SUSTAINABILITY BRIDGET WILLIAMS
Sustainable policies that stick Bridget Williams outlines how to structure and create sustainable policies within your organisation and, most importantly, how to make these policies stick to avoid greenwashing (and the bin altogether).
T
he term ‘sustainability’ has evolved and developed throughout the years. With the publication of The Limits to Growth and the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, both occurring in 1972, the term ‘sustainability’ had a strong connection to the environment and finite supply of resources. Fast forward 45 years, and it has been recognised that, because many of these environmental issues are human-made, it will take our intervention to make changes. Therefore, the concept of ‘sustainability’ has grown beyond the natural environment and now focuses on three areas: economic, social and environmental.
The five P’s
These three areas are a great starting point for any organisation developing its sustainable policy, and they parallel three areas of the 18
HUMAN RESOURCES
SUMMER 2021
17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a framework I have referenced in the past two issues. Speaking of the SDGs, the official agenda, Transforming Our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, refers to what are known as ‘the five P’s’: • peace • people • planet • prosperity • partnerships. These are the five sustainable focuses within the agenda and are a helpful reference for any organisation’s sustainable policy. The five P’s go into further detail than just economic, social and environmental factors and can be linked to an existing environmental, social and governance policy and measured by the SDGs.
Creating sustainable policies
Before your organisation starts creating its sustainable policy, it needs to consider the objectives of this policy. Just as the SDGs are the roadmap for ensuring we meet the requirements of Agenda 2030, so too are your policies for ensuring your organisation satisfies its sustainable intentions. Policy is
about creating a structured and accountable programme for the areas of sustainability you want to affect. If we consider the five P’s, the sustainable intentions for each could be as follows. • Peace: – Building a trusted and reliable brand through transparency and delivering a quality service or product. – Creating an accountable, transparent and effective governance structure. • People – Growing and celebrating a diverse and inclusive company culture that provides opportunities for all its employees. – Promoting the importance of wellbeing and a healthy lifestyle throughout our team. • Planet – Reduce waste regeneration through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse. – Reduce carbon emissions to become carbon neutral. • Prosperity – Become more competitive in the marketplace. – Attract and retain the best staff.
