It's time to put your sustainability strategy into action

Please be aware that this is a guide only and you should seek specific advice for your business*

Business owners are increasingly looking at what they can do to help the environment and stop climate change. It doesn’t matter what industry your business is in, – there are always things you can do to make it more sustainable.

A sustainability action plan will help you to analyse where changes can be made.

Your action plan should include everything from the energy you use, to your waste and recycling, flexible working arrangements for your staff, their commutes and more. Your employees, stakeholders, suppliers and even your customers can contribute to the plan to help your business meet the sustainability goals that you set.

It’s a good idea to do some research to understand the key principles for becoming a sustainable business in your sector. This will help you to identify activities that you could change to achieve a more sustainable way of working.

Make amends to your company policies and create a mission statement. This will keep your business accountable and will motivate all your employees and stakeholders to succeed with the goals that have been set.

As your sustainability strategy develops, make sure your business goals are SMART - specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and timely. For example, you may have old strip lighting within your office space but want to work towards reducing your business energy usage by 30% over a period of 12 months.

There is a lot of information available to help business owners with their sustainability journey. We can help you adopt greener credentials and lower your carbon footprint. You may want to consider our Renewable Energy Funding Scheme, which allows you to invest in sustainable technologies which help to improve the sustainability and energy efficiency of your business.

You can use the funding for many projects such as:

• relocating to premises that are more energy efficient
• changing to a more energy efficient boiler or heating system
• improving your recycling scheme
• adding solar panels to your buildings
• investing in electric vehicles for your fleet of company vehicles.

Finally, it's really important that you keep your staff and customers informed as you make changes and start to see the benefits of making your business more sustainable. By reviewing and monitoring your impact regularly, you can continue progressing onwards becoming a sustainable business.

*While all reasonable care has been taken to ensure that the information provided is correct, no liability is accepted by The Co-operative Bank for any loss or damage caused to any person relying on any statement or omission. This is for information only and should not be relied upon as offering advice for any set of circumstances. This is merely a guide and each business is unique in its requirements. Specific advice should always be sought in each instance.

If you’d like to find out more about making more sustainable choices for your business, please visit our Sustainability hub.