Sustainability is everywhere - boardrooms, investor calls, and marketing collateral. Brands are ambitious with their commitments, putting out shiny ESG reports and making strong statements about reducing their footprint.
But the catch? Too often, it’s just smoke and mirrors.
Not because they don’t care. Many genuinely do.
But without clear goals, supply chain transparency, and measurable impact, sustainability efforts all too readily fall apart. What starts out as a well-intentioned initiative, all too soon descends into corporate theatre, with disappointed consumers and stakeholders left in the wake.
If you’re not walking the talk, the costs – financial and reputational – will come back to bite you.
Let us jump into the top three most common sustainability pitfalls that keep tripping companies up, costing them $$$:
1. Unclear Objectives = No Accountability = No Progress
"We'll be carbon neutral by 2040!" Sounds peachy, right?
Let’s think about what that really means though.
How do you monitor progress?
What steps need to be taken?
Who exactly is going to take those steps?
The issue is, vague commitments don’t hold anyone's feet to the fire. Do they sound great? Absolutely they do. Will they lead to action? Absolutely, they won’t. Not without getting more specific.
And that’s the problem.
Without a clear path, sustainability is just a "nice to have" instead of a "must have".
Real talk? Brands, too frequently, give into the temptation of chasing the latest shiny buzzwords and not doing the groundwork needed for real change. Without accountability, goals can simply be ignored or massaged to craft a report that reads well on paper. Someone needs to be held accountable for the goals for sustainability to be a meaningful shift in the way you operate.
How to Fix It:
- Set Hard Numbers: Rather than making a general statement such as "minimize waste," set a specific goal - "lower landfill waste by 40% within three years" - boom, that's quantifiable and you're headed in the right direction. It provides something tangible for everyone in the business to get behind.
- Assign Ownership: Make sustainability part of the company culture, e.g., revenue goals or customer satisfaction metrics. Put someone in charge of these sustainability goals, an executive, a team, literally anyone capable. Task them with monitoring progress, solving problems, and keeping sustainability priorities on track. Make it one of their KPIs, like any other business objective.
- Get Verified: Internal reporting can be useful, but usually isn’t enough. Getting audited and certified by third parties/credible authorities lend concrete credibility. They allow for transparency and ensure that your actions are mapped to real-world standards. Customers, investors, and regulators will be thrilled.
Bottom line? Real sustainability requires actual consequences for not acting. So, if you're serious, time to get to work - make your sustainability initiatives count.