Aside from making the quantified dollars and cents business case for embracing sustainability as a broad concept or specific sustainability initiatives on an infrastructure construction project for example (which is obviously extremely important!), there are other important considerations in terms of your approach to keep in mind:
- Sustainability does not have to cost more.
- Value can be demonstrated at different levels – commercial, risk management, reputational, long-term brand value.
- Use what you already have, make use of the resources and skills available to you, and things that are already being done that can be built from.
- Rebadge the word “sustainability”, where appropriate. If people don’t understand the term, or have negative or preconceived notions associated with the term then use something else.
- Bring in more dimensions than you’d perhaps initially thought about to “leap the hurdle” in a given business case. Take a wider and higher perspective on things.
- Put yourselves in others shoes and their perspectives.
- See dissenters and nay-sayers as a gift – they’re telling you what it is you need to work on in your approach or business case, sometimes indirectly, sometimes more directly!
- Be resilient and politely tenacious.
- Be optimistic!
Nicole Neal Sustainability 