Interested in benchmarking your sustainability?

More and more often we are getting approached by businesses that want to understand how they compare to others on their sustainability.

But, given the diversity and complexity of business operations,  sustainability benchmarking is a challenging task.

This guide aims to navigate you through this topic, highlighting 4 different approaches, depending on where you are today.

A: Start measuring and compare to your own improvement

The first step in sustainability benchmarking is to initiate measurement and comparison of your own improvements. This internal benchmarking process allows you to set a baseline, track progress over time, and identify areas for enhancement. It’s not just about competing with others; it’s about continuously improving your own practices.

Benefits of Internal Benchmarking

1. Establishing a Baseline: The process begins with establishing a clear baseline of current sustainability practices. This baseline is essential for understanding where you stand in terms of environmental impact, social responsibility, and economic sustainability.
2. Tracking Progress Over Time: By regularly measuring performance, a business can track its progress over time. This helps in recognising trends, understanding the impact of initiatives taken, and making data-driven decisions for future strategies.
3. Identifying Improvement Areas: Regular measurement and comparison with past performance highlight areas where the business excels and where there is room for improvement. This targeted approach ensures that efforts and resources are efficiently allocated.
4. Motivating Continuous Improvement: Seeing tangible progress over time can be a significant motivator for a business and its employees. It fosters a culture of continuous improvement and environmental impacts within the organisation.
5. Customised to Business Needs: Internal benchmarking takes into account the unique business you operate.  It allows a business to focus on metrics and areas that are most relevant to its specific operations and sustainability goals.

Challenges of Internal Benchmarking

1. Data Collection and Management: Gathering accurate and comprehensive data can be a significant challenge, especially for businesses that have not previously focused on sustainability metrics.
2. Setting Appropriate Metrics: Determining which metrics to track and how to measure them can be complex. Businesses need to ensure that the metrics they choose are relevant and align with their sustainability objectives.
3. Resource Allocation: The process requires time, expertise, and potentially financial resources. Small businesses, in particular, may find it challenging to allocate these resources effectively.
4. Interpreting Data: Collecting data is just the first step; interpreting this data to make informed decisions can be challenging, especially without prior experience in sustainability analysis.
5. Balancing Short-Term and Long-Term Goals: Businesses might struggle to balance the need for short-term operational efficiency with long-term sustainability goals. This balance is crucial for ensuring that sustainability efforts are not just a one-time initiative but part of an ongoing strategy.

By starting with internal benchmarking, businesses can create a solid foundation for their sustainability journey. While there are challenges to this approach, the benefits of tailored insights, continuous improvement, and strategic alignment with sustainability goals make it a critical first step. This process allows businesses not just to compete with others but to compete with their past performance, driving continuous and meaningful improvements in sustainability.

B: Join ‘Support the Goals’

‘Support the Goals’ is a free initiative that encourages businesses to align their operations and strategies with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We really like it as it requires businesses to look at 5 key and improvement categories for their sustainability. This includes:

Criteria 1: Businesses must understand their Priority Goals

Criteria 2: They must have measurement Targets.

Criteria 3:  They must evidence that they are taking action

Criteria 4: Performance data is published

Criteria 5: They educate their suppliers on Sustainability

And the best bit – these criteria, requiring actions and disclosures can be compared across businesses of all sizes and sectors. The SDGs consist of 17 goals that address global challenges, including poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental aspects, peace, and justice. By participating in ‘Support the Goals’, businesses can assess and rate their performance against these global benchmarks.

The Process of Participating in ‘Support the Goals’

1. Understanding the SDGs: The first step involves gaining a thorough understanding of the 17 SDGs and their relevance to your business operations and values.
2. Self-Assessment: Businesses perform a self-assessment to determine how their current practices align with the SDGs. This involves identifying areas of strength and areas needing improvement in relation to each goal.
3. Rating and Reporting: After the self-assessment, businesses can rate themselves on their alignment with the SDGs. This rating is then used to inform both internal strategy and external reporting.
4. Implementing Changes: Based on the assessment, businesses can implement changes to improve alignment with the SDGs. This might include altering business practices, launching new initiatives, or increasing focus on certain areas.
5. Continuous Monitoring and Improvement: Participating in ‘Support the Goals’ is an ongoing process. Businesses continue to monitor their performance against the SDGs and make improvements over time.

Benefits of Joining ‘Support the Goals’

1. Alignment with Global Objectives: This enhances their relevance and commitment to addressing pressing global issues. It is a framework that can be easily understood and aligned with others.
2. Structured Approach: ‘Support the Goals’ provides a structured framework for assessing sustainability performance.
3. Enhanced Reputation: It shows a commitment to global sustainability standards and can improve trust among customers, investors, and other stakeholders.
4. Identifying Opportunities for Impact: The process can help businesses identify new opportunities for making a positive impact, whether in their operations, supply chain, or community engagement.
5. Improved Stakeholder Engagement: Being part of ‘Support the Goals’ can facilitate better engagement with stakeholders who are increasingly interested in sustainability.
6. Benchmarking and Competitive Advantage: Rating themselves against the SDGs allows businesses to benchmark their performance in the context of global standards, offering a competitive advantage in markets where sustainability is valued.
7. Informing Strategy and Decision-Making: The insights gained from aligning with ‘Support the Goals’ can inform strategic decision-making, ensuring that sustainability is integrated into the core business model.

By participating in ‘Support the Goals’, businesses take a significant step towards integrating sustainability into their operations. This initiative offers a practical, globally recognised framework for assessing and improving sustainability efforts, aligning business strategies with broader global objectives.

C: Sustainable X Horizon Scan

Overview of Sustainable X Horizon Scan

The Sustainable X Horizon Scan is a bespoke tool designed to help businesses identify and adapt to emerging trends in sustainability. This forward-looking approach enables companies to anticipate future challenges and opportunities in the sustainability landscape, ensuring they remain proactive and adaptive in their strategies.

Process of Using Sustainable X Horizon Scan

1. Trend Identification: The first step involves the identification of emerging trends in sustainability. This could include new regulations, technological advancements, shifting consumer preferences, or evolving best practices in sustainable operations.
2. Analysis of Relevance: Once these trends are identified, the next step is to analyse their relevance to the specific business context. This involves evaluating how each trend could impact the business’s operations, market position, and sustainability goals.
3. Strategic Alignment: After identifying the relevant trends, businesses align their sustainability strategies to these insights. This might involve adapting existing policies, investing in new technologies, or shifting focus to new areas of sustainability.
4. Implementation of Changes: Based on the analysis, businesses implement necessary changes to stay ahead of emerging trends. This could include new initiatives, partnerships, or changes in supply chain management.
5. Ongoing Monitoring and Adaptation: Sustainability is an ever-evolving field. Thus, continuous monitoring of the landscape through the Horizon Scan is essential for staying updated and making timely adjustments to strategies.

Benefits of Using Sustainable X Horizon Scan

1. Proactive Approach to Sustainability: The Horizon Scan enables businesses to adopt a proactive rather than reactive approach to sustainability. By anticipating future trends, companies can stay ahead of the curve and be prepared for upcoming changes.
2. Informed Decision-Making: Access to detailed insights about emerging trends allows for more informed decision-making. Businesses can make strategic choices that are aligned with the future direction of sustainability.
3. Competitive Advantage: Staying updated with the latest trends and effectively integrating them into business operations can provide a significant competitive advantage, especially in markets where sustainability is a key differentiator.
4. Risk Mitigation: Understanding and anticipating future sustainability trends helps in mitigating risks associated with sudden regulatory changes, market shifts, or evolving consumer expectations.
5. Enhanced Innovation: Regularly scanning the horizon for new sustainability trends can spur innovation within the company, encouraging the adoption of cutting-edge practices and technologies.
6. Stakeholder Engagement: Demonstrating awareness and responsiveness to emerging sustainability trends can strengthen relationships with stakeholders, including investors, customers, and employees, who increasingly value forward-thinking and responsible businesses.
7. Alignment with Long-Term Goals: The Sustainable X Horizon Scan can help ensure that a company’s sustainability efforts are not only relevant today but are also aligned with long-term global sustainability goals.

By utilising tools like the Sustainable X Horizon Scan, businesses can maintain a dynamic and informed approach to sustainability. This tool helps in navigating the complexities of the sustainability landscape, ensuring businesses not only meet current standards but are also well-prepared for future developments.

D: Financial Measures and ESG Benchmarking

Importance of Integrating Financial Measures in Sustainability

Incorporating financial measures into sustainability strategies is a critical step for businesses aiming to balance ethical responsibility with financial viability. Detailed Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) benchmarking, as advocated by investors and the financial market which shows the alignment sustainability with shareholder value.

Suitability for Different Types of Businesses

1. Publicly Traded Companies: These companies face direct pressure from investors and regulatory bodies to demonstrate their commitment to sustainability while also ensuring profitability. ESG benchmarking is crucial for them to communicate their performance effectively.
2. Start-Ups and SMEs: For smaller businesses, including start-ups, integrating financial measures with sustainability can attract investments and open up new market opportunities. It demonstrates their commitment to responsible growth.
3. High-Impact Industries: Industries with significant environmental footprints, such as manufacturing, energy, and transportation, can particularly benefit from this approach. It helps them to manage their impact more effectively while maintaining economic performance.
4. Service-Oriented Businesses: These businesses, including those in finance, technology, and retail, can use ESG benchmarking to improve their social and governance practices, which is vital for maintaining their brand image and customer loyalty.

ESG Benchmarking Services in the UK

There is a range of different rating agencies in the UK. Some include:

1. MSCI ESG Research

MSCI ESG Research is a leading provider of ESG ratings and analysis. They assess companies based on various environmental, social, and governance criteria, helping investors make sustainable investment decisions.

 MSCI ESG Research

1. Sustainalytics

Sustainalytics specialises in ESG research and ratings. They evaluate companies on environmental impact, social responsibility, and corporate governance, aiding investors in identifying socially responsible investments.

Sustainalytics

1. FTSE Russell (FTSE4Good Index Series)

FTSE Russell, a subsidiary of the London Stock Exchange Group, offers the FTSE4Good Index Series. This benchmark assesses companies based on their environmental and social practices, facilitating investment in socially responsible UK-listed companies.

FTSE Russell – FTSE4Good Index Series

1. Vigeo Eiris

Vigeo Eiris evaluates companies on a wide range of ESG criteria, including human rights, product safety, and business ethics. Their assessments support investors in identifying businesses committed to sustainable practices.

Vigeo Eiris

1. CDP (formerly Carbon Disclosure Project)

CDP specialises in assessing companies’ environmental impact, particularly their carbon emissions and climate change strategies. Their data and insights are valuable for investors interested in climate-related ESG factors.

CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project)

1. The Carbon Trust

The Carbon Trust focuses on carbon reduction and sustainability. They provide expertise to help companies measure and reduce their carbon footprint, contributing to environmentally responsible practices.

The Carbon Trust

 By adopting financial measures and ESG benchmarking, businesses across various sectors can achieve a balance between ethical responsibility and financial health. This approach is not only crucial for meeting the increasing demands of stakeholders but also for ensuring long-term business sustainability and success in today’s socially conscious market.

The Challenges of ESG Ratings

While ESG ratings are a common tool, they come with challenges such as lack of standardisation and transparency, data quality issues, and difficulties in adapting to emerging ESG concerns. A more effective approach involves defining relevant metrics and conducting a thorough analysis beyond just ratings. However, it faces challenges like cost, data quality issues, and the risk of greenwashing.

Benchmarking your sustainability is a complex but essential process for modern businesses. It enables companies to understand their performance in a broader context, identify areas for improvement, and align with global sustainability goals. Despite its challenges, effective benchmarking is key to driving sustainable business practices and achieving long-term success. For businesses seeking support in this endeavour, Sustainable offers expert analysis and AI-driven data collection, helping you navigate the benchmarking process with ease.