What issues do they face?
It’s important to understand each client’s unique issues and their aspirations. These issues and goals vary depending on their size, their client base, number of staff, sophistication of systems, reporting, how long they have focused on sustainability etc.
In today’s climate much of what we do is focused on cost reduction for our clients. Whilst it’s a monetary focus, it does reduce their carbon footprint and frees up cash to focus on further sustainability opportunities, perhaps which require capex. Other clients work for large international “blue-chips” who were early adopters of the sustainability drive. In order to work for them, prospective suppliers need to have a clear sustainability strategy with evidence to back up progress else they wouldn’t even progress past the “pre-qualification” stage.
Common issues typically faced by our clients include:
- Collating and analysing things like utility spend is difficult given the multitude of properties, different providers, information available etc.
- Having information at hand to challenge staff and suppliers responsible for key areas of sustainability is difficult because of the lack of quality information tailored to each unique user in order to measure progress and make decisions
- Sustainability is such a broad area with specialist skills required. There are many providers out there but most are specialists only looking at one distinct area, meaning a company may need to contract with as many as ten different partners to cover all its sustainability needs
- Significant progress can be made on sustainability by changing the way staff behave but this is often seen as “hard to do” and “left till later”
- The current economic climate means most companies are under cost pressure. Obtaining approval for capex from the Board is particularly difficult. Management often need help drafting business cases for such funding and require supporting information about payback periods etc
- Our clients acting in the capacity of suppliers are increasingly being asked for more information on their sustainability performance. Gathering this data and keeping it up to date is time consuming
- In turn our client’s suppliers know they themselves need to support our client’s sustainability agenda but often “green wash” their credentials – vetting and auditing their claims is worthwhile but seen as time consuming
- Competition is becoming fiercer. Sustainability is a source of differentiation but it’s such a diverse area – where do they start? Few outside parties can advise on all aspects and most of the specialists out there advise on distinct areas without seeing the bigger picture and taking ownership of delivering the vision
- In-house sustainability experts can be excellent in one area but lacking in knowledge in others
- Sustainability crosses / impacts every department of the firm – who is going to bring it all together?
- Sustainability has entered the era of legal compliance with complicated legislation such as the Carbon Reduction Commitment which could have cost and reputation implications if not dealt with. Legislation by its very nature often changes and it can be difficult to keep up with changing requirements
No matter what your issue is, we will take the time to understand your challenges and what is important to your success.
