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Sustainability is a longterm program that can define and change how a company operates in the future.
To this end, a sustainability road map can help your company progress toward that future. To create one requires a working knowledge of both where you are now, and where you want to be—and actionable steps to reach your goal.
The road map is fundamental to the success of these goals, as it prioritizes actions a company can complete with the available resources and technology.
When you work this way, sustainability inevitably becomes part of the environment, rather than simply being about the environment.For this transition, companies need a strategy and not simply a set of aspirations.
Many companies in the petrochemical industry are fundamentally reinventing themselves to become more sustainable. The plastics processing industry too can benefit from change, but strategic planning is vital.
Companies need:
- To produce a road map and plan for a sustainable future
- To understand and communicate their plans internally and externally
- To understand and communicate that sustainability is not only about environmental issues, but about social and economic issues
The sustainability road map is an essential part of doing this.
Action:
- Use the material actions to start to define the sustainability road map
- The road map should include an ordered list of actions, a schedule for the actions, and an approximate cost/benefit analysis of the actions
- Use the road map as the basis for a sustainability management program, considering energy, for instance
Take the time to plan carefully. Do not be in a rush to take complex action, sustainability is too multi-layered for ‘quick fixes’. There will be actions that are self-evident and should be completed as soon as possible, such as energy management, but many actions will require careful planning.
Dr Robin Kent - ©Tangram Technology Ltd.
Twice per month, we will share some useful, actionable advice with you from leading sustainability consultant Dr. Robin Kent.
Visit our blog to read more posts featuring practical, actionable advice for better energy management and to read more about Dr. Kent.
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