Blog for business

Calling all businesses – we need to know what really helps you. For years now, I have been creating new tools to help firms become more sustainable. Many, thankfully, have worked, but often only in specific sectors. Sustainability is much more ‘on the agenda’ but it has to be practically focused and deliver business benefits.

I know that more top-down regulations usually create burdensome bureaucracy (I have to say, I  have written many rules in the past) and I am aware that once sustainability is seen as an imposed cost, commitment and hearts and minds are easily lost.  In recent years I have progressed to designing a series of voluntary standards, both nationally and internationally, which help firms to implement sustainability for themselves.  These are often more effective because they are internally driven.

Now there is a possibility of these guidance standards becoming certifiable British Standards or ISOs. I am off to meetings to discuss the way forward. But I have to ask: is this useful? Do firms want to be able to demonstrate their sustainability credentials in this way? Or do companies really want more information and benchmarking – the sharing of good practise? How can green24 help in this?

It may be that it is not just organisations that need to be engaged, but their customers, communities and the public at large. That is the trust of much of my new work and probably lies at the heart of green24’s mission. It’s about widening responsibility and education, not just focusing on organisations to deliver everything.

Let us know what you think. We’d be delighted to hear your views.

David Jackman