Since the early 2000s, there has been a significant increase in the emphasis on sustainable organizational practices. Investors, employees, and consumers are now prioritizing organizations’ sustainability efforts. For instance, 77% of consumers are inclined to buy from companies dedicated to making a positive impact on the world, and 73% of investors consider environmental and social improvements as key factors in their investment decisions. These figures represent a stark contrast to the attitudes prevalent two decades ago.
In this blog, we will delve into the concept of organizational sustainability and provide insights on how to kick off an organizational sustainability strategy.
What is Organizational Sustainability?
Sustainability is a leadership approach that transcends the traditional focus on a single bottom line—profits—to embrace a broader set of goals known as the triple bottom line. This concept, often referred to as the 3 Ps, includes profit, people, and planet.
Organizations committed to sustainability operate on the principle that fulfilling present needs should not jeopardize the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Consequently, sustainable organizations create benefits for their employees, communities, and the environment, ensuring positive impacts for both current and future generations.
The Three Pillars of Sustainability
For an organization to achieve sustainability, it must realign its goals around these three pillars.
1. The People Pillar
This pillar emphasizes that growth should not come at the expense of people. It reflects a deeper understanding of a business’ responsibilities towards its employees, customers, and the broader community. A sustainable business considers the short, mid, and long-term interests of its employees, customers, stakeholders, and the community wherein it operates.
2. The Planet Pillar
This pillar is based on the understanding that long-term business growth is unattainable on an unsafe planet. Therefore, organizations committed to sustainability must prioritize practices that protect our environment and ensure its safety.
3. The Profit Pillar
While generating profits is a natural inclination for most organizations, it should not overshadow the other two pillars. Profit must be pursued responsibly, ensuring long-term viability. This involves assessing the sustainability of business directions, operations, and projects, and making necessary adjustments. This pillar often encompasses compliance, proper governance, and risk management, which is why it is sometimes referred to as the governance pillar.
What is an ESG Strategy?
An ESG strategy is an acronym that stands for three principal strategies: environmental, social, and governance strategies. These strategies set an organization’s main direction and principles regarding the three pillars, which in turn translate into practices and initiatives to guarantee organizational sustainability.
Common ESG Practices
There are many ESG practices that are gaining traction worldwide. Here are the top practices.
1. Environmental Practices
Organizations are increasingly focused on reducing their carbon footprints, packaging waste, water usage, and other ecological impacts. They also emphasize the environmental sustainability of their supply chains, ensuring that raw material sourcing does not lead to deforestation or biodiversity loss.
2. Social Practices
This pillar centers on fair treatment of employees. Businesses are implementing retention and engagement strategies, improving working conditions with better maternity and family benefits, flexible scheduling, learning and development opportunities, competitive compensation, and safe work environments.
Common practices in this pillar also include fostering good relationships with the community. Organizations ensure that the communities they operate in benefit from their profits through initiatives like fundraising, sponsorships, scholarships, and investments in local public projects. On a global scale, businesses work to ensure the safety and fair treatment of individuals within their global supply chains.
3. Governance Practices
This pillar involves establishing ethics and compliance policies, risk management practices, and conducting internal audits. These measures help prevent conflicts of interest, unethical or illegal activities, and risky decisions that could jeopardize an organization’s operations, performance, or reputation.
Common Sustainability Certifications
There are many certifications that your organization can aim to acquire in order to gain evidence of the success of its sustainability commitment. Here are the top certifications.
ISO 14001
The International Organization for Standardization governs many quality standards that businesses follow. ISO 14001 is one of these quality standards. The standard is set to ensure legal obligations are met and organizations recognize their environmental impacts. The certificate is issued to more than 360,000 organizations.
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)
A globally recognized certification, LEED by the US Green Building Council (USGBC) addresses some of the key reporting and accountability requirements of the construction sector, which naturally links to the renewable energy sector. LEED incorporates various factors, including sourcing of materials, finished building efficiency, maintenance requirements, and the impacts of development on the local community.
B Corporation
The B Corporation logo is one of the latest certifications that small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) strive for to be recognized for sustainability. The certification is based on all aspects of the organization—from the nature of the finished products to the supply chain implications.
FairTrade
The FairTrade movement was founded in 1992 and is currently a long-standing certification that encourages supply chain equity. Today, the FairTrade mark is seen across thousands of consumer goods, such as chocolate, coffee, and other products whose ingredients or labor are outsourced.
Build a Sustainable Organization Today
Whether you are a long way into your sustainability journey or still starting, many of our ethics, compliance, health, and safety programs may help your organization. Explore our courses to learn more.
