Sustainability starts with strategy session(s) for the business to effectively take its first steps in choosing and refining sustainability goals and objectives. Here are key steps to help get started when planning and executing sustainability strategies:
1. Assemble a cross-functional team: Many sustainability outcomes require passionate people from different expertise and influence in the business to be successful. Assemble the Sustainability Committee of around 5-10 people and keep note of managers not in the committee with interest and power that could champions sustainability projects later through this process. This can help to ensure future projects have support from key senior internal stakeholders.
2. Begin defining the scope: In the committee, discuss topics and brainstorm and draft priorities. Chunking the sessions will help prevent confusion and improve focus on the topic at hand, to lead to a more structured approach defining sustainability issues and priorities. Before each strategy session research and share the preliminary findings to workshop. Topics include:
– The company’s area of influence in ESG matters,
– What their current sustainability actions are,
– What competitors are doing in the industry,
– Who are the stakeholders,
– What are upcoming trends in regulatory changes,
– Sustainability risks and opportunities and
– What do clients want to see based on tenders and public documents, and
– Discuss what does success look like for the business with sustainability.
3. Conduct a sustainability materiality assessment: Using the insights of the research and committee brainstorm, select an appropriate structured framework for a materiality assessment. Include all relevant sustainability issues that affect the business as discussed with the Sustainability Committee, and industry stakeholders. It might help to perform a stakeholder map to determine generally stakeholder influence and communication level. The materiality assessment should then be shared with a large number of stakeholders internally and externally to the business. Ensure it is easy to understand and access. Suggest including complementary questions such as the person completing the questionnaire career position, and where they fit as a stakeholder to understand your stakeholders.The result of the materiality assessment will map perceived priorities of internal stakeholders versus perceived priorities of external stakeholders. The first questionaire can be general, but future questionnaires can be pulse checks and delve further into specific topics.
4. Finalise the priority objectives: Based on the results of industry research, sustainability committee brainstorming and materiality assessment, determine a priority list over an interval of years to focus on developing. Have the priority list approved by manager(s), taking care to include and brief those managers who identified as champions to support the projects, and determine if any priorities could be tied in with any enterprise level strategies.
5. Set clear targets and objectives: With the Sustainability Committee and key manager(s), decide the main priority objectives for the next few years. Is important to set clear sustainability targets and action plans that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART). This can help to ensure that sustainability efforts are focused and effective.
6. Assign responsibilities and timelines: Some goals will require new metrics to be measured on a regular basis and responsibilities assigned to collect data and manage projects. To ensure that sustainability targets and objectives are implemented effectively, it is important to assign responsibilities to roles and timelines for each action item. This can help to ensure accountability and track progress over time.
7. Follow up and review progress: Project manage by arranging regular team meetings on progress towards sustainability goals and plans. This can involve discussions on barriers, celebration of milestones and disclosure reporting progress with other stakeholders internally and externally according to the structured framework(s) chosen.
By following these steps, businesses can run effective strategy on sustainability objectives that help to identify key sustainability issues, set clear goals and action plans, and ensure accountability and progress over time.