Making the Business Case for Sustainability

You’ll learn about the relevance of sustainability in general, including who demands it (such as consumers with conscious consumption patterns, investors by investing in – and divesting from – various sectors, and politicians/regulators with regulation), the three main pillars of sustainability (protecting the environment, protecting people, and being financially viable), the technology that allows sustainability advances (renewables, energy efficiency, sustainable transportation, etc), and the major types of risks caused by the climate (such as physical risks, transition risks, liability risks, reputational risks, supply chain risks, or stranded assets);

You’ll learn about the 10 major types of sustainable initiatives. Energy efficiency, renewable energy installation, sustainable construction and architecture, water conservation, biodiversity conservation and restoration, sustainable product design (including practices such as digitalisation, waste reduction, and circular practices), sustainable sourcing, fair labor practices, sustainable transportation and mobility, and climate resiliency, as well as their characteristics;

You’ll learn about the major economical shifts caused by sustainability (such as adopting renewable energy, circular economy practices, conscious consumption, or sustainable agriculture), the general value propositions of sustainable projects (cost savings, risk mitigation, enhanced brand value and reputation, increased productivity, and/or market access/expansion), and new markets opened up entirely due to sustainability (sustainable finance/green investing, renewable energy markets, eco-friendly goods, or waste management/recycling technologies);

You’ll learn how to decide which green initiatives can be tackled first, including the general process (assessing the context, identifying key areas, and studying impact and feasibility), and specific elements to analyse (such, as in terms of context, the company size, the industry specifics, and geographical location), and to take into account when prioritising initiatives;

You’ll learn about the common value propositions and ROI metrics for each type of sustainable initiative (such as cost savings/tax incentives/emission reduction for energy efficiency projects, cost savings/energy price fluctuation hedging/revenue from energy sales for renewable energy projects, energy and water savings/maintenance savings for sustainable construction and architecture, utility cost reduction/water scarcity risk mitigation/utility bill reduction for water conservation, operational continuity/regulatory compliance for conservation and restoration projects, cost savings from efficiency/waste-related expense decreases for sustainable product design, supply chain resilience/long-term savings for sustainable sourcing, higher employee retention/HR risk mitigation for fair labor practices, fuel and maintenance savings/emission reduction for sustainable transport and mobility, or lower climate-related risks/higher stakeholder trust for climate resiliency);

You’ll learn about identifying, prioritising, engaging and communicating with stakeholders, as well a monitoring the initiative and reporting to them. You’ll learn about some heuristics to use to prioritise stakeholders (such as by their power and interest in the initiative), specific communication types for specific stakeholders (formal reports, open forums, documentation or other modes of communication), and usual reporting timeframes and frameworks (such as the GRI or SASB frameworks);

You’ll learn about making the business case itself (gathering historical data to establish a performance baseline, tailoring the presentation to the specific audience, including the specific value proposition and ROI metrics for this project), and using communication techniques (such as the recency-primacy effect, strong calls to action, and appealing visuals) to pitch;

You’ll learn about the role of legal compliance in a sustainable business case, including the three main types of regulation (mandatory regulation, incentive-based regulation and voluntary standards), the major areas which are usually measured by regulators (emissions, waste, energy use, biodiversity impact, chemicals/toxins, etc), and the general process to include legal compliance in the business case;

You’ll learn about performance measuring and reporting, including the key standards and initiatives (such as the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol, Kyoto Protocol, Paris Agreement, Global Reporting Initiative, or ISO certifications in multiple areas such a ISO 14001 for environmental management), the major reporting frameworks (including the Global Reporting Initiative or GRI, the Greenhouse Gas Protocol or GHG Protocol, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs, or the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board or SASB), the different tools to measure metrics (such as simple dashboards, life cycle assessments or LCAs, footprint calculators, and more), and usual challenges with reporting (e.g. data collection may be too resource intensive, dilemmas on what to report, or having non-standardised data);

You’ll learn about including operational integration in the business case, including identifying and enabling internal stakeholders, mapping and assessing existing processes (including what to change in them – usually either actions or technology), and also assessing changes to supply chains if applicable;

You’ll learn about specific examples of implementing sustainable initiatives, such as installing solar panels, changing a product for modular design, or installing drip irrigation, all of these with boilerplate templates for ROI, value proposition, marketing and branding benefits, alignment with CSR strategy, common emission factors, implementation roadmap and common challenges;