Considering your next move into sustainability? That’s a good thing; however, there is a lot to consider because your competitor is probably thinking the same thing. How will you differentiate yourself in this all-important, emerging marketplace and successfully develop and implement an authentic sustainability strategy without running out of money, alienating your stakeholders, or greenwashing your message? From the outset, you need to apply principles of good business sense and learn the language of the triple bottom-line of sustainability. It’s now a business imperative to understand how to prioritize and implement a customized strategic plan to meet stakeholder expectations while ensuring the most economical pathway to the best possible goal.

I strongly believe that business has a significant role to play in the advancement of sustainable practices during the mounting challenges facing the planet today and that through better strategic planning, more accurate measurement of outcomes, and encouragement of innovation, many of the world’s issues can more directly be addressed. People, planet, profits: There is a direct connection between the quality of life of people in companies and the community with the quality and condition of the environment and the economic stability and growth potential for that company and community. This interdependent relationship is a critical success factor for you in understanding the system of sustainability.

Consider every person and every organization to reside on a spectrum of sustainability and you are either at level 1, the lowest level—doing nothing, or at some other point along the spectrum. To survive and thrive, you must move from one point on that spectrum to the next based on the push and pull of stakeholder expectations and regulations. Moreover, you need to create a process for going beyond compliance and continually improving from any starting point along that spectrum to maximize the opportunities of an emerging green market.

Try something new: Rather than deploying your green initiatives in a spray and pray method, hoping something sticks with stakeholders and reclaim some of your cost, consider reflecting on a few questions and take a few baby steps first to prevent losing time, money, and possibly respect from employees, customers, buyers, and other stakeholders:

• Reflect on the implications of sustainability. Take the time to explore the meaning and implications of what sustainability will signify in your sector and the region you are in, especially in terms of availability of products and value to customers.
• Plan ahead. Consider the budget and time of yourself and others to ensure you don’t run out of either funds or energy before you’ve had a chance to complete your project. Take the time to reflect, plan, and ask advice from stakeholders to avoid an embarrassing or costly mistake and deploy green projects with confidence.
• Implement at the level of your ability. Instead of taking on all 100 things to go green—choose the right project, at the right time, and with the right outcomes. Whether it’s a company of one or thousands of employees, going green is fast becoming a competitive factor in strategic planning and it’s easy to fall into the trap of spray and pray—try everything and hope something sticks.

The commitment to community and its economic, social, and environmental well-being is evolving: It’s not just talk now but a critical success factor for sustainability to be part of the DNA of company. Each sustainability initiative has measurable financial value and contributes above the bottom line.