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own lifestyles in any major way. Especially if it costs them extra money. One particular American study shows that more than half the respondents factored in a company’s environmental and social activities when making their buying decisions. While they weren’t willing to make many sacrifices in their own lives to back this up, they were willing to reward companies that prove their commitment to the cause. This will no doubt only increase as the public becomes more educated and the next generations start wielding their new spending power. But, as with any ideological shift, doing it simply for the commercial gains it could bring is a risky move. The monetary benefits will not be immediate and may not be easy to quantify, which means without the extra ideological push, motivation will quickly taper off, especially if the business hits a financially difficult period. It’s also difficult to get staff buy-in if the only motivation you can give them is increasing your profit margins. Any kind of sustainability policy needs to come from the top, right at the top, and it’s important that it filters through all levels of the business. The first step is to look at your own motivations, your own passions, and create a set of values that underpin your business’ every
activity. Imbuing the entire company – its processes, relationships, HR and client projects – with these values will expose any number of actions that can improve its social, environmental and financial impact. It will also clarify the wider impacts of each of your decisions, making difficult choices a bit clearer.
“Consumers are far more keen for companies and corporates to make the changes first, rather than adapting their own lifestyles in any major way.” As long as management is seen to be espousing these values, staff will be more likely to take it to heart and independently refer to it when making decisions in their own day-to-day responsibilities rather than simply following a list of instructions. No action is too small. In fact a large number
of small, genuine and effective actions can combine to make a big difference. Some businesses can afford to get appropriate official certifications – including organic, carbon neutral, fair trade – and it may make a huge difference when it comes to their marketing plan, however, it’s not the only path. If time is one of the things holding you back, look around you. You probably already have a sustainability champion amongst your staff. Someone who is passionate about it, has already integrated it into their personal life and is just waiting for an opportunity to help lead that change. The key is that they know they have the full support from on high – from the research stage right through to implementation. Lastly, don’t get caught up with making it happen overnight. A slow, gradual change is more effective and enduring, not to mention less stressful. Start by looking at the resources you use and how you work; there will always be little savings here and there that will take very little pain to implement and that after a short time will become second nature. Approach it like you already approach bettering your business – create targets, review progress and add new actions on a regular basis. Before you know it, sustainable will have become your new normal. n NOUS SUMMER 2012 27