‘Sustainability’ or ‘being more sustainable’ has become one of the most quoted everyday words in the English language and synonymous with the climate crisis!
But what does it actually mean for businesses to ‘be more sustainable’ and why should we even care?
The UK Houses of Parliament, Office of Science & Technology definition of ‘Sustainability’ is;
“…the long-term maintenance and enhancement of human well-being within finite planetary resources”.
There are two key points here…
Firstly sustainability is not about standing still or regressing…
Rather, it’s about moving forwards to find solutions to our most pressing societal needs
…and secondly its clearly about ‘living within our means’!
Why it matters…
To illustrate the significance of both these points, in less than 80 years’ time and by 2100, it is predicted there will be an additional 3 billion people (11 billion total) living on our planet – that’s today’s populations of China, India and USA all added together and all living on our planet in addition!
Also worth noting, and according to Earth Overshoot Day, August 2nd was the date in 2023 beyond which we were using more of the Earth’s resources than can reasonably be expected to be regenerated naturally for this year! We are now consuming the equivalent of 1.7 Earth’s annually…
What can we do?
So, as businesses what can we do today to help ensure we ‘maintain and enhance human well-being’ whilst living within the finite resources the Earth can provide for us?
The UN’s ’Sustainable Development Goals’ are the world’s shared plan to promote universal prosperity whilst in turn protecting the planet.
…”ending poverty must go hand-in-hand with strategies that build economic growth and address a range of social needs including education, health, social protection, and job opportunities – whilst tackling climate change and protecting the environment”
So, ‘Sustainability’ therefore is clearly not just about Carbon Emissions & the ‘Net Zero’ agenda!
As such, the UN SDG’s are an important first step in helping align your sustainability efforts & ESG strategy to the global agenda…
But why is Sustainability so important to your Business? Because it’s important to your customers…
Having a ‘joined up’ sustainability strategy is about ‘Future Proofing’ your business in the face of;
- Increasing accountability for emissions in Invitations to Tender
- Increasing Government Regulation
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- Social Value & New 2024 Public Procurement Bill
- Net Zero 2050 is a legal UK requirement!
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- Stakeholder pressure
- Banks, creditors
And not least…
Because we know it’s the right thing to do!
Getting Started…
A Carbon Reduction Plan following an audit of your Scope 1, 2, 3 Greenhouse Gas Emissions is a great place to start, and will set out your commitment and strategy to internal and external stakeholders for achieving ‘Net Zero’…
From here, you can then develop and clearly define the ‘E’ in your ESG Strategy whilst aligning with the Sustainable Development goals;
Following the same process you can expand to include the ‘Social’ & ‘Governance’ dimensions to complete your ESG Strategy…
What about Social Value?
The Social Value Act of 2012 made it a requirement for public/local authorities to ‘have regard to economic, social and environmental well-being’ in connection with public services contracts – with a guideline 10% social value weighting on all public sector buying to directly benefit the local economy, community and environment…
The new UK Public Procurement Bill expected to be passed into law in 2024 is expected to ‘upweight’ this requirement, possibly up to as much as 30%… It will be imperative therefore that you understand the measurement criteria for how your business will be able to meet the requirements of future public sector tenders.
In summary… together you can build a sustainable future…
…from the buying team and looking at sustainable fuels and materials, to your accounts team and ensuring you meet your governance objectives, to marketing and how you gain an edge over your competitors by talking about your commitments to sustainability through to the technical team and how you win business, sustainability should be at the centre of your business operations today.
Martin White is Founder & Director of Green Business Hub.
