The success of a sustainability program, like most initiatives by businesses, is that the entirety of the team knows the what and the how, along with the goals. These types of initiatives must have buy-in from every corner and division of a company (small businesses to large corporations) in order to be successful and bring value to a firm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Using one common aspect of a sustainability program, such as recycling, the importance of training or education becomes apparent when questions arise about what can be recycled, how it must be recycled and where it must be recycled. These are just a few examples of why bringing up the topic at the next meeting is so vital to how great your initiatives work. In other words, like many successful businesses, there is a lot of planning. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Benchmarking<\/em>: Setting benchmarks for your sustainability initiatives is highly important. These are the pieces a company will focus on and do it in a empirical way. Tracking this data is not only helpful to locate trends, it also helps with formal sustainability reporting for things like ESG or GRI. Additionally, tracking data can keep teams motivated. And for the consumers that question a firm’s intent or successes, this data can be used to tell the story, as long as it’s done in an empirical and transparent way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Teamwork<\/em>: To be successful, as already covered, all members of a team need to be involved to make a sustainability program a success. This involves the executive team to any and all departments in a corporate setting. For companies with satellite offices or retail settings, the same initiatives need to be carried out there as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Communications<\/em>: Internal communications about initiatives are just as important as communicating with all team members in the departments these messages are aimed at. Some of the most successful movements toward sustainability have been led by companies that involved the entire staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To get to the staff, this can (and should) include interviews and\/or surveys. Internal communications should also include reminder emails, and the main initiatives should always be brought up periodically (planned out) at meetings, whether that’s in-person or via remote workers. One important factor to remember is that sustainability should not stop at the office door. Even team members working 1,000 miles away should get behind these types of initiatives. It’s recommended to see what type of programs are available locally for remote employees to engage with. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Last, all communications (internal or external) should have a consistent message, and living authentically is a vital component to the brand’s and program’s success. If the president of the company is caught dumping 300 pounds of waste out the back window, it might not be a good look or add to the company’s morale in the program. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Internal advocates<\/em>: One way to make a sustainability program successful is to find internal leaders to help head the initiatives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n On a similar note, for external communication initiatives to be successful, employee advocates that are impassioned about the company’s content can be worked with to help spread content. An important factor about communication via social media is that it is mainly driven by individuals. Having these types of partners can really help drive a program’s success and boost a company’s bottom line as well. Other team advocates can also include people from the sales department, in particular, as they use it to generate leads and more sales. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Education\/training<\/em>: Generally speaking, if a group of people was surveyed on what can be recycled, they’d probably have to look it up, depending on where they lived or where their company was located. This is where education or training is important, and companies should take the lead if they want to get all the benefits from these initiatives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Partnerships<\/em>: Sometimes, it’s not possible to work through the regular channels to create a sustainability program that matches a company’s vision. Partnerships can help with this. For example, if a company wants to create a program to send its waste to a local farm, but there is no way that the company will come pick up a small amount of waste (it may not even be sustainable to do so), working with businesses in the area could lead to a grand alliance between neighbors and a success for the environment and local community as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Retention<\/em>: The potential to keep employees on board longer by creating and supporting successful sustainability programs is a very real outcome when using the tools mentioned in this blog. Retention in itself will save a company money on training for one, and it helps with a company’s image when there isn’t a high turnover rate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n External support (brand recognition)<\/em>: Creating and implementing a successful sustainability program can lead to brand recognition and the support of the general public on positive actions done on the social or environmental level. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Brand recognition<\/em>: Brand building and recognition, as just mentioned, can be a reaction to a successful sustainability program. Even small businesses can have successful sustainability programs that help build their brand, especially if they’re communicated effectively by a team that understands the mission, vision and core values of a firm. <\/p>\n\n\n\n One last point on sustainability is that everything a company does should also match with a firm’s mission, vision and core values. This also helps when crafting messages in your public relations department. Stepping outside who you are is not authentic and can almost seem chaotic. This is not something a firm wants to see when building a recognizable brand is a key goal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The success of a sustainability program, like most initiatives by businesses, is that the entirety of the team knows the what and the how, along with the goals. These types of initiatives must have buy-in from every corner and division of a company (small businesses to large corporations) in order to be successful and bring … <\/p>\nBenefits of a successful sustainability program<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Why are the mission, vision and core values also important? <\/h5>\n\n\n\n