How can a business build a sustainable culture and create a positive impact?

Culture is vital. If we try to inject sustainability thinking into the wrong cultural context, we don’t get very far. It’s important to get the right values, mindsets and behaviours in place, if we are to generate sustainable business success, by nourishing five key attributes: 'honesty', recognition of where we are, able to face the truth that business as usual is dead; a 'mindset of transformation' (perhaps through necessity), rather than incremental change; 'active curiosity', open to find new ways of doing things; genuine collaboration in developing radical, new solutions; and finally, we need 'courageous leadership', unafraid to experiment and try bold new approaches. If we are to succeed, there is much good work to be done!

🌍 Sustainability has become the latest buzzword, particularly among listed companies. Fantastic to get such spotlight but let’s acknowledge: many organizations still lack substantive actions behind professed commitments. This may be our last opportunity to mitigate the detrimental effects on our environment - our responsibility to future generations. Frankly, if we just keep preaching and don't make sure that it's practiced on all levels of the organization, we are basically gone 🔚. Not just big corporations but SMEs shall also realize that achieving that balance between People, Planet, and Profit is not just feasible but crucial for sustained success. So do get dedicated resources to put it on a priority program level and start doing.🌱

The biggest challenge for-profit organizations face today is the resolution of the gap between the values communicated in e.g. Code of conducts and the actual practice of them. An effective corporate culture must clearly communicate its vision and values whilst practicing them starting from executive boards and management teams to the lowest layers of the organization. The culture must follow the old saying "practice what you preach".

If you haven't done so yet, you must reshape your mission, vision, and "how" represented by your values to fully integrate a sustainable culture, approach, decisions, and actions to drive the sustainable transition. These have to be continuously shared with all of the organization. Only if all of us row in the same direction with the same speed, will we create a better world for our children and future generations.

Some people surround themselves with many people and call them all their friends. For some people, this works. However, I prefer to have a few select friends that I develop a deep friendship with, rather than a bunch of people I don’t actually have a connection with. I have changed my mindset from wanting to be surrounded by people to embracing time with a few close friends. In work, I try to seek out opportunities where my work can also drive positive change.

The key to developing a sustainable culture is involving the leadership and staff. Leaders need to be advocates for sustainability, establishing the organization's values and course. Their dedication and responsibility demonstrated via their deeds encourage and enable staff members to adopt sustainable practices. Businesses that include everyone in the process foster a shared responsibility for environmental and social stewardship, resulting in significant change and long-term viability in a constantly changing global context.

"A sustainable company is made up of sustainable people." The greatest secret to implementing sustainability practices lies intrinsically within the culture, and culture is nothing more than having the CEO of the company and the professional at the forefront of the process speaking the same language, sharing the same purpose, and having the same vision of what the company is and will become. To achieve this, it is necessary to create a leadership and team training program within your company with a defined frequency, bringing in diverse topics. Over time, the culture will transform, and your results will increase!

To cultivate a sustainable culture, involving leadership and employees is paramount. Leaders must exemplify commitment to sustainability through actions, setting the organizational tone. Empowering employees with resources and incentives fosters a sense of ownership, encouraging initiative in sustainable practices. Establishing a culture of continuous learning and feedback propels innovation and idea sharing. Celebrating achievements reinforces positive behavior, building a collaborative environment. By engaging both leaders and employees, a business can establish a resilient foundation for sustainability, ensuring collective responsibility and lasting positive impact.

♻️ Engaging leadership and employees is essential for fostering a sustainable culture. Leaders should lead by example, demonstrating their commitment to sustainability and empowering employees to do the same. Providing training and development opportunities can enhance employees' understanding and involvement in sustainability initiatives. Encouraging open communication channels allows for the exchange of ideas and feedback, fostering a sense of ownership and collaboration. Recognizing and celebrating employees' contributions to sustainability efforts can further motivate and inspire engagement across the organization.

It all started with how the leadership in the company address sustainable issues clearly throughout the organization, put a direction on what to achieve in terms of ESG for every departments, and letting them know that they will be held responsible for those goals. Secondly the leadership may create and assign agents in middle management position to continuously advocate for sustainable issues. The third important step will be to assign talent acquisition function tp acquire talent who is familiar with the sustainable culture on their previous work.

A few effective practices to build a sustainable culture include: - making sustainable practices part of operation: this includes socially sustainable hiring and training programmes, adding ESG metrics into performance ratings & tying to bonus structures; and prioritising sustainability in operations through things like zero waste campuses or reduced electricity - focus on what your organisation can do and be narrow about it - do you want to lead in power generation, do you want to be low-carbon, will you lead in sustainable product development? set concrete goals that tie to your services. - empower orthers - encourage teams to build sustainability into their team or account plans, ask them to report on impact throughout the year

For a company to evolve sustainably, it's necessary to have performance indicators that incorporate sustainability. Sustainability indicators can indeed be directed to different areas; however, when we compartmentalize sustainability, we generate risks of not meeting the demands. To avoid this, it's crucial to have indicators aligned with the SDGs, GRI, among other aspects, for strategic alignment. And thus, your company will be geared towards a common objective.

🔆 Aligning strategy and operations involves embedding sustainability principles into every aspect of your organization. This includes incorporating sustainability considerations into decision-making processes, setting ambitious sustainability goals, and implementing policies and procedures to support these objectives. Furthermore, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and innovation allows for the identification of new opportunities to enhance sustainability performance and address emerging challenges. Regularly reviewing and adapting strategies ensures alignment with evolving environmental, social, and governance priorities, promoting long-term success and resilience in a rapidly changing world.

Integrate sustainability into every aspect of your business strategy and daily operations to ensure that your actions and goals work together effectively for meaningful progress. To make real progress, blend sustainability into all business aspects. That's it. -N

Enhancing ESG performance through specific, measurable, and time-bound targets, considering evolving standards like CSRD and SDGs, offers numerous benefits. A comprehensive materiality analysis identifies crucial issues, ensuring strategic alignment. Transparent KPIs, including carbon footprint and diversity indices, enhance accountability and align with ESG reporting standards, showcasing a commitment to impactful practices. Thorough risk assessments enable proactive obstacle addressing. Regular progress reporting not only strengthens transparency but also facilitates continuous adaptation of operational goals for sustained ESG success.

One thing I've found helpful to engage suppliers in building a sustainable culture is implementing a Supplier Code of Conduct. This document serves as a cornerstone for establishing clear expectations around sustainability practices and ethical standards. By outlining specific guidelines, it encourages suppliers to adhere to environmentally friendly operations and ethical business conduct. Moreover, it fosters a sense of accountability and partnership, aligning suppliers' operations with the overarching sustainability goals of the organization. The implementation of such a code not only enhances supply chain transparency but also strengthens relationships with suppliers who are committed to making a positive impact.

✅ Engaging customers and suppliers is essential for fostering a sustainable culture. By actively involving them in your sustainability initiatives, you can gain valuable insights into their expectations and preferences, leading to the development of more sustainable products and services. Additionally, transparent communication about your sustainability efforts can enhance trust and loyalty among your customer base while encouraging suppliers to adopt responsible practices. Collaborating with suppliers to improve their ESG performance can create a ripple effect throughout the supply chain, driving positive social and environmental impacts beyond your organization.

In today's day and age, it is crucial to engage not only employees and leadership on sustainability but also actively engage customers and suppliers. Together, they can help maximize the positive impact. It is important to identify and create processes that allow you to choose suppliers who help reduce your overall carbon footprint. This may involve educating them on your sustainability agenda through training workshops. Additionally, customers are willing to buy products that are environmentally sustainable and even pay a premium for them. It makes business sense to create products that add value to their life.

Important step of all: Create strong partnerships with customers and suppliers. Share a sustainability story. It enhances value and boosts progress together. After all, we are all part of the ecosystem. -N

In my experience, today customers are ready to pay a premium price for sustainable products and/or services. You must be brave and increase the number of premium sustainable products even if today they may cost more. The key success factor is to communicate to the customers the value added of these sustainable products compared with non-sustainable ones. Thanks to the regulation increasing, this is easier than in the past. If we look at our supply chain, the job is harder. Even in this case, the new regulations can help us, but you have to plan specific projects and investments to help your supply chain become more sustainable. This is a journey that has to start as soon as possible!

This is the core of all the moving parts. Cultivate alliances with similar groups, focus on community well-being. Boost sustainability impact together. As the founder of a grassroots nonprofit, I'm committed to saving lives and promoting sustainability. Our mission is woven into our communities. We focus on compassion, innovation, and collaboration. Our goal is a lasting impact, solving challenges and ensuring a sustainable future. -N

To maximize impact, businesses should prioritize building long-term, trust-based relationships with partners and communities. This fosters mutual understanding, cooperation, and shared commitment to sustainability goals, leading to more effective collaboration and lasting positive impact.

Once the culture is established - it needs to be reinforced. The axiom I live by is 'reward what you want repeated'. You catch people living out the values and cultures of the organization. At the same time you privately correct those who don't. Spend time where you want other to spend their time.

Encourage employees to explore new ideas, approaches, and technologies that can drive sustainability forward. Embrace a mindset of continuous learning and adaptation, where mistakes are seen as opportunities for growth and improvement. By fostering a culture of innovation, businesses can stay ahead of the curve and effectively address emerging sustainability challenges. Consider establishing innovation hubs or dedicated teams focused on sustainability innovation. Encourage cross-functional collaboration and provide resources and support for experimentation and pilot projects. Celebrate and recognize innovative ideas and initiatives to reinforce the importance of creativity and innovation in driving sustainability progress.

As you renew: Correct accidental culture. These are those areas that everyone does or a behavior everyone has. Correct these and change these before they become the norm (eg. late response, tardiness, attitude, etc) Identity aspirational culture. As you correct, ask yourself what is missing and then highlight the top values and see if it is a fit to incorporate. Don't just incorporate it because it SHOULD be there but because you are almost there and can add it with intentional action.

Identify your best sustainable ambassador and using a cross-fertilization approach, spread your sustainable vision, mission, and values through the whole organization.

Over the years I have often said that what you see is what you get when it comes to me. My authenticity is perhaps my most consistently recognized trait. Some will love me and some may be confused by me, but pretty much everyone that has worked for, or with me would say the same thing about me. I would hope that part of the good would be imprinted on companies where I have worked and within organizations I have led. Organizational culture has a profound and long lasting effect on performance. The culture of an organization will develop whether it is guided intentionally or not and once it has formed it becomes very difficult to change.

Whether it's the leadership team, your employees, your clients or your suppliers, everyone needs to clearly understand what's in it for them in order to participate in the sustainable culture effort. How is this beneficial for their well-being, growth and financial success? What are the benefits for everyone to join the effort?

While taking on a new role at 30, I looked at what was there, what I wanted there, and what needed to be there. We chose 7 values. We never posted these anywhere but in every staff meeting we started by talking about one of cultural values. When I handed off my role, the culture was so engrained that it taught the next leaders how to interact with people. While a few have been tweaked in the last 8 years since I left, the culture is still strong because we rehearsed it every week for years.

In my opinion, it is imperative to incorporate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) concepts into company operations to foster a sustainable culture and generate positive outcomes. This entails implementing sustainable measures including lowering carbon emissions, encouraging inclusiveness and diversity, and guaranteeing moral business practices. Promoting volunteerism and community service among staff members enhances the business's social responsibility. Businesses may promote long-term profitability, recruit top people, improve brand reputation, and drive good change by putting sustainability and social impact first.