Being a sustainable business can allow firms to prioritise both profits and the planet: Kate Hutchinson

While some companies have provided the evidence and insight, even investing and launching products that are entirely driven by the desire to become more sustainable, others have been accused of ‘greenwashing’.

With very negative connotations, this term refers to a company that makes claims which perceive them to be more environmentally focused than they are.

Today, we have better guidance and governance in place when it comes to environmental accountability, including the need for larger businesses to publicly report on their annual energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.

Through Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reports (SECR), a company can measure, track and share this insight. Fundamentally, for business, this also provides Scope 1, 2 and 3 data, which provides a measure of upstream and downstream environmental impact.

Some people may question why this is important to SMEs that are not yet required by law to submit SECRs. However, it comes down to the supplier network. After all, how sustainable a product or service is can only truly be defined from its entire life cycle, not just a part of that process.

When a company has this data from its suppliers, it can make informed decisions about the partners it chooses and those that it procures products from. As a result, it will increase or reduce its overall impact on the planet.

All of this can be quite overwhelming when businesses are concentrating on keeping the lights on, rather than turning them off. When profits are considered a measure of sanity, some companies may think that a strategy for improving sustainability is not a priority.

In truth, it is a responsibility of us all to make changes that will lead to a cleaner and greener planet. What’s more, the UK’s net zero economy is said to have generated £83.1 billion in Gross Value Added, with £28.8 billion directly from net zero businesses and £54.3 billion from supply chain activities.

If that’s the case, becoming a more sustainable business could provide an entirely new revenue stream for those that innovate and evolve with this in mind.

As is often the case with change, many businesses say that they don’t have time. The challenge there is time for what? If you have no plan, you don’t know what time you will need to allocate to it.

There are some simple steps that companies can take to get started and put the foundations in place; from ensuring environmental impact and sustainability are on the agenda for board meetings to discussing the topic with suppliers, as well as developing and nurturing a culture that will embrace and champion change.

Although change can be a difficult subject to address in business, it’s also the only way to move things forward and evolve. It also provides opportunity and that’s what companies need to focus on.

It’s not a case of prioritising profits over the planet, putting sustainability targets in place and having a greater focus on the environment just may be the answer you’ve been looking for to address both.

Kate Hutchinson is CEO of the Sustainability Community