Currently, the world’s focus is on Glasgow. As national leaders, business owners and individuals alike gather to discuss the future of the planet at COP26, it is easy to get swept up in headlines and big government announcements. But, what can people and their businesses be doing in the everyday arena to improve sustainability, and what does it mean to truly be sustainable?

Sustainability clearly refers to more than just emissions, climate change or reusable coffee cups. Organisations need to take a much more holistic approach, sustainability runs deeper than green labels and marketing. Indeed, alongside limiting energy usage and making more conscious choices about consumption, sustainability also concerns the decisions we make within financial markets, organisations’ wider impact on society and the treatment of their employees. 

To make practical sense of the sometimes complex messaging, seven experts weigh in on what really makes a sustainable business.

Prioritises investing in green buildings and environments
“The risks associated with the brand and reputational damage of tardy decarbonisation cannot be overstated” argues Tim Room, Chief Markets Officer at Clade Engineering. 

“Any investment in technology or plant that does not align with the need to decarbonise will lead to the risk of being left with stranded assets. Early movers will benefit from learning, better availability and reputational enhancements creating a competitive advantage that will build stronger, more resilient and more profitable businesses.”

Tim believes that a clear example of this is the technology used to heat buildings. He goes on to say “natural gas boilers will have to be replaced, and installing a heat pump is one of the best alternatives. A heat pump will deliver a 60 to 80% carbon reduction and when used for cooling too it’ll do even better. If plugged into a digital platform to optimise performance and provide grid flexibility services it will be able to deliver even more carbon reductions and cost savings.”

Focuses less on profits
David Ko and Richard Busellato, authors of The Unsustainable Truth (Panoma Press), state that turnover is usually prioritised over sustainability. Businesses should re-evaluate their need for profit and focus on doing everything they can to save resources and preserve the carbon budget.

 “Figure out what you need your profits for – it ultimately serves someone”, say David and Richard. “Understanding this will help you know how busy you need to be so you can save resources, whether that is time, money or materials”.

 They emphasise that smaller businesses should not put themselves in difficulty, but that working out where you can make realistic changes is important. However, they recommend a more hard-line approach for larger businesses. “You cannot have a business model based on volume sales growth”, they state.

“Every activity will use up a fraction of our carbon budget. No process is ever purely ‘clean’, and it is paramount we do not fall into a thinking that we can do more simply because we are better. It is a global effort – especially if we are privileged enough to have clean energy. Using it for wanton profit simply forces those less fortunate to continue with dirty energy”, they continue, stressing that large businesses should not become complacent just because they have introduced some sustainability strategies. However uncomfortable, businesses should focus less on profits to become more sustainable.

Embeds a sustainable internal culture
Of course, minimising environmental impact is an important consideration for any business, but truly sustainable businesses are ones that embed sustainable working behaviours within their organisational culture, argue Karen Meager and John McLachlan, organisational psychologists and co-founders of Monkey Puzzle Training and Consultancy. 

They highlight: “sustainable organisational cultures build for the future as they are grounded in healthy working practices that prevent ongoing burnout issues and have diverse teams united around values and long term visions. This is a recipe for growth that is not at the expense of employee wellbeing, society or the environment.”

To create sustainable behaviours in an  organisation, Karen and John recommend leaders and HR teams reward people for developing collaborative behaviours, recruit for values and cultural fit rather than solely based on the job specification, integrate sustainability into L&D programs and that leaders should walk the talk.

Goes ‘all in’ to address the four key pillars of sustainability
When it comes to climate change, the heat has been turned right up (literally) and both the public and businesses alike are expecting answers from those with the power to start making the changes that are not only necessary but long overdue.

“We’ve had decades of businesses simply ticking boxes and complying to CSR. It’s had little impact,” explains Neil Gaught, sustainability expert, author of CORE and conceiver of Single Organizing Idea, 

“Making fluffy purpose declarations had added nothing. What is needed now is a complete change of mindset.”

Neil argues that Instead of a piecemeal approach to sustainability, businesses need to go ‘all in’ and identify, define and then align ALL their actions and activities with a sustainable SOI (Single Organizing Idea) that ensures they are fit for the future and address the four key pillars of sustainability; economic, societal, human and environmental.

“The right SOI, set at the core of the business, will ensure the delivery of the long-term outcomes across all four sustainability pillars, whilst also meeting the fast-growing concerns of customers, employees and investors who are demanding change,” adds Neil.

Weaves DEI&B into all aspects of the organisation
Teresa Boughey, Founder of Inclusion 247, argues the most sustainable businesses are ones that move from tick box to transformation when it comes to DEI&B. They move beyond the boundaries of HR and recognise that DEI&B should be woven into every aspect of their organisation, examples include integrating with their local communities as well as holding their delivery partners, i.e. supply chains, to account on DEI&B issues.

The Inclusion 247 “Accelerating Inclusion” Research Report found that only 1 in 4 of the organisations surveyed (24%) use D&I as a metric to engage with stakeholders and customers. Plus, less than half of organisations (47%) surveyed work with local colleges, universities, and communities to increase their talent pool.

“Without working together with stakeholders, customers and communities, progress is going to remain siloed and no organisation is going to be able to call themselves sustainable” Teresa comments. 

“Embedding DEI&B is essential for sustainability and this goes beyond the boundaries of HR.  Leaders need to take an active role in bringing the outside in, and vice versa. Going out and speaking at schools to motivate new talent and offer work opportunities are some of the ways an organisation can inspire the next generation.  Bringing in external speakers to inspire teams, share best practice and learn from other companies is also key.  Collaboration will be essential to changing societal behaviours and creating a sustainable future that capitalises on everyone’s talents” she says.

Is impact driven at the core
Mission driven businesses build impact into all aspects of their business at the grassroots, reminds Kajal Sanghrajka, an expert in inclusive entrepreneurship and Director of Growth Hub Global. 

“ESG principles and wider stakeholder impact are not nice-to-haves. More and more early stage entrepreneurs are solving some of our most pressing global challenges and they are fundamentally designing businesses differently to have a net positive impact on society” Kajal highlights 

Kajal recommends new tools and business thinking for impact driven businesses which allow them to build their businesses uniquely and don’t follow the old paradigm of existing to maximise shareholder profit. Instead, new emerging businesses models have clear metrics for impact and ESG principles built in allowing them to balance purpose and profit.

Remains committed to change, even though it may impact short-term profits
At the moment there are not enough repercussions for businesses whose practices are damaging to the environment, nor are there incentives for those who wish to transition to – or beyond – net zero. A priority must be to create a playing field where doing the right thing for the environment is the easy choice, not one that makes you stand out. It must become ‘business as usual’, explains Matt Spry, strategy consultant and founder of Emergent

“We must stop making short term decisions, and bear the cost as early as possible in order to make the net-zero transition as quickly as we can, and benefit from the shift. Many businesses are delaying the inevitable and trying to avoid costs today in the hope it becomes cheaper in the years to come. We simply cannot afford to keep doing this.”

“Fundamentally businesses need to decide that they do value becoming net-zero, and back this up with actions and investment – and probably lower profits in the short term – not just words. There are actions every business can take today if they have the will,” adds Matt.