Contents
- Why should companies adopt a sustainability strategy?
- Introduction: Aspects of sustainability in the company
- Sustainability tips
- Sustainability strategy explained
- Building a sustainability strategy
- Sustainability transformation - when companies take it seriously
- FAQ: Frequently asked questions about sustainability strategies
Why should companies adopt a sustainability strategy?
Many companies are already taking various measures to become more sustainable. But after a few years, there is no Sustainability strategybut a large, often wild, collection of topics and measures. All these measures certainly contribute to making the company more environmentally friendly and socially valuable. However, this colourful collection of different sustainability measures harbours some risks for the company:
- If sustainability issues are not anchored in corporate planning for the coming years, it can quickly happen that the commitment is abruptly reduced as soon as another issue becomes important.
- For employees, many different topics offer less opportunity for identification and orientation than a clear direction for sustainability commitment.
- In most cases, the improvement in sustainability performance comes to a standstill after a few years if clear individual targets and overarching goals for sustainability are not established. Sustainability be set.
- Many diverse and smaller measures can only be explained in a much more complex way than a clear focus and justification. The credibility of your own endeavours is therefore made more difficult if this complexity has to be understood first.
- An unclear focus also blurs the opportunity to communicate sustainability to customers. A clear focus, on the other hand, can contribute to sales and the company's success and thus anchor sustainability in an entrepreneurially motivated manner.
It is therefore worth bundling the existing sustainability commitment into a strategy.
The idea is the same, as in the development of a corporate strategy.
That is why we want to use this guide to help you understand how an initial sustainability strategy can be developed. However, the topics will certainly also help you to revise an existing strategy.
Methods and best practice for sustainability in your mailbox
Introduction: Aspects of sustainability in the company
To begin with, we would like to provide an overview of sustainability in companies. In our experience, it helps to have a clear understanding of CSR and sustainability within the company. These articles can help.
We also want to give a few more topics and examples to show the breadth of sustainability. This is then a good basis for approaching your own sustainability strategy.
- One Classification of sustainability in the economy from a political perspective is provided by the BMWi.
- What characterises sustainable companies?
It is becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish whether a company is operating sustainably or not. We even raise the question of whether companies can be sustainable at all. A discourse and orientation. - Climate protection in companies: Step-by-step guide
Climate protection is an elementary component of a good sustainability strategy. We therefore describe how companies can proceed and what needs to be considered. - Seals, certificates and other proof of sustainability in the company
In addition to the countless product seals for sustainability, there are also various certificates, seals and other proofs of sustainability in the company. Our large overview is intended to provide orientation. However, many of the seals and systems also help with the structured development of a company's own sustainability performance.
Sustainability tips
The best CSR strategy is useless if a company cannot think of any measures to implement and improve it. With our more than 60 sustainability tips, we want to help you familiarise yourself with practical measures. They are easy to implement and therefore a good addition to the larger strategic measures.
We are always happy to receive additions and suggestions so that we can include even more easy-to-implement tips!
- 11 tips for green marketing and guerrilla marketing
How easily can marketing support a sustainability strategy? And what ecological guerrilla marketing ideas are there? - 19 CSR measures for companies - simple but effective
Exciting and simple tips that really every company can implement. The small steps to a sustainability strategy. - Sustainable business? 9 progressive tips for companies.
Tips for those who want to dare a little more and implement sustainability in a modern and creative way. - Sustainability in the office - 26 tips from simple to comprehensive
Sustainability in the office, the classic. We have collected the best tips to help you become more ecological and social in the office. - Sustainability at Christmas in companies - 10 simple tips
Sustainability can also be considered at Christmas. That's why we have collected and collated a wide range of ideas from the field.
Sustainability strategy explained
We often find that it is not entirely clear what a sustainability strategy actually is. That's why we've written articles that explain exactly that. Comparing different sustainability strategies with each other makes it particularly tangible.
What exactly is a sustainability strategy? Is it different from other strategies? What strategies do other companies adopt and how moderate or progressive can they be? With these articles, we want to give you a feel for how such strategies can be structured and orientated.
- Beyond CSR - Essay on responsibility in companies
We discuss what responsibility actually means for companies today. How far do you have to go to be able to call yourself genuinely sustainable? And what concepts are there that go further than our current concept of CSR? - Sustainability strategy examples in companies
We want to provide guidance and examples are the best way to do this. We have specifically analysed companies and their sustainability strategies and presented them in a structured manner.
Building a sustainability strategy
Last but not least, it is about being able to develop your own strategy. Even though a sustainability strategy may differ from other strategies, the main steps are similar. We describe in detail how the basis for the strategy can be developed by gathering the right information and stakeholders. We then look at methods for selecting the strategic direction and objectives and harmonising them with the corporate strategy. And then we look at the implementation steps and practical recommendations.
- Sustainability strategy in companies - analysing the status quo
The status quo analysis provides the basis on which a company's sustainability strategy can be built. We therefore describe the dimensions of the analysis and the ways in which it can be analysed. In this way, we want to encourage the creation of the best possible starting point for the strategy. - Develop a sustainability strategy within the company
In this core article, we clearly show the steps that can be taken to develop a sustainability strategy within the organisation. With this help, every organisation can build its own strategy. - Implementing a sustainability strategy: Practical tips and stumbling blocks
There is a lot to consider when implementing a sustainability strategy. That's why we want to provide practical tips and point out the typical stumbling blocks. It's about formulating good objectives and success factors for implementation, Sustainability controllingcommunication or the transfer of knowledge about sustainability. - How sustainability communication works - guidance for implementers and tips
Because strategy always means communication, this article is also relevant. We explain what sustainability communication is and how external and internal communication are differentiated.
Sustainability transformation - when companies take it seriously
By sustainability transformation, we mean when companies initiate a long-term process to orientate themselves towards sustainability. The sustainability strategy is an important building block in terms of content. However, a transformation process goes beyond this and, in addition to other structural elements, also establishes a culture of sustainability and brings the topic to the individual level of employees.
- Sustainability transformation in companies: a guide
Our article on sustainability transformation sheds light on the three dimensions of transformation: structure, culture and the individual. It also describes the four phases that a transformation (repeatedly) goes through and how these can be tackled.
FAQ: Frequently asked questions about sustainability strategies
A sustainability strategy describes which sustainability goals a company wants to achieve and which framework conditions are set for their realisation. The sustainability strategy is therefore a plan for the specific development of the company for a long-term period, either in addition to, on a par with or integrated into the corporate strategy. Sustainability strategies are usually cross-cutting strategies and affect many or all areas or departments of the company in terms of their objectives and implementation. The time frame for the objectives can vary from 2 or 3 to 10 or more years.
A sustainability strategy helps a company to improve its sustainability activities and performance in a structured manner. On the one hand, this means that it ideally helps to focus on the key sustainability issues. In other words, the topics where the sustainability impact is greatest in the long term. Secondly, it creates a structure for systematically and comprehensibly pursuing the set goals and facilitating their implementation in specialist areas and departments.
A sustainability strategy is relevant for all companies that want or need to become more sustainable. Companies that are required to report on sustainability must report in accordance with the requirements of major reporting standards (ESRS, DNK, GRIetc.) explain whether they are pursuing a sustainability strategy. For companies that want to become more sustainable due to external pressure or intrinsic motivation, the sustainability strategy is a good tool for working authentically and effectively on sustainability.
Sustainability strategies are developed in a similar way to other specific strategies for companies. The starting point is a detailed analysis. In contrast to many other strategies, however, this must take into account much more than just economic aspects. In particular, this includes analysing the impact of the company on the environment and society (inside-out perspective) and the impact of these issues on the company (outside-in perspective). This analysis helps to make informed decisions about where the greatest leverage lies. An important tool in the development of sustainability strategies is therefore the Stakeholder dialogue. This serves to find out from affected or involved groups what the impact of the company is on them and, if necessary, what options there are for improvement. The The development of a sustainability strategy is described in detail here described.
The length of the development depends on the size, sector and structure of the company as well as the status of its sustainability activities. For smaller companies without complex Value chaincompanies that are drawing up a sustainability strategy for the first time, the process can be completed in 3 months. For larger companies with more complex structures and objectives, the development can take 12 months or more.
At its core, a sustainability strategy comprises the major goals for the key sustainability issues, as well as the sub-goals that are necessary to achieve them. However, it can also include the company's sustainability vision and mission and other elements. In many cases, the sustainability strategy also provides a structure that helps with implementation and realisation in business operations. For example, it can be organised into fields of action and focus topics or it can refer to specific initiatives for implementation. In the blog post on Examples of sustainability strategies these elements are visualised.
A sustainability strategy does not require a sustainability report and vice versa. A sustainability report creates transparency about the recent past of the company's sustainability activities and shows the goals derived from them. In turn, the sustainability strategy states what the company is planning for the future. Furthermore, the report is primarily an outward-looking instrument and a strategy is used internally for planning. Both can therefore help each other in their implementation. For example, it gives a sustainability report a clear structure in terms of content if it can refer to the sustainability strategy. This makes the context of the topics to be reported on even clearer for the reader. For its part, the sustainability strategy benefits from the structured evaluation of sustainability activities in the sustainability report.
An integrated sustainability and corporate strategy means that the sustainability strategy is not a separate document to the corporate strategy, but is part of it. The structure varies. In the weakest forms of integration, the corporate strategy contains chapters and objectives on sustainability that are harmonised with the other content and are located between them. Ideally, however, an integrated sustainability strategy means that all content and objectives of the corporate strategy have been checked against the sustainability requirements set, so that each corporate objective contributes to an increase in sustainability performance.
Are you planning the next steps towards sustainability?
Ask me for a free information meeting.
I am ready with advice and pleasure.
Toni Kiel
Sustainability strategy and reporting topics
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