5 things you need to build a sustainable organisation
Sustainability is good for business. In fact, the benefits of incorporating sustainability into your business strategy go far beyond environmental and climate responsibility. They also drive long-term economic growth, profitability, and competitiveness. But how do you build a sustainable organisation? How do you promote sustainability internally and make sure your people and organisation stick to it? We identified five essential ideas to make it work.
1. Top-down: a strong vision on sustainability
The role of sustainable leadership cannot be overstated. Leaders with a strong vision on sustainability can act as a driving force that ensures sustainability gets ingrained into an organisation’s culture. Sustainability is not just about using innovative technology or complying to regulations. It’s also about vision and strategy. Leaders with vision must be the guide in their organisation’s sustainability journey.
Of course, we live in an economic reality. Leaders therefore need to balance growth and sustainability, or in other words: short-term and long-term goals. A true sustainability leader succeeds in presenting a sustainable vision for the future, but also manages to outline a strategy and a pragmatic path to get to that future.
That strategy needs to be agile and adaptable enough to respond to new sustainability challenges, emerging technologies, or new regulations. To make sure employees stay motivated and committed to that vision, continuous communication is key to make it top-of-mind throughout the organisation.
An example of a sustainability vision and strategy is the Route 2030 roadmap of Beaulieu International Group. B.I.G.’s vision is to achieve a zero environmental footprint by 2030. To further consolidate this commitment, the company developed a roadmap that reflects its sustainable approach with five routes leading to a zero-footprint future.
2. Bottom-up: empowering employees to drive change
Sustainability should not just be a thing you read about on the company website. It needs to live throughout the organisation. Yes, the marketing and communications department does have a role in spreading the company’s sustainability vision to the masses. But ultimately, it’s the commitment of people in the organisation that will make a true difference.
Given that a company’s sustainability strategy is clear, employees need to be able to contribute to it and be able to actively participate in sustainability initiatives. Employee-led sustainability projects need to be stimulated. Employees can especially have an impact in projects that work on the reduction of emissions in the company, for example coming from electricity, cooling or heat (scope 1 and 2).
At B.I.G., the belief that sustainability must be collectively shaped by all employees, took form in the company’s Reshaper campaign. That belief means that we can all contribute to reshape processes, behaviors, and societal norms.
Internal communication is key to get everyone on board. With its project All Voices Count, B.I.G. wants to increase employee engagement through efficient communication. The goal is to optimise access to strategic company information for all employees – wherever they are, whichever department they work in. To regularly inform employees, B.I.G. uses Global Team Meetings, local site sessions, and an internal communication app, posting news on a daily basis.
3. The right talents in the right place
To put a sustainability strategy into practice, companies need to attract the right talents. This includes creating specific roles that focus on sustainability, such as a Sustainability Officer/Manager/Director or Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Manager. Job descriptions like this signal to potential talents that the company is serious about reaching its sustainability goals.
At the same time, sustainability needs to be everyone’s business in the company. Whether they’re in R&D, supply chain management, operations, sales, quality management or HR, sustainability needs to be embedded into each function's core responsibilities. It’s the only way for an entire organisation to work cohesively towards achieving long-term sustainability goals.
4. A culture of continuous learning
There are no silver bullet solutions for sustainability. The story is complex, especially in interior design and the soft flooring industry: sustainability challenges and technologies are constantly evolving, and companies need to adapt to changing realities. That’s why including continuous training and education into a sustainability strategy is key.
Employees need to be trained on ever evolving sustainability practices, technologies, legislation and compliance rules. Continuous training and knowledge sharing raises awareness with employees, who can learn from the best practices in their professional network. It also promotes a culture of responsibility, empowering employees to contribute meaningfully to the company's sustainability efforts.
5. Involvement from customers and suppliers in your strategy
While developing and implementing your sustainability strategy, it’s important to stay in touch and strengthen the ties with suppliers, customers and other stakeholders, who can help you reach your goals. Continuous collaboration with customers and suppliers not only helps to build trust, confirming the belief that your company is taking sustainability seriously, but it can also bring in new ideas or feedback on how to better implement your sustainability strategy.
As an example, B.I.G. organised its first Sustainability Forum in November 2023, an event where the company exchanged best practices and experiences on sustainability with dozens of business partners. Topics included ways to foster a sustainability culture, circular business models, and raising awareness throughout the value chain.
Apart from the trust-building aspect, companies also need to make sure their supply chain meets certain sustainability criteria. By involving suppliers and customers, companies can ensure compliance with these standards and meet the growing expectations of regulators and consumers.
Also, in measuring scope 3 emissions – indirect emissions that occur in the value chain – it’s important to cultivate a culture of collaboration and mutual understanding. This way, everyone is more willing to share detailed information about their emissions, energy use, material sources and sustainability initiatives, which is essential for accurate reporting.
Conclusion: bringing your sustainability strategy to life
Building a sustainable organisation requires a holistic approach that integrates strong leadership, employee empowerment, the right talent, continuous learning, and collaboration with external partners.
By embedding sustainability into every level of the organisation and fostering a culture of responsibility and innovation, companies can drive meaningful change that not only helps the climate, but also enhances long-term business success.
More than anything, sustainability is people business.
