3 Pitfalls that kill Corporate Sustainability & Climate Change Initiatives

As a business owner, there are many steps you can take to ensure that yourself and your team can go green. When planning a new sustainability program for your business, there are three common hurdles effecting a successful sustainability rollout:

Lack of Communication

The single most cited issue hindering sustainability initiatives in small and medium sized businesses is a lack of information. This includes a lack of information at the management level – regarding local incentives and regulations, as well as at the employee level – regarding what changes are being made, why, and how to follow them. Without a clear plan and a clear system to communicate new procedures to your staff, it’s very easy for things to get muddled and bring the initiative to a halt.

Too much, too fast

It’s common to have very ambitious plans when setting out to make your business sustainable, and that’s an admirable goal to shoot for. It’s also very crucial to make sure you don’t implement your plan in an unrealistic manner. Long-term sustainability starts with the low-hanging fruit, then gradually builds on your initial success. Try something small; implement a recycling program or switch to LED lighting before you commit to making major changes.

Poor research for Long-Lasting Effectiveness

While passion and leadership are key, a failure to be informed can limit the growth and future viability. There are many moving parts for any major project like this – not only are you changing your corporate culture, you also need to expand the program in a way that falls in line with government regulations, the limits of your supply chain, and your balance sheet. As much enthusiasm as you may have for this project, it’s important to know that this can only reach so far as your immediate staff. You’ll need to be more creative when dealing with external pressures, and a slow well-communicated approach can help you identify potential issues and mechanisms to overcome them.

The more resources at our disposal, the greater impact we can have. Corporate social responsibility is an important & key player in environmental protection. With the UN’s recent report on the effects of climate change, it’s time to step up and do what we can to reduce our impact on the environment.