What do you do if your performance as a sustainability professional needs evaluation?

1 Set clear goals

The first step to evaluate your performance is to define what you want to achieve as a sustainability professional. You should align your goals with the vision, mission, and values of your organization, as well as the expectations and needs of your clients, partners, and beneficiaries. You should also make sure your goals are SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. This will help you track your progress, identify gaps, and celebrate successes.

2 Choose relevant indicators

The next step is to select the indicators that will help you measure your progress towards your goals. Indicators are quantitative or qualitative data that show how well you are performing in terms of sustainability outcomes and outputs. You should choose indicators that are relevant, reliable, valid, and comparable. You should also consider the availability, cost, and quality of the data sources. Some examples of indicators are carbon footprint, stakeholder satisfaction, waste reduction, and social impact.

3 Collect and analyze data

The third step is to collect and analyze the data that corresponds to your indicators. You should use appropriate methods and tools to gather, store, and process the data, such as surveys, interviews, audits, reports, and software. You should also apply ethical and transparent principles to ensure the accuracy, credibility, and confidentiality of the data. You should then analyze the data to identify trends, patterns, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

4 Report and communicate results

The fourth step is to report and communicate the results of your data analysis to your relevant audiences. You should use clear, concise, and engaging formats and channels to present your findings, such as dashboards, infographics, stories, and videos. You should also highlight your achievements, challenges, learnings, and recommendations. You should tailor your messages to the needs and interests of your audiences, such as managers, colleagues, clients, funders, and media.

6 Plan and implement actions

The sixth and final step is to plan and implement actions based on your results, feedback, and learning. You should prioritize the most important and urgent actions that will help you achieve your goals and address your challenges. You should also set deadlines, assign responsibilities, and allocate resources for each action. You should then execute the actions and monitor their outcomes and impacts. You should also review and adjust your plan as needed.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?