Companies are faced with a dizzying array of sustainability standards, guidelines, certifications, and frameworks. It can be overwhelming. In fact, there are over 600 of these various sustainability schemes around the world. How should a company decide which one to follow?
In the past, companies have selected schemes that competitors follow, those that are suggested by industry associations, or those that are most well-known and commonly used. But new research now reveals to companies which sustainability schemes will lead companies to the most sustainable business practices.
Rating Sustainability Schemes
James Demastus and Nancy Landrum evaluated 20 of the most used sustainability schemes around the globe.
The research included such well-known schemes as the Sustainable Development Goals, Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), Science-Based Targets Initiative, B Corporation, and more. Analyzing the content of each scheme, the researchers matched each scheme to one of the five stages of sustainability. So how did the sustainability schemes fare?
The Bare Minimum
The first group of sustainability schemes represented the weakest effort to engage companies in sustainable business practices. Schemes in this group focused on practices that are compliant with legal regulations, seen as ethical, and promote business-as-usual with few additional demands. This group of schemes included the Climate Disclosure Project, European Union Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS), Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), OECD, SASB, Task Force for Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), and the UN Global Compact.
The second group of sustainability schemes still represented a fairly weak effort to move companies toward sustainable business practices and focused primarily on easy-to-implement practices that should result in a return on investment or other benefits for the company. This group of schemes included BCorp, BS 8001 standards, Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB), Integrated Reporting, Natural Capital, Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), SDG Compass, and Sustainable Development Performance Indicators.
Balancing Profit and Sustainability
The third group of sustainability schemes combined both weak efforts and some strong efforts to help companies adopt sustainability, however, most of these schemes still focused on seeking financial profit and contributing to economic growth as part of their guidance which only serves to slow unsustainable activities. This group of schemes included the Circular Economy, Doughnut Economics, ISO 14001, Planetary Boundaries, and The Natural Step.
How Companies Can Adopt More Sustainable Behaviors
Surprisingly, there were no schemes that promoted strong efforts to implement sustainable business practices in the fourth and fifth stages of sustainability. This means that although there is no existing guidance to help companies move toward strong sustainable actions, the best options at this time are those sustainability schemes in the third group that can help companies reduce (not eliminate) unsustainable behaviors and begin to adopt more sustainable behaviors. While we are waiting for stronger sustainability schemes to be developed, the researchers conclude that the best schemes currently available to help your company become more sustainable are the Circular Economy, Doughnut Economics, ISO 14001, Planetary Boundaries, and The Natural Step. Following these schemes should put your company well on its sustainability journey.
