Sustainability
MAKING
SUSTAINABILITY BUSINESS CRITICAL
Sustainability may be rooted in ethics, but its commercial value is increasingly undeniable. Yet for many smaller or leaner organisations, embracing it can still feel like an uphill climb. In this piece, Andrea Bowyer, Sustainability Lead at Westcoast, reflects on the company’s own journey and shares practical guidance to help leaders embed sustainability as a core strategy.
A
Andrea Bowyer, Sustainability Lead at Westcoast
t Westcoast, sustainability gained significant traction once we linked it to the core business strategy. Successfully
bridging the gap between commercial viability and sustainability involves clearly communicating in terms familiar to your board, ensuring sustainability is recognised as both necessary and valuable. Aligning sustainability initiatives with
financial, CSG and ESG goals helped ensure they were recognised not as ‘nice to have’ extras, but as essential contributors to business value. Initially, Westcoast’s sustainability efforts
occurred in silos. Introducing a central Sustainability Lead role unified these efforts and significantly enhanced collaboration across departments. However, true integration requires building connections and fostering clear, consistent communication internally. Encourage dialogue, educate employees and create sustainability advocates in all areas of your business.
22 | January/February 2026 Empower your teams with the knowledge,
confidence and authority to drive change and innovate within their roles. By actively engaging employees through training, internal workshops and open forums for ideas, we have seen teams thinking actively about sustainability within their day-to-day roles. Establishing a clear point of contact also made collaboration easier and more coordinated. Navigating sustainability legislation can seem
complex, but proactively understanding what regulations apply to your business is key. At Westcoast, we’ve learned the importance of
early preparation for upcoming legislation such as the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). You don’t have to tackle compliance alone; engage with your internal stakeholders, including finance and data teams, and reach out to external suppliers for their insights and support. Asking questions early helps clarify your requirements, allocate sufficient preparation time and build collective responsibility within your organisation.
www.pcr-online.biz
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52
