Businesses that fail to invest in sustainability will find their customers moving away . Besides worrying about the reputational impact of being associated with polluters , many large organizations are looking for big carbonneutrality gains by systematically going through their supply chain and switching to recyclables , low-pollution suppliers and sustainable alternatives . Various companies are already reaching beyond neutrality , striving for a positive contribution to the planet .
For instance , in the West , big retailers already expect their suppliers to operate as sustainably as possible and are further tightening their requirements , and this will soon be the norm in many other countries too . Many manufacturers are looking for alternative materials to use , new sources and invest heavily in recycling capabilities to minimize the requirement of original raw sources .
Only the most unwise and shortterm of businesses would neglect this trend and willingly suffer the inevitable consequences from so many stakeholders of not doing the utmost to minimize its carbon footprint , erosion , sinkholes , contamination of soil or groundwater , harm to biodiversity and other impacts on the environment .
Unleashing innovation
Becoming more sustainable requires a lot more than some new capital equipment , reducing flights and going paperless ( as desirable as these are ). Every element of the business operations and supply chain needs reviewing to identify the many adaptations most businesses need .
Indeed , with the huge impact of mining activity on nature , businesses in this sector have to try harder than other sectors if they are going to even get close to sustainability .
A large and sustained effort right across all functional areas is needed : exploration , innovation , engineering , marketing , sales , supply chain , purchasing , finance , and HR . There will be significant CapEx items , but the time of your people in identifying , implementing and sustaining the change is the biggest commitment .
Little will be achieved without the strongest possible commitment from the top . If it is not on your monthly executive agenda then you are not treating it seriously enough .
It is also vital to remember that behaviors at the top echo strongly throughout the business . For instance , if the only key metrics are around outputs like production quotas or line utilization to hit the quarterly numbers , then managers may seek to hit with little regard for environmental harm . However , if there are also targets around , for instance , reducing waste or saving energy then they will approach problems differently - providing senior management takes these targets seriously , of course . In fact , not only will they behave differently , but if properly empowered they will start to come forward with innovations to cut waste , pollution , recycling options , energy saving and other environmental impacts . Unleashing this innovation not only helps your business make big gains , but heads off future problems by creating a culture where environmental concerns are considered and tackled before they become a crisis .
Such empowerment needs a structure , such as through the monthly review cycle if you use the Integrated Business Planning approach common at many mining companies . Either way , empowerment needs a framework to channel and foster it .
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