Sustainability isn’t just about being ‘green’ in your business such as recycling and using LED lighting or having electric vehicles. Being a sustainable business is a whole lot more than that, writes Jackie Cooper.
In recent years there has been movement towards businesses having a minimal negative impact and shifting to having a positive impact on the local and global environment, economy, and local community; essentially becoming a sustainable business. Society is gradually moving in that direction so as businesses we need to align ourselves accordingly. Are you there yet?
The Small Business Leadership Programme was designed for small businesses to develop productivity, resilience and sustainability. The three themes go hand in hand when considering business survival, not least in the predicament we currently find ourselves within a global pandemic.
It concentrates on three themes Productivity, Resilience and Sustainability. In this article we will look at sustainability of your business rather than the sustainability within your business.
Most businesses want to create more product or service for less input of cash and resources – improved productivity. Most business leaders also want to be resilient enabling fast recovery from difficulties.
So, where does sustainability come into play? By embedding sustainability into your wider organisational strategy, it will prove to be an opportunity to examine your supply chain, raw materials you purchase for your products, and all other areas of your business to see where improvements can be made.
The SBLP supports business leaders to explore where improvements can be made to increase productivity, become more resilient, and embrace sustainability.
By becoming a more sustainable business you can tell the story about the purposeful switch to become a more caring, thoughtful company which is mindful of impact on people, place and planet. We can certainly learn from social enterprise business models to develop our for-profit businesses. In my opinion, all businesses should become sustainable to give themselves the best chance of survival.
Interested in learning more?
You’ll learn more about developing sustainability within your company by exploring the fully funded Small Business Leadership Programme.
You’re eligible if:
• you have line management responsibility in a UK based company with 5-249 employees
• your company has been trading for at least a year
The registration process explained – it’s as easy as 1, 2, 3
Visit the website for the Small Business Leadership Programme https://smallbusinesscharter.org/small-business-leadership-programme/
1. Click the ‘get started’ yellow button
2. Under regions, select East Midlands
3. You’ll see two dates for courses run by Leicester Castle Business School on January 7 and 14 – click the dates you prefer
And you’re registered!
We look forward to meeting you online at the Welcome and Induction on either the 7 or 14 January 2021.
Jackie Cooper is programme manager for the Small Business Leadership Programme, a FREE Government-funded programme for leaders of small businesses to survive and thrive in the coming months. It’s part of a £20m package of support for SMEs and scale ups.
Posted on Monday 30 November 2020