Sustainability: business, life, environment

The business community and the general public are quickly realizing that greenwash goes beyond just making false or misleading claims about products.  The fact is that greenwash is far more prevalent away from the store shelves than one might believe.  A growing risk is for many organizations is the widening gap between company stated goals and their actual business sustainability actions. 

A recent BSR report, Communicating on Climate Policy Engagement: A Guide to Sustainability Reporting, finds that a more educated public is, for one, aware of inconsistencies between corporate stated climate goals and business action.  Companies are either inconsistent in their own reduction programs or are misaligned with supportive policy or legislative efforts.

According to BSR, reviewing and reflecting on business sustainability strategies is especially important for companies with investors who care about why and how they expect to create value with their efforts.  Companies, now more than ever, need to be very clear with their communications. 

A framework for companies to better communicate their environmental message must remain aligned with their true business sustainability practices and/or products.  Our sustainability consulting stresses the importance of providing effective and valuable information to key company stakeholders.  A few stress tests of business sustainability claims might include:

•    Is the topic of your message a significant environmental achievement?
•    Have you already achieved the results in your claim?
•    Are other activities in your company consistent with this message?
•    Have you engaged stakeholders and incorporated their feedback?
•    Could your claim be supported by a credible third party?
•    Is it easy for people to understand your claim and its significance?
•    Do you have data to back up your claim?
•    Is the message honest and not self-glorifying?
 
Our sustainability consulting focuses on the propagation of clear information and reporting  on sustainable actions.  We encourage business to recognize the value in providing transparency into the implementation of sustainability concepts into their core business functions.