Sustainability Workshop

What is sustainability management?

In the second half of the 20th century it became apparent that increasing economic activities was leading to scarcities of resources, higher energy consumption and pollution of the environment. Consequently, protecting our natural ecosystems was recognized as a prerequisite for a functioning economy. By introducing sustainability, responsibility for the environmental aspects of production was integrated into the overall concept of business and daily operative work.

On a political level, sustainability was defined not only as an intact environment, but also by the level of social awareness and the stability of the economy. This integrated approach was also applied to management practices. Thus, it includes concepts and methods that not only meet today's environmental challenges, but social and economic challenges as well.

A key corporate strategy outlines how an enterprise reacts to the specific challenges presented by its overall business environment. A sustainability analysis takes stock of the present state a business is in and forms the basis for deriving a variety of options for improvement. The focus of the analysis is dependent on the company's line of business as well as other basic parameters including the activities of the business itself, the value-add chain, the customers, and all other stakeholders.
 

Measures for improving sustainability management

A business can face a wide variety of sustainability challenges, all having a range of possible measures to create improvement: Increasing energy and material efficiency can have positive impacts on both ecological and economic outcomes. By either initiating or intensifying cooperation with suppliers, you can help optimize the overall environmental impact reduction possible for your product. Or you can launch a stewardship project, which can have a positive, long-term influence on production conditions in other countries.

Sustainability reporting allows companies to make their sustainability activities more transparent. A company's sustainable management process can be certified under ISO14001 and/or EMAS standards.

iPoint Sytems' sustainability consulting supports many of the different aspects of sustainability management. We can help you to investigate key sustainability figures based on the specific needs of your business and to develop innovative concepts for how to improve your sustainability performance.

By becoming engaged in sustainability you contribute to the solution of a global challenge, while at the same time growing your competitive advantages.