Andrew Cook

“Sustainability is not the preserve of the rich.”

To send a link to this page to a friend, simply enter their email address below.

The message will include the name and email address you gave us when you signed up.

Email address

  Send link

To send a link to this page to a friend, you must be logged in.

How perfectly put by the managing director of the Sustainable Restaurant Association as he awarded “The Clink” - the prison restaurant at High Point jail - a coveted award.

Why did a prison restaurant win the award? Because The Clink is highly efficient it is also environmentally friendly and as-such cheap to run. It uses a wind turbine to power its kitchen range; grows three-quarters of its vegetables and salad on site and uses rainwater butts to collect irrigation water. It turns dirty fryer oil into bio-diesel for prison vehicles.

Misconceptions that corporate responsibility and sustainability are expensive luxuries and the preserve of big business are widespread, though many initiatives cost little or nothing.

Employee motivation and customer service are both about good business practice.

Community involvement can be inexpensive and even philanthropy can be free if you work to facilitate donations by others. Ebay offers all customers the chance to add £1 to each transaction, which costs the organisation nothing but brings enormous value to beneficiaries and plays to a common feel-good mindset: “What’s £1 to help others when I’ve grabbed myself a bargain?”

With some initial investment, long-term returns and savings can also be made in energy efficiencies and consumption. Ultimately, sustainability is about finding initiatives that are appropriate - and beneficial - for your business.

Motivation and innovative thinking not headcount or turnover should be the drivers for small businesses to implement effective corporate responsibility strategies.

The reality is small business, like big business, must answer demands from stakeholders to demonstrate sustainability in order to build loyalty and provide profitable long-term growth.

More often than not, small businesses are better able to implement strategies, due to their flexibility, culture and closer relationships with key stakeholders.

Corporate responsibility can create significant opportunities to make a company stronger and more resilient, something even more critical in tough economic times. So where does one start?

While the specific elements of a corporate responsibility strategy will differ from one organisation to another there are some key principles which remain constant.

Firstly, I beg you, don’t call it Corporate Social Responsibility.

The very name suggests no influence over the environment and to be truly effective there must be a positive outcome for society, the environment and the bottom line.

Define the organisations “sphere of influence” - a clear definition can go a long way toward meeting the expectations of stakeholders.

Be transparent about what you are doing and communicate why you are doing it - an inability to demonstrate an action is a sure fire way of creating skepticism in your approach.

Create incentives for continuous improvement and encourage best practices. Connect corporate responsibility to core business strategy - stakeholders look for evidence that a company’s corporate responsibility initiatives reflect an ongoing organisational commitment rather than an ad hoc response to an isolated issue.

Adopting these principles, and focusing on strategies which create economic prosperity whilst addressing social and environmental issues will ensure organisations avoid common pitfalls and actually do make a positive and sustainable impact on society, the planet and their growth.