subject: What Does Sustainability Really Mean For Your Business? [print this page] There is a lot of real misconceptions about sustainability because having a sustainable business is about much more that just the environment.
There are many things that can cause a business to be unsustainable including human error and careless decisions. We even see very successful sports stars making their business of sport unsustainable because of their poor decisions (there is a prominent golf example at present).
The world is just emerging from a global financial crisis when some large corporate financial practices were found to be unsustainable and the impact went far beyond their businesses.
You would have to have been hiding somewhere very remote to have missed all the squabbles about how sustainability applies to global warming and what to do about it.
What a mix came together in Copenhagen! - Climate change deniers - Left wing radical greenies - Developing nations sent activists with their hands out - Politicians with images to sustain at home - And lots more
I don't know about you but thank goodness I don't have to try to balance all that.
So how does all this affect your business?
Climate change is simply another sustainability issue - just a giant scale of what each and every business faces in many areas, not just environmental.
Like building any workable management system the experts need to identify the risks and do risk analysis without all the noise and emotion. The negotiators then need to build a management plan and this includes: - Overall objectives - The targets that need to be met to achieve those objectives - The resources that are needed - Defining who is responsible and also a time for completion or implementation.
The resources needed will cost money and the developed world needs to help those who can't afford to make changes and will also need to supervise those changes so that the money is not diverted. And this needs to allow the recipients to retain their dignity.
Inevitably also those wanting help will be unhappy because more would be better and those giving will be unhappy because they have had to make commitments and contributions then justify them when they go home.
It does sound like any other business. You need a well thought-out rik-based management plan. You do need a feedback systems so that you have a place to report and learn from mistakes so that they are not repeated.
Your business is kept running profitably when you have sustainable business practices. These practices include: - really listening to your clients so that they want to continue buying from you, - Building and maintaining a credible image and reputation so that the right clients are attracted to you - looking after the health and welfare of your greatest asset - your staff, - knowing and understanding your legal requirements and having training and procedures so that it is easier for your staff to do things that right way than to make a mistake and accidentally break the law, - preventing watage of energy and materials as well as preventing the more obvious environmental damage - proactively being aware of changing conditions, and of course they include managing your finances.
We have all heard the old adage 'Failing to plan is planning to fail' - it is so true. The secret to building a sustainable business is to identify all your activities, assess where you have risks then plan to manage those risks. This way you can build resilience, prevent damaging errors and have a business that continues into a profitable future.
by: Jean Cannon
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