Broadening the way businesses approach sustainability

Ask The Experts: Sustainability

Our CEO, Sam Rowe talks about a new, broader approach to sustainability.

First published on Business Game Changer, October 2020

Covid-19 has revealed the interconnectedness of our world as never before. Whilst we’ve tended to see this mostly in negative terms – from the rapid spread of the virus to the exposure of our global supply chain fragility – there are also positive lessons to be learnt, particularly in terms of the kind of connectedness circular economy pioneers have been talking about for years. Is it time now to say goodbye to siloed linear economic thinking and welcome the ways in which we – and the planet – are irrevocably linked? During this crisis, businesses with a sustainable remit have already been proven to be more resilient, according to US investment manager Blackrock:

“Companies with strong profiles on material sustainability issues have potential to outperform those with poor profiles.
“In particular, we believe companies managed with a focus on sustainability should be better positioned versus their less sustainable peers to weather adverse conditions.”

Environmental sustainability is where we started our own sustainable journey. When we founded Ignition in the mid-90s, the events and exhibitions industry was a sustainability horror show with an over-riding culture of ‘build and burn’ and non-biodegradable materials off-loaded straight to landfill. A founding principle of our business therefore was to be sustainable in any way we could, from design modularity to the use of recyclable materials and the push for multiple and innovative uses of our kit.

By 2050, there will be an estimated 9 billion people on earth. Unless we change our consumption habits, we risk creating irreversible damage to the environment through climate change, pollution and resource depletion. People are increasingly aware of this, so it’s time now to roll up our sleeves and get practical in the name of sustainability.

Running a sustainable business means taking the long-term health of your company seriously, but also making realistic decisions about the time and funds you have available. It’s fine to start small. Begin by creating a sustainability-focused team to share responsibility and tasks, for example, bringing people in from different areas of the business. Data clearly shows employees care about purpose at work and prefer to work for and stay with a company that actively addresses its environmental and social impact.

It’s much more effective to achieve something small than have grand plans that fail too, so be ordinary with some ambitions. Identify quick wins, from recycling and energy consumption to food composting and water wastage and ensure you know the full journey of all waste you produce. If you’re a manufacturer, move on next to the materials you use, as well as packaging and distribution.

Education about sustainability will be vital and the main route to unlocking change. Responsibility lies with everyone across your supply chain, so ask your suppliers about their sustainable activities too. If you hold the purse strings, demand more, but be sure to open up collaboratively. Run supplier workshops, share goals and help them become more sustainable. If you help suppliers prepare for accreditation, it will help your own credentials too and kick-start greener chains of activity.

A real commitment to sustainability shouldn’t only be long-term, but continuous. Stay on target by creating regular review dates and don’t forget to measure success. Engage and make the most of employee opinion surveys, feedback and motivation levels to celebrate and reward people – and make sure your clients know what you’re doing. Don’t forget that pro-environmental practices create positive brand associations amongst consumers/customers too. The benefits of being a sustainable business can be profound and long-term, affecting not only reputation, but business growth, team motivation and talent retention. Knock-on benefits for clients include new knowledge levels and the advance anticipation of regulatory trends, enabling you to help position your clients favourably.

We believe that running a sustainable business is about so much more than just environmental friendliness. It’s about long-term thinking across the board – including staff wellbeing, which helps counter absenteeism, plus continuous service improvement for clients, passing on cost savings to them to ensure businesses end up with longer-term contracts. This can help maintain a steadier ship if the waters get choppy – as recent events have proved – showing that the circular economy can be a virtuous circle for us all.