3 tips to stay consistent with your business’s sustainability goals

Just like any goal – consistency is key. If you go to the gym regularly, you’ll see results. And if you value consistency when it comes to sustainability, you’ll see positive results for the planet, but also better ROI.

In EcoVadis’ latest report, their ‘data shows 167% surge in sustainability ratings’. And this is largely due to companies appreciating and understanding the benefits to both business and society.

I was interested to know which factors have enabled businesses to excel in their efforts, and a key point stuck out to me:

Consistency drives improvement.; Among companies rated more than once, 86% scored above the risk threshold (a score of 45 or higher), showing that regular assessment helps reduce risk and build stronger sustainability practices.

This is something we can all achieve. But, battling with busy schedules and workloads can leave us time poor. So, it’s important to understand how we can commit to this consistent approach.

As our applied behavioural scientist, Mark Hauser, points out in a previous blog:

Small, consistent changes are often more effective and sustainable than drastic overhauls.

So, here are 3 tips to get you started.

​1. Make sustainability part of your business goals

If you want to improve your general health, you may think about eating more healthily. So, a good place to start would be integrating more fruit and vegetables into your meals. Then, slowly, start eating more protein, replace crisps with a healthier option, and so on. And this is how businesses should approach sustainable practices.

Behavioural studies tend to show that the best way to achieve particular outcomes is to move them away from being end points in time and convert them into being part of the process.

So in order to achieve broader sustainability related objectives, the key is to integrate often small sustainable choices as part of “the way things are done”.

As with much behaviour, try to reduce motivational energy generation and find out how to make it easy and attractive.

• Add a ‘sustainability news’ section to your weekly team meeting or regroup sessions. This way, you can regularly share ideas and updates in a designated time period, minimising overwhelm.
• Make sustainability part of your quarterly reviews. This will ensure leadership are on board, and help integrate this new mindset so it becomes ‘business as usual’ and the norm.

​2. Set achievable micro-goals

​We, as humans, are more likely to want to continue a particularly effort or course of action if we can appreciate the immediate rewards. And smaller, micro-goals, are much better for that instant dopamine hit. And so, will encourage us to move forward.

Individual teams within the business should have their own set of goals that align with the wider business. This is more manageable and helps everyone feel not only involved, but accountable too. Just without the pressure.

3. Measure and revisit regularly

Researchers have found that regular audits and check-ins on progress are key to ensuring longterm progress.

appropriate use of performance measurement and management control systems can support strategy implementation and push organisations towards sustainability objectives.

Just as you have an end of year appraisal, or a quarterly review on your own progress, the same approach should be taken for sustainability.

Final thoughts

​The evidence is clear: businesses that revisit and reassess their sustainability efforts don’t just maintain momentum, they accelerate it.

Research from Harvard Business School shows that companies with robust sustainability metrics and long-term ESG goals outperform their peers in both stock market and accounting performance.

So, while the idea of “consistency” might feel like another item on the to-do list, the payoff is undeniable.