Sustainability in business has no doubt become a central focus not only among business owners but also the general public putting more emphasis on the importance of sustainable practices in the businesses they choose to associate with. For example, implementing Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) initiatives has been forefront in recent years, although it has been around since the early 2000’s.
This has brought about the idea of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in which businesses aim to meet social and environmental goals outside of their internal organizational goals. There are several best practice strategies businesses can pursue in order to embrace sustainability in their workplace and communities.
Educating The Workforce
Sustainability may start from the top of an organization, but it is critical that it is embedded throughout. This means educating your employees and including sustainability within your values and mission, even within the recruiting, hiring, and onboarding process. This increases buy-in across the organization and creates a culture of sustainability at the foundation. When employees are included in the process, it empowers them to do their part environmentally, socially, and so on, not just personally but within the workplace.
The way to educate your employees depends heavily on your industry, type of business, and your overall goals in sustainability, but it can start with re-evaluating language in your values and mission, putting together educational webinars or roundtables, or investing in educational training.
Invest In Community
So much of sustainability comes down to businesses working together within their communities. This can mean partnering with nonprofit organizations that resonate with your business’ goals, because it may help kickstart the process of truly acting on initiatives and avoid stalling out at the ideation phase.
The world of sustainability is extensive, whether it involves labor laws, diversity and equality, environmental impact, and so much more, there are hundreds to thousands of nonprofit organizations that can help your business make an impact in these ways.
Consider Your Supply Chain and Vendor Practices
If you are selling a product that requires sourcing, manufacturing, shipping, etc., you may want to take another glance at your processes to see if there are any areas of improvement in the way of sustainability. This could mean insuring any vendors you partner with follow fair labor practices and share similar sustainability goals, determining how many natural resources are being used to manufacture your product(s), and how much the equipment or power sources within your facility use unnecessary carbon emissions.
Determine the Drivers That Influence Your Sustainability
There are both internal and external factors that impact what sustainability means to your business. This ranges widely — you can see internal benefits such as improved working conditions, improvements in efficiency, and a boost in workplace morale and productivity. You can also see benefits in the way you are able to market to consumers, help improve conditions environmentally and socially, and create positive communities amongst the public, your suppliers, and your customers.
At Republic Bank, we want to help streamline the way you do business and help you reach not only your financial goals but also your sustainability and organizational goals. If you’re looking for more advice or consultation, please reach out to our staff at Republic Bank by calling 800-526-9127 and visit our library of resources for other helpful business tips.
