Thinking about setting sail for new sustainable horizons? You’re not the only one. The problem is, not many of us know how to sail a boat. To be frank, not many people know how to read map coordinates, how to hoist the sail or even where to get a boat from, let alone afford it.
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Don’t worry, you don’t need to know the nautical analogies to get started today.
All you need to know is that you want to do something, anything, about your sustainability goals. Then we’ll do the rest for you.
You might be an individual as part of a big corporate machine.
You could be the founder of a small but influential business.
It might even just be you on your own adventure as a freelancer in the business world.
There are many reasons to have sustainability goals, from reducing your impact on the environment to simply enhancing your reputation. But the most important thing to remember is to keep them simple. Let’s not overcomplicate something that’s quite straight-forward.
Why creating your sustainability goals are simple
You’ve decided that you want to incorporate sustainability into your professional world, otherwise, you wouldn’t be here. But other than that, it’s a big black hole of ‘I don’t know’. At least you’re not alone.
The word sustainability is a bit vague altogether, isn’t it?
Grasping hold of what that means is something you need to invent for you and your workplace. It’s all taking a lot of brain power, ‘brain power better served elsewhere’ you’re no doubt thinking!
But it’s simple.
You want to be more sustainable. Which means all you really need to know is what actions and habits you’re already doing in your workplace.
Sustainability is all about reduction. Reducing impact, waste, water-usage, energy consumption, carbon footprints. So, to set sail on a sustainability journey all you need to know is where you currently are.
How to select the category of your sustainability goal
Take a look at the current situation. How many people are in your workplace? Are you all commuting to one destination? Can energy, waste, water, carbon be reduced? Is money being invested in un-eco-friendly businesses?
Answering these basic questions, even in a small capacity can help give you some sustainability goals.
Are there lots of people travelling to work? Could you focus on reducing the company’s carbon footprint? There are so many things that can impact and reduce the carbon footprint of a workplace, form sourcing local foods to have a low-carbon cafeteria to offering hybrid working to reduce commuting carbon footprints.
Energy. Waste. Water. There are so many different categories that you can work in to make a sustainable difference. All you need to do is pick one where you think your can make a difference.
You see, there’s an answer for anything and everything.
Even if you’re a two-person operation working from home, there are transferrable actions to do at home that can overall help contribute to sustainability goals. Not to mention that this could save you on your household bills.
How to set the objective of your sustainability goal
Now that you realise just how easy it can be to make a change, it’s time to take those first steps. You’ve asked questions to figure out what’s going on in your workplace, but now you need to ask questions that allow you to move forward.
Goals need to be something tangible, something that you can make practical steps towards. They need to be measured, impactful and achievable.
What they don’t need to do, is give you a headache.
Remember. To move off the start line, you need to create one. Discover your baseline by asking the questions which give you quantifiable outcomes.
Get an idea of how big the carbon footprint of your average employee is.
Take a look at how many employees are recycling correctly.
Ask the maintenance person which bulbs they’re replacing and what they’re being replaced by.
Speak to HR and ask whether the pension scheme is investing into fossil fuels or green energy.
You’ve got an idea of what you want to target in the workplace, now is the time to move away from it in a measurable manner.
Why achieving your sustainability goals is question-filled
You’ll notice that most of what we’ve discussed here today is asking everyone in your professional circle a variety of questions.
Ask the questions that allow you to know what category of sustainability you want to target, then ask the quantifiable questions that allow you to move forward and towards that goal.
The more questions you ask, the better map you can create for yourself so you can set sail towards that sustainable horizon, knowing that you’re in the right boat with the right coordinates.