The issue of a more sustainable planet is becoming increasingly urgent, and it is now evident that we all need to play our part if we want to bring about positive change.
This responsibility extends beyond individuals to corporations, who often have an outsize impact on their enviroment. Companies, regardless of their size, have the power to make a significant contribution towards adopting greener practices.
Where to start?
What sustainable actions can companies put into practice?
And what are the benefits of adopting more planet-friendly behaviour?
Why should a company become more sustainable?
Companies that choose to adopt sustainable values and behaviours do more than just good for the planet. They also gain significant brand and business benefits.
Here are a few examples.
Improving corporate image through sustainability
Today’s consumers are increasingly interested in environmental issues and increasingly sensitive to the issue of sustainability. Therefore, they are more likely to choose a company that demonstrates environmentally friendly behaviour. Moving toward sustainability can therefore significantly improve corporate image, build customer loyalty, and bring in new customers.
Building a stronger reputation: engaging stakeholders fo success
Just like customers, stakeholders are also more attracted to companies that demonstrate environmental awareness. Maintaining sustainable behaviours and undertaking sustainable projects improves corporate image at all levels and attracts investors, who will be more likely to lend their support to a green company.
Cutting waste, boosting savings
We must consider a practical aspect of this change, namely cost reduction. Actions such as recycling, choosing renewable energy sources, and opting for energy-saving devices can all contribute to cost reduction and increased efficiency in the company. In some cases, the savings achieved can be truly remarkable.
Attaining ESG milestones
Choosing to adopt sustainable environmental, social, and corporate governance brings the company closer to achieving important goals for the future.
Integrating sustainable practices into strategies will enable the achievement of ESG goals that every company should have, sooner and with better results.
How can a company become more sustainable?
Now that we know all the benefits of sustainability for companies, let’s look at what’s possible in practice.
- Environmental impact assessment. First, it would be a good idea to initiate a company-wide environmental impact assessment: this will make it immediately clear what areas and processes can be improved.
- Managing resources sustainably. An important point is to limit pollutant emissions and avoid waste. This can be done by setting up recycling programs, water optimization, and the adoption of technologies that reduce waste.
- Improving energy efficiency. This can be done by installing energy-saving lighting systems, thermally insulating the building, optimizing production processes, but also by choosing renewable energy sources. This would greatly reduce the company’s environmental impact.
- Collaborate with sustainable suppliers and companies. Initiating virtuous partnerships is another way to improve corporate sustainability. Having partners who share the same ecological values amplifies the effects of any action and brings new knowledge.
- Involve employees. If you want your company to be truly environmentally friendly, all your employees will have to be too. Propose initiatives, awareness programs, or even collective games, why not? Your employees will understand and embrace your sustainability values, bringing a valuable contribution to the company.
AWorld, the sustainability platform to engage employees
AWorld is an app chosen by the United Nations to contribute to the Act Now campaign in the digital space. Through games, challenges, and insights, it will guide your employees toward sustainable behaviours that will have positive impacts throughout the company. And everyone will feel part of an important change in a green direction.
Let’s find out how it works.
- Measure your employees’ environmental footprint so you have a baseline against which to measure improvements. Through simple questions, the app calculates employees’ carbon footprint.
- Win collective challenges to lower your footprint. All employees must work together because the challenge involves the entire company. This creates a climate of sharing and collaboration.
- Implement new sustainable actions every day. Each employee can choose what to do among all the actions that lower the footprint. The goal is to make sustainable actions become habits.
- Take quizzes to test your knowledge. This enables a deeper understanding of the content learned to improve every day.
- Create teams. You can divide the team into different teams that will have to compete and vie for the leadership of the most sustainable group! This creates strong fellowship among the people on the team.
Verify the achieved results. Thanks to a sophisticated reporting system, you will be able to visualize graphs, maps, and highly detailed data regarding the company’s footprint. Monitoring is crucial for continuous improvement.
VMware and AWorld for sustainability: the achieved goals
VMware is a major IT company based in California that has decided to adopt the AWorld app to engage its employees in sustainable behaviours. The employees have shown great enthusiasm for collective challenges as well as for insights on energy-saving and waste-reduction topics. In just one month, VMware has saved over 62,000 kg of carbon, a truly remarkable achievement!
To discover how you can utilize and personalize AWorld to involve your employees in sustainability initiatives, get in touch with us or request a demo. We’d be delighted to provide more information.
