The last five years have been tough for SMEs to survive through. In that time, I have often found myself on the receiving end of a panicked phone caller, saying, “I need to have a carbon footprint and sustainability policy within 24 hours!” in response to a request to tender.
Sound familiar?
All the same, there is no legal obligation for an SME to go green.
Over the years, I have worked with hundreds of SMEs to encourage them to take sustainability seriously. Demonstrating sustainability is as worthwhile as an organisation’s primary operations is critical to finding better ways of doing business – not just ensuring that UK emissions targets are met.
So here are five key business drivers that have benefited organisations that have immersed their operations and supply chains in sustainability:
Winning business
Winning business is the most fundamental business driver for the overwhelming majority of organisations. It also goes hand in hand with improving sustainability.
The demand for businesses to be more sustainable comes from consumers but also highly influences business to business transactions, usually in the form of a pre-qualification questionnaire or a request to tender. Failing to engage in sustainable activity may mean that you lose out on a bid or that your business is simply unqualified to even submit a proposal. Improving sustainability may therefore open up new opportunities and channels of business that were previously blocked.
Cost saving
Investing in sustainability programmes can result in cost savings as long as the following are considered:
• the hard cost of the sustainability programme
• the cost of the resource needed to produce the best results
• the more effort you put in, the more money you will save
• targets are essential for tangible and measurable results
• the programme must fit your business – a 10 person business will not see cost savings by working through a tick box application and audit to create a framework that is never looked at again.
Team Effort
‘Employee Engagement’ is the phrase on everyone’s lips. It is the best way to deliver a sustainability programme. In just about every SME there are knowledgeable and passionate people who can inform and inspire others. A ‘Green Team’ can unlock the potential of these people and encourage intelligent learning across the organisation. It can also empower employees and give them confidence when their ideas are realised. If managed well, responsibility will be shared, people from all sides of the business will be involved, the organisation will become less fragmented, well-being and satisfaction will increase and sustainability will improve.
Brand and reputation
Becoming known for being sustainable will in most cases positively influence the reputation of the company. This will increase the strength of the brand and create a buzz around the business that did not previously exist.
This is one area that relies on communicating the work being done and will not be achieved by the aforementioned box ticking exercise. Shouting about your work on sustainability is not arrogant. If presented in a humble way, realising that there is room for progression, demonstrating sustainability will shift the perception of your brand, augment your reputation and might influence others to act too.
Doing the right thing
The business world often receives a raw deal from onlookers reading headlines of business tycoons, out for themselves, stepping on anyone to get ahead, and squeezing money out of every soul. This is of course an untrue representation and responsible business is paramount for many organisations. To fulfil this objective, improving sustainability is essential. As businesses are increasingly publically scrutinised it is not possible to say that your business is being responsible without managing your sustainability.
