Sustainability is teamwork!

How to become more sustainable as a company together with your team

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Sustainability is no longer a buzzword and companies are putting more and more measures into place to contribute to reaching the sustainable development goals. But besides looking into your production, supply chain and processes to find areas for improvement, don’t forget the most relevant “resource” in your company: your team.

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Why sustainability is super important for your people & culture strategy

Even the best sustainability strategy in a company will not be effective if it is not implemented by the employees. People & Culture Management is therefore a key success factor for sustainability. Additionally, increasing awareness among current and potential employees also sends a clear message to companies: Employees want to have a positive impact on the environment and society in and through their work. Managing directors and HR managers are therefore in a unique position to empower employees to achieve this. This can have a positive impact on employer branding, employee motivation and retention, as well as on the achievement of company-wide sustainability goals.

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So how can you become more sustainable together with your team?

Sustainability is a very broad and not clearly defined term, so it can be difficult to find a starting point here. Therefore, it is recommended to start with an inventory - what does the company understand by sustainability, which aspects are particularly important and is sustainability already lived in the company?  

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Work on your why

As a next step, you should work out aspects of sustainability that you want to focus on. These can then be consistently translated into sustainability goals and measures. Existing frameworks that break down different aspects of sustainability and options for initiatives are a good starting point. Examples include:  

• The 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations are action-guiding principles for ecologically, socially and economically sustainable development.  
• The German Sustainability Code (“DNK”) is a cross-industry transparency standard for reporting corporate sustainability performance based on 20 criteria in the categories of strategy, process management, environment and society.  
• The Economy for Common Good has developed a matrix for organizational development and evaluation of corporate activities.  

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Define concrete measures

Based on the strategy and objectives, concrete measures for sustainable HR management can then be derived. The rule here is "done is better than perfect!"  - even small steps are a contribution to a more sustainable world! There are many resource-saving measures that can be implemented quickly and are also well suited for small and medium-sized companies. Potential areas for this are:

• Creating framework conditions, e.g. via guidelines for business trips, waste avoidance and separation or vegetarian (options in the) canteen.
• Generate awareness and competence, e.g. by integrating sustainability aspects into training measures or team events.
• Offer opportunities for participation, e.g. via Green Teams or a suggestion scheme for sustainability ideas.  

• Provide incentives, e.g. by linking flexible salary components with ecological goals or sustainable benefits such as the GuudCard or bike leasing.

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Align with your values

It is important that the strategy and measures are aligned with the company and its employees and are consistent with the values they live by. In this way, the commitment of the company and its employees can be integrated into everyday life in a targeted and authentic manner.  

For more information on sustainable HR management, check out GuudCard's recently published whitepaper (in German). For more information on GuudCard's sustainable benefits card, click here.  

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