AN
EFFECTIVE CORPORATE
SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGY
Marcel Kooter
Tips to Create an Effective Corporate Sustainability Strategy
Today, for a business to achieve long-term success, it needs to have a solid corporate sustainability strategy in place.
Sustainability and success now go hand in hand. While every business’s strategy will be different, the best ones tend to have the same elements in place.
Focus on What’s Most Important to the Business
As well as considering the actions that will impact the business in terms of cost, growth, and risk, it is also important to focus on what matters to the business’s customers, investors, stakeholders, and supply chains.
Focusing efforts on just one or two areas of sustainability is likely to be a good strategy, rather than trying to do too much and therefore not completing any element of the strategy satisfactorily.
Invest in the Process
A business should invest in the entire process, not just the projected end goal. This means taking plenty of time to decide the best way to approach the strategy. Creating dedicated project teams whose role is to drive progress and collaborate with both internal and external stakeholders is a good approach.
Resist Chasing Perfection
Businesses with the most effective corporate sustainability strategies tend to recognize that they will face challenges in actioning their plan and are able to adapt over time. This could be to reflect, for example, the emergence of new data. Transparent reporting in terms of the strategy, which reflects both the successes and challenges that have been faced, can encourage open dialogue and promote a culture where failures are viewed not as mistakes but as opportunities to learn.
Ensure the Strategy is ActionOriented
It is crucial that businesses design their strategies around an action-oriented approach, rather than focusing on background and policy at the expense of the former. Keeping the strategy action-oriented means that teams will likely be more motivated to work towards goals, and this approach allows all employees to contribute to the success of the strategy.
High-Quality Reporting
High quality and in-depth public reporting are essential for a business to demonstrate to stakeholders that it is behaving in an accountable and transparent way. This will evidence that the business is serious about managing its environmental and social impact.
For more information about designing and implementing a corporate sustainability strategy, visit the blog of Marcel Kooter.
Marcel Kooter