5 essentials to becoming a more sustainable startup
In the second part of our guide to sustainability for startups, Daniel Collins from sustainability consultancy Avieco, explains the essential elements when creating your plan.
04 March 2021 • 2 minute watch
Key elements
An effective sustainability strategy entails addressing the impact your business is having on the environment, understanding stakeholder expectations, alignment with the overall business strategy, and communication throughout the organisation.
- Impact areas: It's vital to address your material impact areas as a first step to reducing them. For example, with tech startups, emissions from data centres may be something you need to consider when devising a carbon footprint report.
- Stakeholder expectations: As a startup you will have various stakeholders and their expectations will vary. It's important to understand and manage these expectations, deciding which need to be prioritised within your strategy.
- Strategic alignment: Sustainability plans must fit with the overall business strategy. If not, there will be constant tension and a lack of commitment and resource to meeting your sustainably goals. Buy-in from senior leadership is essential as the business strategy and mission may need to change to accommodate improved sustainability.
- Communication: It's imperative that the entire organisation is engaged throughout the sustainability strategy process – and this needs effective communication from Day 1. Among the most common reasons for failure of a sustainability strategy is a lack of buy in from across the organisation. Explain what you are doing and why. Seek input at all levels and share ownership.
- Act early: Baking in sustainability early in the life of a startup, rather than retrofitting a later date, will help create long term value for your business. You want to add sustainability into your company's DNA. It makes it easier to make the right decisions and take a sustainable path from the outset.
In the next video we look at how to quantify your business’s environmental impact.
Barclays (including its employees, Directors and agents) accepts no responsibility and shall have no liability in contract, tort or otherwise to any person in connection with this content or the use of or reliance on any information or data set out in this content unless it expressly agrees otherwise in writing. It does not constitute an offer to sell or buy any security, investment, financial product or service and does not constitute investment, professional, legal or tax advice, or a recommendation with respect to any securities or financial instruments.
The information, statements and opinions contained in this content are of a general nature only and do not take into account your individual circumstances including any laws, policies, procedures or practices you, or your employer or businesses may have or be subject to. Although the statements of fact on this page have been obtained from and are based upon sources that Barclays believes to be reliable, Barclays does not guarantee their accuracy or completeness.
Topic