As a small to medium size enterprise, you may be thinking what does Sustainability mean to me, isn’t it just something that large businesses have to understand and implement? The answer is no. Sustainability is something that individuals and businesses of all sizes need to understand and put in practise in their everyday lives and day to day operations.
Sustainability is defined by the United Nations as ‘’meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.’’ There are three pillars or core areas of sustainability, best remembered as the three P’s, People, Planet and Profit.
To an SME this may mean ensuring the business is financially stable, investing in renewable energy such as solar, wind or power and ensuring that the resources of our planet are used responsibly to create a better future for everyone.
1. The first P for People represents Social Sustainability. This ensures that all people are treated fairly with dignity and respect.
To an SME Social Sustainability may mean ensuring fair wages for workers, promoting gender equality, and cultural diversity and providing education/training and development opportunities for your workforce.
2. The second P for Planet represents Environmental Sustainability. It is everyone’s obligation to protect the planet for future generations. This involves limiting pollution, preserving biodiversity, and reducing our carbon footprint.
To an SME this may mean understanding the impact its operations are having on the environment, and measuring these impacts by capturing data such as energy, carbon, and waste. Then implementing projects to reduce the use of fossil fuels, conserve energy and water and reduce waste.
3. The third P for Profit represents Economic Sustainability. This pillar stresses that all economic activities should be carried out responsibly and in a way that benefits the environment, society, and future generations.
To am SME this may mean ensuring the business is financially stable, investing in renewable energy such as solar, wind or power and ensuring that the resources of our planet are used responsibly to create a better future for everyone.
As you would know, SMEs have a huge impact on supply chain performance. As a supplier, producer, distributor, or customer in a supply chain there is now a growing demand for sustainable management and performance. As part of a supply chain your SMEs may be asked to provide data and emissions associated with its products and services or they may want to see your Sustainability Policy along with evidence that you are adhering to your commitments. As a standalone business you may be looking to secure contracts and business with large companies or governments and the sustainability performance of your business would be critical to winning these contracts.
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