3 Tips for Building Sustainability as a Small Business

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3 Tips for Building Sustainability as a Small Business

By Sarah Lynch | Inc Magazine | November 22, 2023

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True sustainability isn’t a flimsy badge of honor–it’s a real commitment.  That was the refrain among panelists speaking at a jam-packed sustainability break-out session taking place at the recent Inc. 5000 conference in San Antonio. Panelists included Sergio Castillo, president and CEO of Eco BCG, Iain Forsyth, general manager of vans marketing and product management at Mercedes-Benz USA, and Al Subbloie, CEO at Budderfly.  As all of these companies operate in different industries, it may be obvious that their ideas of sustainability may vary. They all agreed, however, that a good plan starts and ends with your team.

Share your goals with the team.  CEOs can tout the values of sustainability all they want, but getting that commitment across to the wider team is imperative.  Live those sustainability goals with your employees to get that buy-in. Share with them why you’re doing it and what the company’s goals are.

Consider the goals of your customers and partners.  If your company supplies materials or services to other organizations, understanding their sustainability initiatives could be as key as understanding your own.  For instance, some companies want to be affiliated with the Net Zero standard, which requires reporting on Scope 3 emissions: indirect emissions in their value chain. Thus, providing bigger customers and partners with clear information about your own sustainability practices could be a differentiator

Don’t expect immediate results.  Sustainability can have a powerful impact long-term, but the short-term work is often grueling and expensive.   Companies take small steps toward their goals and in orienting the culture of the company toward sustainability. It’s learning the basics first, and then bringing it throughout the organization.

2 key takeaways from the article

1. True sustainability isn’t a flimsy badge of honor–it’s a real commitment.  That was the refrain among panelists speaking at a jam-packed sustainability break-out session taking place at the recent Inc. 5000 conference in San Antonio. 
2. Panelists included president and CEO of Eco BCG, general manager of vans marketing and product management at Mercedes-Benz USA, and CEO at Budderfly.  As all of these companies operate in different industries, it may be obvious that their ideas of sustainability may vary. They all agreed, however, that a good plan starts and ends with your team and offer three advices:  share your goals with the team, consider the goals of your customers and partners, don’t expect immediate results.

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Topics:  Sustainability, Leadership, Team