The importance of sustainability standards & credentials

Businesses are operating in the context of a broader transformation in the industries and a shift to higher expectations.

Making environmental improvements, social impact or community contributions is increasingly part of the way they operate. Setting up a system to collect the data for conformance with requirements of labelling or reporting schemes helps show how businesses are meeting societal expectations.

Reporting, gaining accreditation or a label adds a credible endorsement of their achievements and progress. For example, being BCorp they can highlight how they improve the lives of the people by creating decent jobs, goods and services that help meet basic needs, and more inclusive value chains.
Undertaking monitoring assists with identifying how to improve their environmental and/or social performance. The management (or governance oversight of issues) can be part of managing checks that are done for complying with legislation (including workplace health and safety, privacy and cyber security).

While there are some well-recognised standards and eco-labels, it is up to individual businesses to choose those standards and labels they believe are likely to benefit them and their customers most. Of course a business also needs to follow mandatory levels of quality imposed by industry groups or governments.

The growth in the development of industry standards and eco-labelling encourages businesses to ask the following question…

“How can our business build capability, profitability and resilience by using sustainability standards and eco-labels?”

To answer this question, read about green credentials.