It took all of us to get us here, it’ll take all of us to get out

The mammoth challenges our planet and population are facing require collective action to drive more sustainable behaviour from all of us – governments, businesses, and individuals.

Frustratingly, those with the power to drive change the fastest – our global leaders and governments – aren’t doing it nearly fast enough. Political climate intervention is slow at best, non-existent at worst.

This is where businesses come in.

It’s not just about responsibility, it’s about survival  

If the survival of the planet isn’t enough of an incentive for businesses to change, there is a real risk that businesses simply won’t survive if they don’t adapt how they work:

→ Regulatory restrictions could impact your business if you’re not prepared
⇨ Global ESG regulations have already increased by 155% in the last 10 years


→ Hiring the best talent will become more challenging
⇨ 67% of 16-24 year olds agree that sustainability is key when choosing a company to work for


→ Customers will start to choose better alternatives    
⇨ 61% global consumers say they’d be less willing to buy a company’s product if they found it performed poorly on environmental practices

“Companies that ignore climate change and don’t adapt will go bankrupt without question.”

Mark Carney, UN special envoy for climate action and finance and former governor of Bank of England

One step at a time

We’re not expecting all businesses to overhaul their purpose, transform their operations and become net zero overnight. Yes, the scale of change required is big, but the best way to get there? Take the first step. What’s most important is the willingness to change and starting to take positive steps.

“Don’t let the fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of your doing it. The time will pass anyway; we might just as well put that passing time to the best possible use.”

Earl Nightingale

3 Business Imperatives To Drive Sustainable Change

To figure out where to start, it’s helpful to think about the different ways we can shift businesses to be more responsible and more sustainable.

1. Internal business operations

How can you decarbonise your internal operations?

→ Unilever send zero non-hazardous waste to landfill from their factories. They map every type of waste they produce and train employees to create smart action plans to reuse, recycle or recover (use it to generate energy) the waste. When they find approaches that work, they transfer them to other sites around the world. 

→ Netflix have promised to cut their emissions in half by 2030 by optimising their energy use and electrifying the energy they use

→ Salesforce have implemented 100% renewable energy along with a policy to work from anywhere and limit business travel to reduce their carbon footprint. This is supplemented by nature restoration programmes.

2. Your Products And Services

How can you create and deliver products and services that have a lighter footprint?

→ AkzoNobel has developed an “eco-premium” range, reducing toxicity, energy use, emissions and waste. The eco-premium range now accounts for 20% of sales.

→ Ecover have produced a range of refillable laundry and household products to reduce plastic production and waste.

→ Intuit have created a climate marketplace offering customers discounts from sustainable suppliers including office supplies, electric vehicles, and cleaner energy.

3. What You Inspire Others To Do

How can you inspire customers to adopt more sustainable behaviours?

→ IKEA teach customers how to live more sustainably through workshops, home visits and community through their lagom community project.

→ Patagonia boldly ask people not to buy things they don’t need in some advertising and encourage voting for the right political leaders to drive positive climate action.

“It seems that a huge source of untapped potential for positive impact is being overlooked; namely, the role that business can play in helping billions of ordinary citizens make more sustainable choices and change habits and behaviours which, collectively, will make a massive contribution to solving the environmental and social challenges we are all facing.”

António Guterres, UN Secretary-General

Understanding and building these concepts into our strategies will increase our chances of driving more sustainable behaviour. 

Let’s do this

If you’re still reading, and if you’re thinking YES, I want to do help make changes, I want to make a start, I want to champion sustainable behaviour in my business – but where? We can help.

Before making any big decisions, we recommend the following four steps to set the foundations for your sustainability journey:

1. Educate yourself
2. Define your purpose as a business
3. Find the right partners
4. Start the conversation with those around you

Magnus Consulting and Count Us In work in partnership, bringing together expertise in audiences, insights, growth strategy, communications strategy, behaviour change and large-scale sustainability initiatives. We each bring complementary strengths from a commercial and sustainability angle that make our combined approach valuable and effective.