WHAT IS LEFT FOR US TO DO BEYOND FULL DIGITISATION?

Is our contribution to reducing environmental impacts really just a drop in the ocean? We need to look at our contribution to a more sustainable society as a whole.

Every sustainable practice implemented, no matter how large or how much effort is put in, has an impact on the functioning of the whole system. Smaller companies can therefore also make a significant contribution to the environmental impact they have on their operating environment.

Here are a few ways you can take action to make your organisation more sustainable, whatever its size.

1.  What is sustainability anyway? Educate yourself on sustainability methods and concepts. Knowledge is power, acquire it and use it wisely. Find out about the laws and regulations relevant to your operations and address the most pressing issues, and with them the impact on your future business.

2.  Planning your sustainability strategy. Ask challenging questions. What do we do? Where are the gaps and where are the best opportunities for innovation? Ask employees for their opinion and self-reflect on your values and practices. You can read more about sustainable leadership in a previous blog (Link to Sustainable Leadership). Define your mission and vision.

3.  Make it easier to work from home. The more digitised an organisation becomes, the less need there is to work in a physical location. The past pandemic has only exacerbated the trend towards home-working and teleworking. This change has the potential to make a significant contribution to reducing transit.

4. Ensure that employees benefit from public transport. If you work in a physical location, using public transport is the most sustainable option. Most public transport companies allow you to buy time-specific tickets, which can be very convenient for your employees.

5.  Make sure you use sustainable products. Whether it’s recycled printing paper, other office supplies, used furniture and furnishings, even cleaning products and toilet paper. For more effective sustainability, create a sustainable workspace.

6.  Use green webs. Have you ever thought that websites also consume energy? Because servers are always on, where we store data is also important. Amazon is currently the largest provider of so-called “cloud computing” and is expected to achieve decarbonisation by 2040 with its own solar and wind farms.

7.  Do business with sustainable partners. It is important to surround ourselves, not only in our business life but also in our personal life, with people, partners and organisations that share the same or similar values and principles, and to orient ourselves according to the same moral compass. A sustainable organisation can only become sustainable with sustainable support.

Everyone’s path to sustainable growth and development is unique, it is just important to start as soon as possible. The faster the start, the faster the progress.