2. Engage Stakeholders
The most common ‘mistake’ made is a failure to address
the all-important issue of hearts and minds. We must
recognise that simply changing the containers we use to
collect waste or altering the collection frequency does
little more than scratch the surface of what is possible.
Changing the way your employees think about waste is,
without doubt, a difficult thing to do but also very powerful.
One simple action that can be taken is to start to change
the language we use. If we can get people to think,
not about waste, but about resources that have both a
commercial and environmental value it can be a small
but effective first step.
3.Communicate Change
Our audience has changed, it is no longer limited to
‘Heads of Sustainability’ or ‘Environmental Managers’
but now includes stakeholders from a broad spectrum
of responsibility, including purchasing, business
development, account management, FM and supply chain.
This diversification clearly presents a challenge in terms of
communication, but this is far outweighed by a larger more
engaged audience who recognise the commercial and
environmental opportunity.
Tear up the Rule Book
After considering these steps the best way to implement
change is to start at the point of procurement. Naturally
it is a very digital discipline, focusing (quite rightly), on
pounds and pence. Often, when the time does come for
change, the process ends up being a cost saving exercise
based on a like-for-like service. The resultant focus on
price per lift and collection frequency makes it hard to
implement any of the company’s sustainability objectives.
Businesses prepared to tear up what has gone before and
start by defining what they want to achieve are without
doubt, the most successful in bringing about change.
This enables the creation of a more flexible, creative and
efficient service, which is output focused and aligned to the
corporate objectives.
Don’t be Afraid to Be Bold
Be open and transparent about your intention. This means
publishing a meaningful statement with targets and timescales,
not just a vague positioning statement designed to
satisfy shareholders. Businesses should not be scared to
publish goals, that is, after all, what they are. If they cannot
be met, be honest about why. If there were external factors
that could have enabled these goals to be reached or that
impeded progress, use this as a way to raise awareness
and to try and bring about change.
4. Incentivise Change
Aligned to the point above, the carrot for change must
not be exclusively for those with an environmental remit
to chase. By including sustainability objectives into every
role, we can increase awareness and change behaviour
to help us work towards a common goal. It will also help
the understanding that sustainability is, indeed, a cross
functional responsibility and should start to influence the
way decisions are made.
5. Measure it to Manage it
This is a difficult one. Value is measured in more than
pounds and pence. As a business, you can drive value for
all your stakeholders be they shareholders, customers,
suppliers, employees or local communities through
developing a more sustainable business. Building this
dimension to your brand fosters loyalty and goodwill
and can help a business find new and engaging ways to
differentiate and grow.
Email to request full Sustainability Business Guide, which
includes further steps, quick win achievement techniques and
success stories:
nathan@helistrat.co.uk
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