it can be more moderate, like reducing waste by 20%. 

Set targets, monitor and review

Setting your targets is only the start. Ensure that you have a plan to realise your goals and a review process to check your progress. Sounds simple but this is where the work is.

Integrate sustainability into your overall business strategy

Sustainable businesses are more profitable. 

To help executives develop sustainability strategies that will support profitability, our research highlights what habits individuals have already changed, where they would like to do more, and how companies can capitalize on unmet consumer demand for more sustainable choices.” IBM Institute for Business Value Balancing sustainability and profitability 2022

The real business benefit of running a greener business lies in integrating sustainability into your company strategy. This sustainability strategy will drive change across your business. 

It will show your clients and customers that you are serious about protecting both people and the planet as well as making a profit, demonstrating that you are a company with purpose.

Communicate

Write a sustainability policy and publish it on your website. Take your customers, employees and other stakeholders on your journey with you. Be honest about your ambition and achievements. And be honest if you don’t meet your targets. It’s more important to just start somewhere with action and not just words.

However, while 86% of organizations have a sustainability strategy in place, just over 1 in 3 (35%) have acted on that strategy.
What can help business leaders overcome this inertia? It all starts with a mindset shift. 

“One thing that I’ve learned is, don’t wait to be perfect in everything to embrace sustainability or be more proactive on it,” said Guy Cormier, Chair of the Board, President, and CEO of Desjardins Group, in an interview for the IBV’s upcoming 2022 CEO Study. 
“No one is perfect on the planet right now. We just have to do everything we can to change the situation.” 

IBV Business Value Balancing sustainability and profitability 2022

Celebrate!

It’s very important for everyone in the company to see when you hit those targets and especially the milestones towards achieving the bigger goals. The more you can bring people on the journey with you and empower them to make their own changes, the more they will want to achieve. 

Next steps

Join our online 8 Pillar Workshop Programme which will enable you to build a greener business. In this course you will gain the knowledge to:

  • Understand and calculate your carbon footprint
  • Set targets and measure improvements
  • Write your own green strategy and policy
  • Get a competitive advantage 
  • Increase customer loyalty
  • Attract and retain employees