If you’re pondering the issue of sustainability in your company or business, you’ve just come to the right post.
In the following lines I’ll tell you the keys to running a green business, an eco-friendly company, with everything you need to appeal to an emerging consumer profile that’s looking for an eco-friendly product or a sustainable service.
If you follow my advice, in a very short time you will be able to compare yourself to any sustainability leader and rival them in their market.
Become sustainable in an easy, quick and simple way with these 4 steps.
ALRIGHTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT
STOP RIGHT THERE!
If you’ve come this far believing everything I’ve said, I’m sorry but YOU FELL FOR IT!
It’s not my intention to discourage you, but the reality is that nothing in this life can be achieved in an easy, quick and simple way, and even less so with 4 steps.
Just as it is not possible (nor healthy) to lose 10 kilos in a month (well, it IS possible, but at the expense of many things and with potentially disastrous consequences), neither can you transform your business towards sustainability in a magical and swift way.
I’ve said it many times and I’ll continue to reiterate: sustainability is not a goal, it’s a path. A path that has to be travelled little by little and by not taking new steps until we have our feet solidly planted on the previous spot.
Would you start lifting 20kg weights without first checking that you can lift 5kg ones? I wouldn’t, and I hope you wouldn’t either.
The thing is, it seems like everyone has been magically becoming sustainable. Suddenly they’re all <> or eco or god knows what. That puts me on my guard and that’s not just me, but also many of the customers they’re out to lure with their ecological claims.
So is it truly that hard to be sustainable?
Well, not really. But you have to put your mind to it. There are no magical formulas. Nor are there any standardised pathways or strategies (which both complicates and enables me to enjoy this profession to the fullest), although there are some common guidelines that can be followed.
Do you want to know about them? Well, as I see it, it just turns out (just kidding, I put the number in the title on purpose 😉), there are 4 main ones:
- 1: Be very transparent about what you do, how your whole business operates (or will operate, if you’re starting out). The more you know about your processes, the steps your production chain takes, who you buy from, who your suppliers buy from to give to you, your raw materials, how your customers use your product or service, etc., the better.
- 2: Know your customers and your stakeholders very, very well. We always recommend listening to one’s audience, but the same goes for customers and stakeholders. Talk to them, understand them, find out what they are looking for and expect from you (and I suggest you start with those closest to you: your employees).
- 3: Figure out what positive and negative impacts you’ll make with your activity. Not everything you do is bad for the environment. Surely, if we dig around a bit, we’ll find things that you do well. Use them as a foundation to start developing your sustainability strategy. And regarding the negative impacts, know them well, understand them and measure them. Then we’ll see what we can do about each one, which is what the final point is about.
- 4: Decide what to do with these impacts and how to approach your course of action for each one. Once everything is clear, it’s time to make decisions, to act accordingly or not. To develop your sustainable action plan, if necessary.
This is how to start approaching sustainability in any business. Does it seem like too much or too difficult? Don’t you have the time? Don’t you worry, I’m here to help you out.