What is a sustainable business?

Do you want to make a difference to the impact your business has on the natural
world? Learn all about sustainable business and how to sharpen up your best
practices.

Companies and consumers are starting to recognise the importance of

sustainability and give it a lot more attention. In fact, 92% of consumers admit
that they’re more likely to trust brands that are environmentally or socially
conscious.

This means that businesses around the world are pouring millions into
developing sustainable business practices – all jostling to win the hearts and
minds of their eco-conscious customers.

If you’re left wondering how and why businesses are prioritising sustainability,
then you’ve come to the right place. In this article, we take a look at what a
sustainable business is, why it’s important, the benefits, and how to create a
sustainable business strategy. Throughout the article, we’ll also highlight some
expert courses to boost your knowledge, from business strategy courses to
general sustainability courses.

What is sustainability in business?

A sustainable business ensures that it’s able to conduct its business activities
without negatively impacting the environment, communities, or society as a
whole. Just about any business activity will impact the environment in some way,
so it’s important businesses recognise this and honour a commitment to be more
sustainable.

Sustainability in business can be split into four pillars:

● Social
● Human
● Economic
● Environmental

A sustainable business should aim to make a positive impact in as many of these

pillars as possible when making business decisions. Not only is this for the
benefit of wider society but also to ensure a sustainable future for the business
and their customers.
Sustainable business practice examples
No organisation is the same, which means that their sustainable best practices
are likely to differ as well. While sustainability measures are unique to each
business, there are some sustainable business practices that are used more
often than not. They include:

● Sourcing and using sustainable materials during manufacturing

● Improving energy management efficiency
● Reducing greenhouse gas emissions across operations
● Creating efficient supply chains
● Enabling sustainable development
● Giving to sustainable charities or sponsoring education funds.

Find out about five online courses to make your business more sustainable here.

Why is sustainability in business important?

Climate change, fewer natural resources, a growing population, and other major
disruptors are all impacting society and the way businesses operate. Therefore,
companies must ensure they’re doing their bit to care for the environment and
the people they sell their products and services to.

It’s more important than ever that businesses rethink the way they operate. By
implementing a sustainable business strategy, they’re able to become more
resilient in an ever-changing world, while also helping to preserve the planet and
contribute to a greener future.

Those companies that don’t embrace this change will get left behind, as 88% of
consumers will be more loyal to a brand that supports social and environmental
issues. This means that sustainable business practices are essential when
building a relationship with consumers and generating goodwill.

Put simply, business sustainability is important for consumers, organisations, and

wider society. Without businesses buying into improving their sustainability
measures, it’s unlikely we will ever see an improvement in how we treat our
planet.

Want to learn more about sustainability? We answer 50 of the biggest

sustainability questions here.

The benefits of sustainable business practices

As we have already mentioned, not only will sustainable business practices
benefit society as a whole, but they can also lead to valuable benefits for an
organisation. This is why implementing sustainable strategies is a win-win for all
concerned.

Some of the main benefits include:

 ● Increased sales and profit. By minimising inefficiencies and operational
costs, businesses are able to improve their sales performance. This,
coupled with making their brand more appealing to customers, will lead to
better profit margins.
● Competitive advantage. Being a sustainable business can improve brand
awareness and set a business apart from the competition. Customers are
more likely to buy from a brand that takes sustainability seriously.
● Support from investors. Sustainable best practices also look good when it
comes to winning over investors. If you can showcase how a business is
making a positive difference to society, investors are more likely to part
with their cash.
● Satisfied consumers. Increasingly, customers expect businesses to be
able to show that they’re committed to sustainability and limiting the
damage to the natural world. Failure to do so might mean a company loses
their business.
● Better talent and staff retention. If a business can build a reputation as
being sustainable, it can attract and retain some of the best talent within its
industry. The best employees no longer want to work for brands that don’t
take sustainability seriously.
● Reduced costs. Not only can sustainable solutions help to reduce
electricity and other operational costs, but they can also lead to businesses
qualifying for government subsidies and grants.

4 IMPACTFUL SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES THAT CAN MAKE A

DIFFERENCE
 13 MAY 2021

In the past, many organizations considered sustainability issues outside the

wheelhouse of business. And yet, there’s an important business case to be made
for sustainability. More and more companies are embracing the concept of the
triple bottom line, recognizing that there’s room to realize profit and social and
environmental benefits—and that doing so can sometimes bring unexpected
business advantages.
This realization has led to the development of a whole new business model
known as corporate social responsibility (CSR), wherein even for-profit
businesses work to achieve social and environmental goals in addition to their
organizational objectives.

With this in mind, businesses seeking to embrace sustainability in its various

forms can pursue several different strategies. Below is an overview of four
different types of sustainable business practices you may want to consider
pursuing.
EXAMPLES OF SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES
1. Partner With Nonprofit Organizations
Many organizations interested in embracing sustainability stop short of
implementing any concrete initiatives simply because it’s new to them, and the
learning curve can be quite extensive. An employee or sustainability board
tasked with generating a sustainability plan for the organization can quickly
become overwhelmed, leading to inaction.
One way around this, especially for businesses new to the world of sustainability,
is to form partnerships with nonprofit organizations in the space that interests
them. Many such organizations exist and have the resources and experience
necessary to help you get your efforts off the ground. Even those that cannot
help you conceptualize or implement policies in your organization will be happy
for support, which can help you make an impact even while you’re first getting
started.
Whether you’re interested in racial or gender equity, labor concerns,
environmental issues, or something else, a nonprofit likely exists that aligns with
your organization’s specific goals.
2. Educate Your Employees
Often, the businesses with the most impactful sustainability initiatives are
successful because they educate their employees about the issues and include
them in the process.
This is important for multiple reasons. First, educating your employees increases
buy-in throughout the organizational chart, making it less likely that you’ll slip
back into old ways. Second, it empowers your employees to do their part, which
can go far in boosting morale and helping everyone realize they have a role to
play.
Exactly how you go about educating your employees about the issues that your
organization cares about will depend on your situation. Some options include
weaving language around sustainability into company addresses; organizing
webinars, lectures, or lunch-and-learns for employees to attend; or even
purchasing corporate social responsibility training.
3. Encourage Volunteerism
Another excellent means of involving your employees in the sustainability
process is to take steps that encourage volunteerism. There are many strategies
you might pursue to achieve this goal.
For example, you might provide paid time off for employees who wish to
volunteer, sometimes known as volunteer time off (VTO). Even providing as little
as one or two days of VTO per year can go a long way in empowering your
employees. Similarly, you can consider organizing a company-wide volunteer
drive or day of giving, wherein your employees are encouraged to volunteer at
local charities or for causes they’re passionate about.
Related: 5 Examples of Successful Sustainability Initiatives
4. Rethink Your Supply Chain
If your business produces and sells a physical product, analyzing your supply
chain has the potential to illuminate significant opportunities to embrace
sustainability, such as:
● Sourcing materials responsibly: If you source raw materials or individual
components from outside vendors, do you know how these materials are
procured? The simple act of ensuring that your partners follow fair labor
practices, such as disavowing child labor or embracing fair-trade
agreements, can have a lasting impact on your company’s social footprint.
● Reducing consumption of natural resources: While it may not be obvious at
first glance, there may be significant opportunities to reduce the number of
natural resources your company consumes as a part of doing business.
You might, for example, rethink your packaging or streamline your
manufacturing process to reduce plastic waste.
● Reducing carbon emissions: Likewise, there are many ways you might
reduce your organization’s carbon emissions. Installing smart sensors
 within your facilities can ensure that heating, cooling, and electricity are
automatically shut off when it isn’t necessary. Moving the production of
physical goods closer to the end customer can significantly reduce
transportation-related emissions. On-site solar- or wind-power installations
can allow you to replace some, if not all, of your electrical needs.
ONE DESTINATION, MANY PATHS
There are many different paths a business can take to become more socially and
environmentally sustainable. The one you choose will ultimately depend on
several factors, including your organization’s size and structure, whether you
produce a physical product, and your specific sustainability goals. Partnering with
nonprofit organizations, educating your employees about the issues, encouraging
volunteerism, and rethinking each aspect of your supply chain can all be
excellent methods of becoming more sustainable.
Of course, an organization that has never pursued a sustainability initiative may
experience some growing pains as it works through its first campaign.
Professionals who are interested in embracing sustainability in their current, or
future, roles can benefit from completing an online sustainability course, like
Sustainable Business Strategy offered by HBS Online.

Sustainability: the challenge of Industry 4.0

Every day, more and more companies are joining the Fourth Industrial Revolution
or Industry 4.0. This new era in industry has given way to Smart Factories, which
operate hand in hand with Artificial Intelligence in search of maximum efficiency
and profitability.

Since the emergence of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, production has been
one of the main drivers of 21st century society. However, this has a major impact
on the environment. In fact, this rate of production is one of the main causes of
global environmental pollution.

Therefore, sustainability is one of the greatest challenges that society, together

with large companies, must begin to face. Climate change and pollution are
aspects that have awakened the sensitivity of society in recent years and require
an immediate and effective solution.
Industry 4.0 and sustainable development

We understand sustainability as the effort to minimize negative impacts on

environmental, social and economic relations. To this end, the focus is on climate
change, pollution and care for the environment, making responsible use of
natural resources.

If we start from the premise that Industry 4.0 is the one that combines intelligent
machines in a sophisticated and interconnected production process, we can find
the link between Industry 4.0 and sustainable development.

This is why Industry 4.0 will have the duty to have a positive impact on the
environment, conserving energy, resources and reducing carbon emissions.

In the following, we will discuss how an industrial business can be developed

without sacrificing environmental care.

Intelligent and sustainable construction

Industry 4.0 applications not only affect the production system, but encompass
every aspect of a company, including its infrastructure.
Architecture is also transforming and reinventing itself to improve the daily lives
of people and employees. The application of AI to this type of infrastructure is
resulting in the birth of self-sufficient and sustainable buildings and large factories
that have the ability to optimize a large part of their assets.

For example, when building a smart factory, a smart heating and cooling system
can be installed that can be regulated in real time. All kinds of sensors can also
be installed to monitor and regulate the temperature of any room, reducing
energy costs and being more sustainable.

With an integrated operations platform, these types of parameters can be

controlled at a glance, reducing gas emissions and achieving sustainability goals.
For example, with this technology, data from external systems such as
databases, SCADAs or ERPs can be unified to enable global management of
production, energy consumption, CO2 emissions, etc.

Are you ready for a Smart Factory?

Los desafíos de la Industria 4.0 en sostenibilidad

In a political and social context that values sustainability and environmental

preservation, Industry 4.0 must adapt to this new paradigm, responding to the
demands of the present.
In this case, many companies do not know where to start to address a digitization
process that ensures sustainability and responsible production. In this case, for
many businesses, bringing together the challenge of digital transformation and
sustainability is a challenge. However, there is no single answer that solves this
dilemma, as each business will have to adopt a tailored and customized
digitization process, without forgetting sustainability as a non-negotiable
objective.

Related to the previous section, one of the most important challenges for Industry
4.0 is to combat the effects of climate change, without abandoning high-
performance production. To meet this objective, it will be essential to develop
fully efficient and optimized production. Fortunately, AI and advanced analytics
applied to industry have been born to achieve this goal.

In this case, the industrial sector, as the main consumer of energy, seeks to
achieve energy efficiency and, through data collection and visualization, energy
waste can be avoided and production with intelligent savings can be achieved.

Moving towards smart and sustainable manufacturing

Actually, the Smart Factory concept is already executing activities from an

energy efficiency and sustainability perspective. Optimizing production, reducing
waste, seeking maximum efficiency… are objectives that are directly related to
the preservation of the environment. This is why, without any doubt, Industry 4.0
has become the great reference for the factories of the future.

Converting an industrial business into a smart business will have a direct impact
on:
 ● Energy consumption. By increasing control of assets with IoT
technology, consumption can be better tracked, leading to smarter and
more responsible management of resources.
● Waste management. Industry 4.0 encourages the connection between
different parts of the process, including circular waste management,
aiming for zero waste.
● Reduction of rework, thanks to the use of predictive maintenance
techniques and error prevention.
● Leakage forecasting, through optimal monitoring of assets and
production processes, centralizing and organizing all types of data.

Sustainable Development Goals and Public

Governance

In September 2015, world leaders adopted an ambitious, 15-year blueprint for a better world. The goals are broad,
universal and potentially transformative. They envision nothing less than saving our planet for future generations,
ending extreme poverty and hunger, and creating a healthier, safer, more inclusive world. The success of these
goals depends to a large extent on the coordination of implementation efforts through good public governance.

Good public governance is essential to achieve overall and individual goals - find out more:

Goal 2
End hunger, achieve food security and
improved nutrition

Goal 5
Achieve gender equality and empower all
women and girls

Goal 6
Available and sustainable water
management and sanitation
 Goal 9
Build resilient infrastructure, promote
inclusive and sustainable industrialisation
and foster innovation

Goal 11
Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and
sustainable

Goal 16
Access to justice for all and build effective,
accountable and inclusive institutions at all
levels.

GOVERNANCE OF THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

A big issue for governments will be how to align policies given the breadth and complexity of the Goals and the need
to include an unprecedented range of public & private parties in policy creation and implementation. Our work with
OECD Centres of Government has helped governments lead many cross-cutting initiatives, many of which focus on
improving governance processes. Delivering on inclusive growth will help governments focus on the broader
challenges posed by the SDG's. The OECD is working with countries to deepen the understanding of the institutional
arrangements that are being used to deliver on the SDGs.

● Inclusive growth and public governance

● Centres of government
● Getting Governments Organised to Deliver on the SDGs: Event
● Getting Governments Organised to Deliver on the SDGs: Summary Report

GOAL 2 - ACHIEVE FOOD SECURITY AND IMPROVED NUTRITION

Food insecurity concerns are pressing in both urban and rural areas of developing countries, but vary considerably
throughout regions. An OECD report suggests that place based, territorial approach can be an effective analytical
and policy framework for tackling the issue.

● Food Security: A Territorial Approach

● Adopting a Territorial Approach to Food Security and Nutrition Policy

GOAL 5 - GENDER EQUALITY

A whole-of-government approach is crucial to advancing the role of women in government. Holistic policy making will
not only help bring more women in the public light, but will ensure that gender considerations are more systematically
embedded in all policies.

● Women in Goverment
● Recommendation on Gender Equality in Public Life

GOAL 6 - CLEAN WATER AND SANITATION

Addressing unsustainable consumption and production patterns will depend on actions from all countries. The OECD
Programme on Water Governance looks at ways that governments can manage and secure water access through
improved water governance.

● OECD Water Governance Programme

● OECD Principles on Water Governance

GOAL 9 - INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE

Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation.

● Boosting Resilience through innovative risk management

● Observatory of Public Sector Innovation
● Effective public investment across levels of government
● Public-private partnerships

GOAL 11 - SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND COMMUNITIES

Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.

● OECD, Habitat III and a New Urban Agenda

● How's life in your region?
● Cities and public governance
● Resilient cities
● Regional Outlook 2016
● Making Cities Work for All

GOAL 16 - PEACE, JUSTICE AND STRONG INSTITUTIONS

The SDGs underscore the importance of building effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels as a
foundation for achieving the desired outcomes.
 ● Access to Justice
● Trust in Government
● OECD Guidelines on Measuring Trust
● Prevention of policy capture
● MENA initiative for development
● Anti-corruption and integrity in the public sector
● Open Government

[Link]
[Link]

Environmental management system vs. Sustainability management system , part 1

Data Science (PowerBI, R, PostgreSQL), Sustainability (GRI sustainability reporting,

ISSP Sustainability Excellence Associate, GreenPM-b), Risk mgmt (ISO31000, COSO,
ESG, BCM (ISO22301)), Project (PRINCE2, ITIL)

Published Oct 23, 2022

+ Follow

What is the difference between the Environmental management

system (EMS) and the Sustainability management system (SMS)? I
will have a look at these two this and next week.

ISO 14000 family of environmental standards

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has created

an ISO 14000 family to cover various topics under an environmental
umbrella. The family has almost 60 standards. The topics cover
environmental management, environmental management systems,
environmental labels and declarations, environmental performance
evaluation, greenhouse gases, adaptation to climate change, and a
life-cycle assessment among others.

ISO 14001:2015 – Environmental management systems

This standard is probably the most known of the ISO 14000 family.
The first version was published in the middle of the 1990s, and since
then, it has been a recognized environmental standard. The latest
version was published in 2015 and it is available here. The ISO 14001
standard is structured in ten clauses: scope, normative reference,
terms and definitions, the context of the organization, leadership,
planning, support, operation, performance evaluation, and
improvement.

The standard defines an environmental management system as ´part

of the management system used to manage environmental aspects,
fulfil compliance obligations, and address risks and opportunities´.
Thus, an EMS is a system that integrates practices and procedures to
achieve continuous improvement in the environmental performance of
an organization. It covers all aspects of operations, including design
and production processes, raw materials sourcing, product use, and
waste disposal.

Moreover, there are some benefits to using the ISO management

system standards together. Firstly, they follow a similar structure,
which makes it easier to integrate them. For example, the ISO 31000
risk management standard can be used for assessing environmental
risk and opportunities and the ISO 22300 Societal security standards
for an organisation’s resilience. Secondly, the ISO 14000 family uses
the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle as do many other ISO
management system standards. The ISO 14004 - General guidelines
on implementation standard, here, provides the environmental
management system model with PDCA:

1. Plan – Consider the following for EMS: organisation’s

context, needs, stakeholders, the scope of the EMS, top
management support, environmental policy, roles and
responsibilities, environmental aspects, impacts and
objectives, compliance obligations, risks and opportunities,
actions to control risks and opportunities, metrics, indicators
and data collection.
2. Do – Identify and allocate the following for EMS: resources,
personnel’s competence and knowledge, internal and
external communications, documentation, processes to meet
the EMS requirements, potential emergencies and the
necessary response.
3. Check – Monitor, measure, analyse, evaluate, review and
audit environmental performance, compliance obligations
and EMS.
4. Act – Control nonconformity and ensure continuous
improvement of EMS.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has a

dedicated section for EMS. It has plenty of material and detailed
guidance for implementing EMS. The guidance is based on the ISO
14001 standard and it uses the PDCA cycle, too.

The website is here.

………..

What is an Environmental
Management System?
4 November 2022 | Business | Alex Walsh | Leave a comment

An Environmental Management System is one of the most efficient ways to reduce an

organisation’s environmental impact and is increasingly sought after by stakeholders
and environmental bodies. All organisations can benefit from implementing an
Environmental Management System (EMS), regardless of size, geography, industry, or
stage of their environmental journey.

Keep reading to find out what an environmental management system is, and how it can
benefit your organisation.

The Purpose of an Environmental Management System

An environmental management system is a framework designed to help organisations
monitor, control, and continuously improve their environmental performance.
Organisations can utilise the framework as an organising principle to structure their
environmental strategy.

Environmental Management Systems (EMS) can be used to reduce an organisation’s

environmental impacts and improve operating efficiencies while demonstrating to
stakeholders and interested parties that real action is being taken.

An EMS is geared to help organisations identify, manage, monitor, and control their
environmental performance in a holistic manner. For instance, risk assessments will be
undertaken to help identify the context of your environmental impact. Controls will then
be put in place to help manage these risks, and strategies designed to reduce them.
By implementing an EMS, an organisation will consider all environmental issues that are
relevant to its operations. This includes but is not limited to, resource use, energy and
water consumption, waste generation, carbon emissions, and effective local
biodiversity.

Figure 1: Elements considered when implementing an Environmental Management

System

ISO14001:2015
ISO 14001 is the most recognised standard within environmental management and the
most widely used in the world, with over 420,000 ISO14001 certifications issued each
year.

The standard is published by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO),

an international body that creates and distributes standards that are accepted
worldwide. It provides a solid framework for implementing an environmental
management system, rather than establishing environmental performance
requirements. It is beneficial to follow the framework of this standard when
implementing an EMS, even if you do not wish to certify.

The ISO14001 certification encourages the use of the Plan Do Check Act (PDCA)
methodology; an iterative cycle tasked with achieving continuous improvement in an
organisation’s environmental performance.

Figure 2: Plan Do Check Act Continuous Cycle

Plan Do Check Act (PDCA) Methodology

The PDCA methodology is a four-step process geared toward carrying out desired
change, with the key focus being on continuous improvement. Adhering to this
methodology will guide your organisation through the strategies it looks to implement.
Plan
Your organisation will look to recognise and plan an environmental action. The action
will be guided by the number of assessments you have undertaken into your
environmental impact and any opportunities that you may have identified for
improvement.

Do
After agreeing on your plan, you will carry out the planned action. It could be beneficial
to start off small-scale and in a controlled environment to account for any unpredicted
barriers.

Check
You will then review and analyse the performance of the planned action(s) and identify
what you have learned from the process.

Act
Finally, you should act based on what you have learned in the previous steps. If your
initial plan was not effective, you can go through the PDCA cycle again and adjust your
plan and actions. If your plan was successful, you should start looking to incorporate
what you have learned from the test into larger organisational changes.

You will use what you learned to plan new improvements and begin the cycle again. It is
a circle with no end and should be systematically repeated to ensure continuous
improvement in your environmental performance.

Who Should Implement an Environmental Management

System?
The systematic approach and framework at the foundation of an Environmental
Management System can benefit any organisation looking to mitigate its impact. An
EMS can be beneficial to organisations of all sizes, geographies, or industries, and is
applicable regardless of what stage you are at in your environmental journey.
For instance, for an organisation just starting out, an EMS may provide the framework
and the foundation for you to begin analysing and understanding your organisation’s
impact. This will then allow you to put in place a plan to take the necessary actions to
improve your environmental performance.

Equally, it may be relevant to mature environmental organisations looking for guidance

on what steps they can take. For instance, your organisation may have several different
work streams that all have an environmental focus, but these have not been conjoined
in a complimentary manner. Additionally, an organisation may be looking to receive
third-party verification for the work they have already been doing.

Benefits of Implementing an Environmental Management

System

Environmental Performance and Compliance

First and foremost, implementing an Environmental Management System will help an
organisation take the necessary steps to control environmental risks and strive for
continual improvement. Ensuring necessary controls are implemented and gaining third-
party auditing will demonstrate that compliance with current and future statutory
requirements has been met. If implemented effectively, it can place environmental
concerns as a key value within your organisation, which will increase leadership and
employee involvement with your sustainability journey.

Business Reputation
Implementing an Environmental Management System can help to improve your
organisation’s reputation and the confidence of stakeholders. By receiving certification
from the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO), your key stakeholders will
know that you are accredited to a high level. This shows that you are taking your
organisation’s environmental impact seriously.

Reduction of Operational Costs

The thorough processes involved in implementing an Environmental Management
System can provide a competitive and financial advantage. An EMS assesses how your
organisation uses resources and identifies ways to reduce elements like waste,
ensuring more efficient use of resources.
Throughout the process, opportunities will arise to minimise unnecessary consumption,
resulting in a reduction in costs. For instance, improving how you consume energy will
lead to reduced spending on electricity or gas.

Enhanced Employee Morale

Environmental action is now a core value that employees are looking to share with their
employers. Employees are increasingly looking for organisations to deliver on
sustainability commitments, which can often be a deciding factor for potential
employees choosing an organisation to work for.

Showcasing that your organisation cares for people and the planet increases the
likelihood of diversifying and improving the skill set of your company by hiring like-
minded people.

Research shows that organisations that have dedicated sustainability goals enhance
employees’ fulfilment and motivation because it gives more meaning to what they do.
More importantly, having a strong sustainable agenda shows employees that your
organisation puts the environment and people before profit, showing genuine care and
value for employees.

B Corp Requirements
Circularity and Environmental Stewardship are one of the topics reviewed in B Corp’s
updated draft standards, which are undergoing a consultation process from September
2022 – December 2023. These requirements may change throughout the process but
one of the proposed requirements for this topic is that companies will need to have an
environmental strategy, promoting circularity and environmental stewardship. This can
be supported by an environmental management system as it will help to structure
activities such as identifying opportunities, outlining the organisation’s most significant
impacts, and tracking objectives.

For example, companies that have their own manufacturing sites will need to have a
formal environmental management system in place, comprising their energy and water
consumption, quality of discharged wastewater, air pollution, waste
generation/recycling, and other relevant environmental aspects. This will also need to
cover an environmental policy, environmental KPIs, targets, and a program with
allocated resources. This can be demonstrated in several ways including having an
ISO14001-certified EMS. These companies will have to engage outsourced
manufacturing sites to also implement an EMS and circularity principles into their
organisations.
An environmental management system can benefit any organisation by providing the
framework to allow meaningful and long-lasting changes to be made. By implementing a
system of continuous improvement, your company will have the opportunity to
consistently raise environmental standards and policies and make a positive impact on
people and the planet.

[Link]

Sustainable Nevada: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Businesses

Measuring Sustainability

Measuring
Sustainability
How to Measure Your Business’s Sustainability
Becoming a more sustainable business begins with assessing the impacts of
your business’s current operations and the resources used. Such
assessments create a baseline from which you can work to improve on. Below
you will find various assessments and tools for measuring waste streams,
energy and water usage, and carbon footprints.

On this page:

● Audit & Measure Your Business’s Waste Streams

● Audit & Measure Your Business’s Energy Usage & Efficiency

● Calculate Your Business’s Carbon Footprint

● Audit & Measure Your Business’s Water Usage

● Identify Inventory Waste

Audit & Measure Your Business’s

Waste Streams
A waste audit identifies waste generated by a business or facility and
examines purchasing and materials management practices. By conducting a
waste audit, a business can determine how it can best benefit from waste
reduction and recycling efforts. By conducting a waste audit and implementing
waste reduction and recycling efforts, your business can reduce costs
associated with waste collection, removal, and disposal.
Three common approaches to waste assessments include records
examination, facility walk-throughs, and waste sorts. The U.S. EPA has
developed worksheets and instructions for conducting all three of these
approaches: Instructions on Conducting Waste Assessments.

Also, your local waste hauler may have specific resources for conducting a
waste audit.

Back to Top

Audit & Measure Your Business’s

Energy Usage & Efficiency
Wasted energy is wasted money, and every business has some degree of
wasted energy. Reducing your business’s energy consumption and improving
its energy efficiency saves energy and money, reduces greenhouse gas
emissions, and conserves water (as water is needed to generate energy). To
effectively focus your efforts to save energy, you need to understand how your
business uses energy. This can be done by conducting a facility walkthrough
and reviewing your energy bills. Energy professionals and/or engineers can
be hired to conduct an audit as well.

ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager® is a free online tool provided by the

U.S. EPA that can be used to benchmark the current energy and water use of
your business or property. This tool allows you to track your building’s energy
and water usage over time, and you can compare your building to similar
buildings nationwide.

For help with the Portfolio Manager®, ENERGY STAR® has developed a
playlist of demo videos, how-to guides, and live online training.

The Business Environmental Program (BEP) also provides a comprehensive

ENERGY STAR® Action Workbook. This workbook provides instructions and
advice for using the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager, determining your
baseline usage, conducting a facility walkthrough, setting energy goals,
creating and implementing an energy action plan, and evaluating the plan’s
progress.

A Nevada-specific resource is NV Energy’s PowerShift - Business Energy

Savings Guide. This guide provides information about energy-saving
technologies and can help you identify areas for improvement.

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Calculate Your Business’s Carbon

Footprint
Businesses emit greenhouse gases (e.g., carbon dioxide and methane) in a
variety of ways, including from powering their buildings, transporting materials
and products, and manufacturing products. Businesses also indirectly emit
greenhouse gases through waste disposal and employee travel. Measuring
direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions will help you calculate your
business’s carbon footprint. It is important to note that even though
greenhouse gases are tied to energy usage, measuring your carbon footprint
is different from conducting an energy audit. A carbon footprint measurement
focuses on calculating the amount of greenhouse gases emitted from your
business’s building and operations (usually in tons of carbon-equivalent
emissions per year), whereas an energy audit looks at how energy is used by
your business and identifies opportunities to reduce energy usage and
increase savings. These two tools work together. As you implement energy
saving practices and programs based on your energy audit, you can re-
calculate your carbon footprint on a regular basis.

There are a variety of ways and tools to measure your greenhouse gas
emissions. Different methodologies may be based on different assumptions
and scopes, which will affect the results of the assessment. Working with a
professional service can help you conduct a quality carbon footprint audit and
gain accurate information. However, there are free tools available to help you
gain a general understanding of your business's greenhouse gas emissions
and look for ways to improve. One such tool is the CoolClimate Calculator for
businesses developed by University of California, Berkeley.

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Audit & Measure Your Business’s

Water Usage
Like energy, wasted water is wasted money. More importantly, we live in the
most arid state in the nation. Water conservation is very important to Nevada’s
future - especially for southern Nevada. WaterSense, a partnership program
sponsored by the U.S. EPA, provides many useful resources for measuring
water usage and conserving water.

WaterSense provides multiple assessment tools for commercial and industrial

buildings. Two main assessments include the Simple Water Assessment
Checklist and the WaterSense Sample Worksheets for Water Management
Planning. The simple checklist can help your business quickly identify and
target potential projects and best management practices, whereas the
worksheet booklet provides in-depth information and instructions for
measuring water usage.

In addition to these assessments, ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager® can

also be used to track water usage over time.

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Identify Inventory Waste

Auditing your business’s inventory is another way to identify unnecessary
spending and waste. Tracking the usage of your inventory will help you
identify areas of opportunity to reduce overstock or obsolete inventory that
may end up in the trash.
One method of tracking your facility’s inventory and determining what levels of
inventory you should have in stock involves using Periodic Automatic
Replacement (PAR). A PAR can serve as an assigned number to a product
that indicates it is time to reorder when that number is reached. This method
will help keep ordering operations clear and consistent while reducing the
potential for product to become expired, damaged, or lost.

[Link]
sustainability

How to measure
sustainable performance:
KPIs and Metrics
Measuring sustainable performance is a team effort.
Procurement is in key position in engaging its stakeholders and
suppliers to sustainability goals. Learn how!

TELL ME MORE
Updated: Jan 31, 2024
Procurement is at the forefront of sustainability measurement.

Tracking sustainable performance is teamwork.

Measuring sustainability helps with tracking progress, evaluating the

effectiveness of actions taken, building stakeholder engagement,

evaluating tradeoffs, establishing reward mechanisms, meeting new

requirements, and communicating goals.

Reporting on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) goals

relies on reliable and accurate numbers. According to McKinsey,

companies measure their sustainability achievements within

procurement so that they can drive faster growth, attain higher

valuations, drive down costs and reduce waste.

Sustainable business conduct eliminates risk, supports a long-term

mindset, and addresses rapid changes in the world.

The spend data is there: what we are buying, who from, how much we

buy, and where it is made. Despite the business case for responsible

sourcing, many companies don’t use sustainability measures as

primary criteria in decision-making or supplier reviews.

In this blog we will cover how procurement can measure sustainability

performance and set targets for sustainability.

How to measure sustainable performance?
Organizations should consider the total impact on the economy, the

environment, and society, not only relating to what is relevant for the

company's internal stakeholders. The best way to ensure relevance is

to use a formal standard that allows you to report in a structured and

transparent way.

So far, there is no one globally accepted system for sustainability

tracking and reporting. The GRI Standard is used by 73% of the

world's 250 largest companies, across more than 100 countries.

The GRI Standards are a modular system comprising three series of

Standards: the GRI Universal Standards, the GRI Sector Standards,

and the GRI Topic Standards. Each Standard begins with a detailed

explanation of how to use it.

As we move towards more standardization, making comparisons will

be easier and transparency will increase.

What are the KPIs for sustainable
procurement?
Each organization will choose different metrics based on what is

important or material to their business and their industry.

Sustainable procurement can mean a lot of things, from measuring

CO2 footprint to mitigating modern slavery. If you're not sure, check

out our complete guide Sustainable Procurement 101.

Let's break down some real performance metrics you can use:

Environmental sustainability metrics

Environmental sustainability metrics are the main area for tracking

sustainability in most organizations. Environmental metrics cover a

wide range of activities impacting climate, waste, and energy use.

Sustainability KPIs include:

● CO2 emissions reduction in kt

● Energy consumption in kWh

● Water usage in metric tons

● Waste reduction in cubic meters

● Plastic reduction in metric tons

 ● Material efficiency in material input per unit of service (MIPS)

● Noise pollution in decibels

● Compliance with chemical safety requirements

● Compliance with environmental standards

● Number of suppliers audited against environmental standards

Energy and emissions

The carbon emission and other pollutants resulting from the burning of

fossil fuels are major factors contributing to climate change.

Efforts to improve energy efficiency include migrating to more

renewable energies to reduce harmful greenhouse gas (GHG)

emissions. UK-based Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) offers help

and supports disclosing the environmental impact of major

corporations.

Its focus is on using carbon accounting principles to measure GHG

greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Also, the International Integrated

Reporting Council (IIRC) provides a comprehensive corporate

reporting option that is useful when proving sustainable value to

potential investors.
Scope 1 emissions, the direct emissions, are the simplest to track.

Scope 2, the indirect emissions, resulting from the consumption of

acquired electricity, steam, heat, and cooling. Organizations can use

software and equipment, such as sensors, to accurately measure their

energy consumption.

Scope 3 emissions, the supply chain emissions, are harder to track

and validate. Scope 3 is where procurement can bring visibility and

transparency into supply chain GHG emissions. Reliable

environmental reporting requires working closely with suppliers and

setting common goals.

Water
Water is a key sustainability metric for most organizations, especially

in manufacturing and the FMCG sector. Organizations can track their

water usage, quality, the cost of water pollution on the environment as

well as loss of water through leaks and evaporation.

Leading companies are influencing suppliers to reduce and track their

water use to reduce costs and save the environment.

Waste
Companies are beginning to focus on their contribution to the circular

economy through waste management.

Waste includes food and packaging waste, hazardous materials,

debris and industrial waste, and final disposals. Plastic packaging and

single-use materials can be replaced with recycled, recyclable,

routable or circular materials.

Social and governmental metrics

Areas such as employee welfare, diversity, and inclusion that depend

on numerical statistics can be monitored directly.

Tracking other social metrics is less straightforward. Measuring

performance against human rights goals such as improvement in

living conditions and creating work opportunities in affected

communities requires data and detailed analysis.

The Anker Living Wage and Living Income Research Institute provides

a methodology as the basis for producing high-quality, consistent,

objective information about living wages and wage gaps.

The aim is to support wage improvement strategies and programs in

ESG projects. This methodology has been used since 2017 to

estimate living wages at Patagonia, a leading manufacturing company

in ESG reporting.

In Governance, success is defined by the level of adherence to policy

and regulations within the specific industry sector for both your own

organization and the supplier base.

Corporate social responsibility KPIs include:

● Compliance with Code of Conduct

● Compliance with UN global conduct

● Share of suppliers audited against CSR standards

● Compliance with safety and security requirements

● Work-life balance, working hours

● People development, learning hours

● Community engagement, volunteering hours

● Share of diverse suppliers in the supply base

 ● Share of suppliers that filled in self-assessment questionnaire

(SAQ)

● Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) survey result

What can procurement leaders do?

Requirements for sustainable procurement are evolving and the KPIs

must follow. Supplier’s commitment and performance against

environmental, social and governance standard needs to be evaluated

as part of procurement processes and policies.

Many suppliers have vested sustainability as part of their offering and

are willing to show initiative in the hope of new business opportunities

and preferred supplier status. Many times, the best practices,

innovations, and industry-leading examples come from the supply

chain.

Evaluating sustainability performance enables setting targets and

taking corrective actions to drive improvement and do business that is

sustainable in the long run. Below we have laid out 8 steps to start

measuring sustainability performance in procurement.

Success factors in sustainability tracking
Reliable data, efficient processes, industry knowledge and analytical

competence are all elements needed to track internal and external

sustainability performance and communicate results to stakeholders.

Technology, automation, and AI enable efficient reporting practice and

focus on taking action based on insights. With thousands of suppliers,

procurement needs to identify emission hotspots and which areas of

spend have the highest ESG impact and potential for improvement.

Focusing efforts on key suppliers and risk categories is often the first

step. Visibility and fresh data are vital for the success of your

sustainability strategy, as ESG requirements, market conditions, and

supply chains keep evolving.

Header photo by Markus Spiske ([Link])

Jasmiina Toikka
Jasmiina is Head of Content Marketing at Sievo with broad expertise

in procurement and
[Link]

What Are The Challenges Of Sustainability In

Business?
Published on: 16 Aug 2023
by Eric Burdon

Image by Freepik
Going down the sustainability route for a business is both difficult and expensive. And

the path is all the more challenging when our current system makes it easier to drain

resources, treat workers poorly, and bribe government officials out of ever doing
anything. But while that is the case, people are realising that those tactics are neither

sustainable nor beneficial for humanity.

There are companies that take pride in being B-listed businesses. And there’s a sense of

branding behind solving particular issues in the categories of environmental, social, and

governance. That doesn’t take away from the challenge, but these can be enough

incentives to take the leap and work towards being a sustainable business.

The least that we can do is outline some of the challenges that your business might face

along the way.

Featured Article: Top 5 Social Sustainability Examples You Need To Know

Costs and Investments

This one is a given but still worth iterating in that sustainable initiatives require upfront

investments, and you might see a rise in operational costs in the short-term. It’s akin to

installing a solar panel on your own home. The initial cost and instalment are going to be

expensive no matter what. But over the years, you’re going to become more energy

efficient.

Sustainable businesses work in the same way, where you’ll see more growth and

improvements on a long-term basis. It’s more of a matter of getting over that initial cost.
Supply Chain Challenges
Whether you’re running a current business or setting one up, supply chain management

can be difficult, and for many, they can’t always trace where the raw materials are

coming from. It’s particularly hard for small or medium-sized businesses to develop a

robust supply chain model if larger suppliers might not pay attention to your demands or

requests.

All in all, the biggest challenge is transparency and finding suppliers who are willing to

be transparent about their practices, their manufacturing processes, raw materials, if they

reduce waste, improve efficiency, and seek to develop end products that don't just lower

costs, but take ESG factors into account.

ESG Voices: Optimising The Global Supply Chain

Consumer Preferences
While on a consumer level, demand for sustainable products is rising, the other aspect is

making products that are competitively priced. Unless someone has an absolute disdain

for Colgate-Palmolive, they might not be willing to pay the additional cost for a more

sustainable toothpaste. A credible business model for companies involved in catering to

the public at large should seek to avoid creating marketing strategy that is only relevant

for niche sectors of society.

To truly build both consumer credibility in the next few years, investors will be looking

to financial performance, yes, but also to how effectively companies build logistics and

services that lead to end user products, for the wider global market, that are examples of

corporate social responsibility as well as price-based access. Sustainability should be the

future 'norm', not a limited privilege for wealthier consumers.

Featured Article: What Are 3 Issues That Impact Sustainability?

Regulatory Environment
While sweeping regulations from around the world are making companies think more

sustainable, actually being sustainable has more scrutiny attached to it. Like B-certified

companies, the standard for that certification is high, and compliance standards are

always a work in progress. Companies looking to be sustainable not only have to work on

being sustainable but also know what sustainability looks like on a day-to-day basis.

Featured Article: The EU Has ‘Fixed’ ESG Reporting. Here Is How

Short-Term Focus vs. Long-Term Sustainability

True sustainability is a tricky thing, and we’re seeing in recent years that companies are

working more on the short term. A lot of the pledges and goals that are being made are

within this decade or by 2030. And while those are good, companies do need to be

thinking about the bigger picture and being able to keep up with the sustainability

practices they are implementing right now.

For sure, when looking to be sustainable, it’s better to focus on the small victories and

changes that can be made to current business practices. But a business needs to know

how that can feed into the bigger picture and really make an impact on making

sustainable practices stick.

Lack of Awareness and Education

Employees and the general public aren’t all that familiar with ESG as a concept. This is

especially true if you’re operating in America or Canada at this point. It’s not that people

don’t care; rather, not everyone understands how important all of this is. Asking people to

understand this while also integrating it into jobs effectively can create a lot of confusion

too.

It’s why there are a lot of sustainability jobs, but not enough people to bridge professional

and sustainability skills together to fill those roles.

To find in-person and online ESG educational opportunities that fit your needs, check out

our ESG Courses.

Measuring And Reporting Impact

On a broad level, we understand what sustainability is and what it can look like. But

getting down to specific numbers and reporting on them is a whole other challenge.

Companies are going to struggle to measure or find appropriate metrics and standards

that not only meet government regulations but also provide information to the public and

shareholders.
Tech Limitations
Depending on how ambitious your sustainability goals are, you might not be able to hit

the targets with existing technology. Technology is continuously growing and evolving,

but with each iteration, there is a limitation to what companies can access and even use to

complete certain initiatives. For example, green ammonia is a viable energy source, yet

most businesses will have zero understanding of how this, or even more conventional and

readily available renewable energy sources can impact their operations, supply chains, or

finished products.

Competing Priorities
The problem with having many business goals is that they compete with one another and

can get in the way. For firms, they inherently have many goals and objectives they wish

to accomplish. Generating profit, being able to pay dividends, expanding the company,

and remaining competitive in the market. Adding sustainability into the mix, which has

so many other objectives a business has to prioritise, may cause a company to spread

itself too thin to meet every single goal in every quarter or year.

So if larger corporations are struggling as well, it’s going to be a more significant

problem for a much smaller business, which will have limited resources to focus its

efforts on.

Featured Article: What is the ESG movement all about?

Collaboration And Stakeholder Engagement

While collaboration is a good thing, drumming up interest in the first place is more of the

challenge here. Not only that, but any time a sustainable business is collaborating on

something, they may need to involve people from all different kinds of backgrounds.

From government partners to NGOs, suppliers, customer groups, local communities, and

more, collaboration requires alignment on what’s being done. And that gets much harder

the more people are involved, each with their own different goals and opinions.

Many Challenges But High Rewards

But despite all the challenges that a business will face, many companies recognise how

important all of this is. Sustainability for business means that the short-term struggles

outweigh the long-term success and survivability of the company. Through sustainability

as a core value, a business is able to make a positive impact on the environment and

social well-being while significantly enhancing their brand in the process.

Beyond that, the bottom line is a significant competitive edge that comes with it when a

business does sustainability right. It will understand when this is achieved if it listens to

the voices of not just those with shareholder rights, but of all stakeholders.