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Corporate sustainability can indeed feel like a burden, as it often means more paperwork and more resources been put onto ESG matters; but current sustainability trends and demands are here to stay, so you’d better start working on them.
We are deep into yet another year where corporate sustainability stands (or should stand) as a top priority in company boards, as it is increasingly more difficult to ignore the need to tackle key social and environmental challenges.
The world tells us is time to move beyond carbon and look at ESG trends in a new way, one that can help fight climate change and create better businesses.
But what kind of sustainable initiatives or actions should companies pursue? Continue reading to find out more about the current corporate sustainability trends companies cannot ignore.
Understanding current corporate sustainability trends
The last few years have been rather challenging for companies across the world, and sustainability demands often times came into play as more of a burden than a new business opportunity.
Nonetheless, this does not take away the fact that corporate sustainability is crucial to the well functioning of any organization, and it is full of business opportunities if only we look upon it with the right eyes.
Engage employees in the sustainability strategy
Unfortunately many companies decide to put sustainability aside on the backburner, but climate change and the need for socio-economic changes are not going anywhere, in fact they are only deepening further.
Companies need to take action now, and understanding current corporate sustainability trends is a good place to start bringing sustainable causes back to the strategic forefront of business. Let’s take a look at these trends.
Getting ready for upcoming regulations
Although it has also come to be known as a ‘tsunami of regulations’, we prefer to look at this trend with a more positive outlook, and actually understand that this is our institutions’ way of saying we need to hurry up if we want to call climate change a thing of the past; and the best way to achieve this is through mandatory regulations.
This year 2024 is yet another year that will be greatly defined by corporate sustainability regulations all around the globe.
This should come as no surprise if we look at how the EU is already setting ambitious goals for their sustainable regulatory framework (we should know best, we’ve made an entire guide on the topic).
But what does this actually mean for companies? Although indeed it means legal departments need to step up their sustainability game, it also means companies will need to provide increasingly more robust and insightful ESG data.
But before you roll your eyes upon yet more paperwork, this increase in assessing and compiling sustainable data is actually a great opportunity for sustainable growth and development. How else would you create any meaningful sustainable value if you do not have a clear picture of everything that is at stake in this regard?
Shifting the climate conversation beyond carbon emissions
Reducing carbon emissions has been the sole focus of many organizations and even governments when dealing with the climate crisis, but it would be naive to think this is it. Yes, moving away from fossil fuels is important and necessary, but it is just one part of a much bigger road towards a healthy planet.
What this trend tells us is that when companies look for taking climate action there needs to be a more holistic approach to the matter.
Tackling climate change is mainly about protecting nature, and so as much as we need to reduce GHG emissions as a whole, companies also need to put their focus on how they can impact biodiversity. And if the idea that deforestation and the loss of diversity is a threat to humanity does not alarm you, remember it is also a great threat to businesses and the many resources they rely upon to operate comfortably.
The importance of communicating right
Companies need to step up their communication game if they want to succeed in their sustainable journey. As a matter of fact, even regulatory demands are putting the strain on this and trying to put an end to false or misleading ‘green’ statements.
What does this mean? Well, first of all, sustainability statements should not come solely from the company itself, but rather look for third party independent verification. And most importantly, in order to call a product or service sustainable there needs to be sufficient evidence for the claim.
Sounds rather easy right? And it is. Transparency is the best policy, and the only one stakeholders will accept. But the fact that this is such an important corporate sustainability trend just comes to show how much there is left to be done.
Guide to avoid greenwashing claims
Engage employees in the sustainability strategy
In DoGood, we aim to simplify the complex web of sustainability objectives for companies by offering a platform that translates the high-level ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) objectives into actionable tasks for every single employee.
Then, each employee not only knows how to make an impact but also feels empowered to contribute meaningfully to the greater sustainable strategy.
No more vague directives. No confusion. DoGood automates the process, making it seamless for the workforce to know precisely what steps to take.
