Sustainability Audits 101
This is the first in a series of posts over the next while exploring what a Sustainability Audit is. This first post explores what they are and why businesses do them. Later posts explore what the Audit covers, how they are done and what types of questions they include.
Many businesses want to become more responsible and aware of their impact on the world around them. This includes on the environment but with regards to social and ethical aspects of their practice as well. You may want to communicate to your stakeholders, employees and customers that you are ethical, responsible and care about your community beyond profits. You may also want to develop and tell a coherent Sustainability story. This is where a Sustainability Marketing Consultant such as myself often come in to help research and then develop the strategy and story.
If order to do this, your business needs to understand how you fit into the bigger picture: it helps provide a sustainability snapshot. This supports some understanding of where you fit in with regards to similar companies and best practice guidelines. It also provides information about the details of what you have already achieved and what evidence you have to prove any stories or claims.
"San Francisco open houses visited, 2003-2004 (corrected 2007)" by Eric Fischer is licensed under CC BY 2.0
While this can be done in a number of ways, the most common is a systematic Audit. The Audit covers specific areas and asks questions within these areas to discover how your systems and processes match up with best practice. Someone, a Consultant or identified Sustainability Lead internal employee, takes responsibility for collating and reporting on the responses to these questions. They also sometimes collect data as well in order to provide a report which evaluates the business achievements and areas for growth based on facts.
While these are often carried out over a period of time and mostly written down and supported by administrative documents, some companies choose to make this a collective process which they undertake together at a day-long workshop. Still others choose to represent their results visually instead of with words.
Over the next week, I will be publishing more posts to explore Sustainability Audits in further detail.
Many businesses want to become more responsible and aware of their impact on the world around them. This includes on the environment but with regards to social and ethical aspects of their practice as well. You may want to communicate to your stakeholders, employees and customers that you are ethical, responsible and care about your community beyond profits. You may also want to develop and tell a coherent Sustainability story. This is where a Sustainability Marketing Consultant such as myself often come in to help research and then develop the strategy and story.
If order to do this, your business needs to understand how you fit into the bigger picture: it helps provide a sustainability snapshot. This supports some understanding of where you fit in with regards to similar companies and best practice guidelines. It also provides information about the details of what you have already achieved and what evidence you have to prove any stories or claims.
"San Francisco open houses visited, 2003-2004 (corrected 2007)" by Eric Fischer is licensed under CC BY 2.0What exactly is a Sustainability Audit?
A Sustainability Audit helps businesses map their practices and impact in terms of their social, ethical and environmental responsibilities. It usually begins as a baseline assessment to help your company understand what you are doing, what types of evidence you have or can collect to prove this as well as clarifying what you do not do and have yet to achieve.While this can be done in a number of ways, the most common is a systematic Audit. The Audit covers specific areas and asks questions within these areas to discover how your systems and processes match up with best practice. Someone, a Consultant or identified Sustainability Lead internal employee, takes responsibility for collating and reporting on the responses to these questions. They also sometimes collect data as well in order to provide a report which evaluates the business achievements and areas for growth based on facts.
While these are often carried out over a period of time and mostly written down and supported by administrative documents, some companies choose to make this a collective process which they undertake together at a day-long workshop. Still others choose to represent their results visually instead of with words.
Over the next week, I will be publishing more posts to explore Sustainability Audits in further detail.
