In business today, sustainability is more important than ever. As the climate crisis continues to worsen, businesses are under increasing pressure to understand their own sustainability and be able to communicate it to those that are interested. This is where sustainability consultants come in.
What is a sustainability consultant?
A sustainability consultant is a professional who helps businesses to assess their environmental, social economic and governance impact and develop strategies to improve their sustainability. They work with businesses, governments, and other organisations to identify areas where sustainability can be improved and develop plans to implement changes that will reduce their carbon footprint, conserve natural resources, and improve their social impact, among other things!
What do sustainability consultants do?
Sustainability consultants have a wide range of responsibilities, which can vary depending on the needs of their clients. At a high level, sustainability consultants help businesses to develop and implement sustainable practices that reduce their environmental impact, improve their social responsibility, and achieve financial benefits. This can involve everything from conducting detailed supply chain and waste assessments to high-level strategic planning.
Regardless of the specific task at hand, sustainability consultants are always thinking about the overarching principles of sustainability and how they can be applied to the situation. They understand the interconnected nature of sustainability and work to ensure that their recommendations take into account the broader context of the business operations and impact.
Sustainability consultants may also provide guidance on sustainability-related regulations and certifications, such as B Corp or TCFD. They may help businesses to measure and report on their sustainability performance, using metrics such as carbon footprint, energy consumption, and waste reduction.
You might find that Sustainability Consultants are also called:
- Environmental Consultant
- Green Business Consultant
- Sustainability Strategist
- Eco-Consultant
- Climate Change Consultant
- Sustainable Development Advisor
- Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Consultant
- Energy Efficiency Consultant
- Circular Economy Consultant
- Carbon Management Consultant….
Why would you use a sustainability consultant?
There are many reasons why you might use a sustainability consultant. Some of the most common reasons include:
- To improve your sustainability performance: A sustainability consultant can help you to improve your sustainability performance and become more sustainable, by understanding your business, your impacts, determining the appropriate measures and setting targets.
- To help you answer the questions that your Customers, Banks, Investors or employees are asking you about your sustainability.
- To develop and support you embed a sustainability strategy into your business as usual.
- To comply with regulations or requirements: Many businesses are required to comply with regulations including those from environmental agencies, tender or customer needs or industry bodies, and a sustainability consultant can help you to do this.
- To reduce your environmental impact: A sustainability consultant can help you to reduce your environmental impact and save money.
- To help you measure and communicate your sustainability to your stakeholders.
- To gain a competitive advantage: Many businesses are now looking to sustainability as a way to gain a competitive advantage. A sustainability consultant can help you to do this.
- To make a difference: Many people want to make a difference in the world, and a sustainability consultant can help you to do this by working with you to develop and implement sustainable solutions.
If you are looking to become more sustainable, a sustainability consultant can be a valuable asset. They can help you to identify and implement sustainable solutions, and they can help you to improve your sustainability performance.
Here are some tips for finding a good sustainability consultant:
- Ask for recommendations from Business contacts and your network.
- Look for consultants who have experience working with businesses like you, whether that be in size, industry or with a similar business need
- Make sure that the consultant is qualified and certified, with reputable bodies.
- Ask for a list of testimonials and check them out.
- Consider how they report their own impacts as a business.
- Meet them! It is important that you get along with people who are going to be supporting your business.
Sustainability consultants can be a valuable resource for businesses and should want to work collaboratively and openly with you to support your business needs.
If you want to know more about how a sustainability consultant might be able to help you and your team, get in touch with us at info@sustainablex.co.uk. We are always happy to help.