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The Fragility Between Climate and British Politics
July 2022 was a whirlwind for both politics and the environment, as the third Conservative Prime Minister stepped down, and the UK was hit by an extreme weather event that has seen record-breaking temperatures. The Physical or Financial Climate? Boris Johnson’s announcement of his resignation on the 7th of July meant the bid for leadership began. His resignation comes at a time as the UK is experiencing an extreme weather event and a Cost of Living crisis, with current inflation rates sat at around 9.4% and the Bank of England predicting a recession by the end of [...]
What Makes us the Best Sustainability Consultancy
What do we do? To oversimplify it: We help clients become sustainable and help keep companies compliant. How do we do it? From helping small businesses to identify their sustainability goals and credentials, all the way to helping big companies collect, track, manage and report their sustainability data. We can help with a plethora of sustainability services, but our bread and butter really is data! Though almost every business has the ambition to become sustainable, you cant make any significant change until you understand your EHS data. Only then can you implement steps to reducing your planetary impacts. [...]
Enablon System Optimisation
The chances are, if you are reading this blog, you know what Enablon is. However, for those who don’t, an Enablon system is an EHS (Environmental and Health & Safety) management system. The cloud-based software helps large organisations to collect, track, manage and report their EHS data, and can help to create actionable plans to help improve certain data points. For example, a large business can be able to track how many accidents happen in the workplace, and then the organisation can implement plans to mitigate these in the future. What is System Optimisation? For businesses with Enablon, making [...]
Curb Climate Change or Cool Down houses? America’s Answer:
We have 6 years left to halt climate change and stop a rise in 1.5 degrees as per the Paris Agreement. This shouldn’t be news. What is news though, is President Biden’s latest plans to curb climate change, or at least, the effects of climate change on Americans. While other countries are pioneering change, America still refuses to declare a climate emergency. Instead, it is pumping more money into combatting the side-effects of climate change. Last week, the president of the 2nd most polluting country in the world announced a $2.4billion pledge to help build infrastructure that is more [...]
Stay compliant: Everything you Need to Know About the CMA’s Plans to Stop Greenwashing
Businesses in the UK have been put on notice: stop greenwashing your marketing campaigns, or face prosecution from the CMA (Competition and Markets Authority). The CMA has issued a warning that it will take action against any business caught making misleading environmental claims. This is good news for consumers, who have had to put up with greenwashing for far too long. In this blog post, we'll discuss what greenwashing is, and how businesses can avoid getting in trouble with the CMA. What is Greenwashing and how to Avoid it With customers moving faster than ever to green alternatives to [...]
Top 10 Sustainability Highlights of 2021
2021 was a prominent year for sustainability. We’ve witnessed major high-level commitments globally, devastating climate change related natural disasters and heard scientists warn ‘code read for humanity’ in the latest IPCC report. Whilst we’ve seen strides of progress in some areas, the world still has a long, winding road ahead of us if we are to keep within the 1.5C target. With the start of 2022 well and truly upon us, we thought an introspective look at the year we've left behind would help keep the lessons of the past in mind as we take on new challenges for this [...]
Top 10 Takeaways from the Blue Zone at COP26
We’re nearing the end of COP26 with negotiations set to finish today (Friday 12th), although there are some discussions of negotiations continuing until this Sunday. Here’s what we've heard from the Blue Zone now that Day 12 is coming to end: 1. Two highest global emitters, US and China, sign joint declaration on climate change “through respective accelerated actions". Xie Zhenhua, Chinese climate envoy said that "We both see that the challenge of climate change is an existential and severe one... In the area of climate change, there is more agreement between China and the US than there is disagreement.” [...]
Top 10 Takeaways from the Green Zone at COP26
From the 1st – 12th November, the COP26 Green Zone was open to the public at the Glasgow Science Centre. Youth groups, civil society, academia, artists and businesses from across the UK and all over the world hosted events, exhibitions, cultural, performances, workshops and talks. Below, we have listed what we believe to be the most impactful comments and takeaways that echo the public views of this year’s COP event. 1. “We will be 5-6x more likely to experience heatwaves than the generations before us – we will get old, the amazon will undergo savannization and the animals we know [...]
Let’s talk about the ‘S’ in ESG
With 2022 set to see significant ESG (Environmental Social Governance) investment across industries, ESG maturity is entering a more sophisticated stage. Numerous short and long term social factors are imperative to a company’s sustainability performance. From labour strikes, customer boycotts to geopolitical risks or health & safety issues in the supply chain. As long as you have employees, serve customers and operate in a regulated environment – social considerations will impact every business across all sectors. This post will define what is meant by social performance, simplify the practicalities of integrating the ‘S’ in ESG including how to select social [...]
How to Turn Sustainability Insights into Value Creating Opportunities
Organisations embracing Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) practises as a driver of value creation are leading the transition to a more sustainable economy. As the world enters a new age, those leading the charge will be rewarded whilst laggards’ risk being left behind. With over 40 years of experience in sustainability data management, SustainIt drives positive change in SMEs and FTSE500s by delivering end-to-end data solutions for our clients. Using our expertise in this area, this blog offers industry insights into how to create value through data analytics, science-based targets, green funds, and social impact. How to use ESG to [...]
Improve Supply Chain Management in 6 Simple Steps
For every business, efficiency and effectiveness are both key in ensuring maximal profitability. No clearer is this than in the supply chain, where mutual dependence between suppliers, manufacturers, and retailers means that everyone has to be on their toes to ensure the consumer gets their good or service on time, to the required standard and at the right price. In the supply chain, things can go wrong, and waste can be a problem for supply chain supervisors and executives to deal with. Managing the supply chain from upstream to downstream is a must, but it can sometimes be difficult to [...]
Becoming a Net Zero Business
Net zero is becoming an increasingly important talking point in organisations worldwide. With mounting societal and ecological pressure, businesses are looking for ways to reduce their carbon footprints and encourage net zero practices across their entire workflow. While many of us are familiar with net zero as a concept, what does it actually look like in practice, and what changes do businesses need to make (and stick to) in order to become sustainably net zero? At SustainIt, we work with businesses to incorporate sustainability data into their decision-making processes, helping them to take the right steps towards net zero using [...]
An Overview of the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices
The Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) are an important set of benchmarks that are relevant to a wide variety of sectors internationally. For any organisation interested in generating long-term shareholder value and genuinely striving for sustainability, these indices are incredibly influential. The DJSIs can be a difficult concept to understand initially, that’s why we've put together this brief overview to run you through the basic concepts of the DJSIs without the jargon and clutter that otherwise makes them so inaccessible. What are the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices? Launched in 1999, The DJSIs are a group of best-in-class benchmarks designed for [...]
SustainIt’s most recent collaboration with IsoMetrix, leading developer of software solutions
Here at SustainIt, we're pleased to announce our recent collaboration with IsoMetrix, a leading developer of software solutions for integrated risk management. We have collaborated to provide our clients with an optimised risk management solution. At SustainIt, we have always been on hand to assist our clients in optimising their software solutions to get the most out of their sustainability data. As we continue to provide this service, IsoMetrix supplies their leading EHS (Environmental, Health and Safety) and ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) products. “SustainIt is able to drive positive change with [IsoMetrix’s] clients by guiding and assisting them in [...]
Comparing the Best Safety Management Software?
Health & safety at the workplace – something that we work hard to achieve on a day-to-day basis. The problem is, as your business grows, so do your safety concerns, which can prove difficult as an organisation reaches substantially larger sizes. We’ve come a long way from the factories of Victorian England, but there’s still a lot to consider when looking to improve your health & safety procedures. Many businesses implement safety management software (HSE) into their workflow in order to streamline their processes, but what is HSE, why do you need it and how on Earth do you choose [...]
‘Code red for humanity’? A Summary of the 2021 IPCC Report.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) have released part of its Sixth Assessment Report this week, which details the current state of the global climate crisis. Since the release of the report, the bleak findings are ‘a code red for humanity’, as described by UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres. Here, we are providing a summary of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly news outlined in the report, including their recommended actions as well as actions we recommend you take that can help improve the climate crisis. The Good: Deliberate removal of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere could [...]
Improving Stakeholder Engagement for Organisational Growth
Stakeholders are, naturally, a driving force for change in any organisation. As a result, it’s important to ensure that your stakeholders’ needs are met, and that you’re adjusting your engagement strategies to suit the individual. When looking to improve your stakeholder engagement, it’s important to note that this is an ongoing process – it’s of little use to only put in effort intermittently. Your strategy needs to involve frequent communication and well thought out activities that delight and impress in equal measure. No matter what your approach is, it’s vital that you make intelligent use of data when looking to [...]
Business Intelligence Strategies for SMEs
It’s common knowledge that using data to inform your decisions is a great way to drive growth, but the term ‘data’ is so broad, and ‘growth’ is rather subjective. This can result in conflicting advice and crossed wires. Business intelligence (BI) is a broad term referring to the use of key data analysis to inform your business’ growth. There are so many things to consider – how will you gather your data? What data is actually useful? How will you use this data to drive growth? What tools are right for your business? It’s incredibly easy to get overwhelmed, especially [...]
How to Become an EHS Manager
Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) managers play a vital role within all sorts of organisations. From large multinational corporations to smaller start-ups, EHS managers help maintain safe working procedures, protecting employees and the environment from potential risks. Corporate environmental footprints, supply chain ethics, employee rights and equality in the workplace are all topics that are grabbing headlines around the world and fall within the daily role of EHS managers. The term “HSE” (Health, Safety and Environment) can also be used to describe this job role. In this article, we delve into what a EHS manager does and tips for becoming [...]
The Definitive Guide to Corporate Social Responsibility Software (CSR)
If you’re looking for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) software, it can be difficult to know where to start. Many companies around the world are beginning to invest heavily in CSR due to legislation and because it’s becoming increasingly clear the impact that it can have on both employees’ and the public’s perception of their brand. We’ve put together this guide to CSR software to help you make an informed decision when shopping around. Alternatively, if you'd like help in choosing the right CSR software for your unique needs then try our free GoMarketWise dynamic tool. We designed it to help [...]
What are the GSR Standards?
The Global Symposium for Regulators (GSR) are a group of international regulators dedicated to global connectivity, sustainable business growth and business continuity. Their standards are loose blueprints for businesses to follow in order to strive for better sustainability practises. Through the pandemic, it’s become increasingly important for businesses to remain connected to their clients and employees. Businesses that are adaptive and resilient have managed to persist through one of the most trying times we’ll ever experience. At SustainIt, we believe that adhering to the GSR standards is an important step when striving for sustainable business growth. That’s why we’ve distilled [...]
Practical Advice for Reducing Environmental Impact in Business
Businesses are constantly looking to improve their environmental impact, and rightly so. With pressure from governments and global targets, as well as business-specific goals, SMEs and FTSE 500s alike are always trying to implement the best, most sustainable practices. Not only do positive changes within businesses benefit the environment, but also businesses themselves; appealing to environmentally conscious consumers, saving money, and creating a long-lasting impact they can be proud of. However, knowing where to start and how to implement changes for the benefit of the environment can be challenging. There are a plethora of ways businesses can reduce environmental impact, [...]
What is Data Management in Business?
Any business, no matter the sector, will produce a lot of data; it’s one of the most valuable assets you have. There are many uses for the data you collect that will allow you to make positive changes to your processes. Any software you use in your day-to-day will produce useful information, and learning how to make the most of it is critical for business growth. At SustainIt, we’ve got years of experience in making your data work harder. That’s why our experts have put together this guide to run you through the basics of data management, detailing the value [...]
Comparing GRC Software for Your Business
Looking to find the best GRC software for your business? We’re here to help. With so many different options out there, and with so many different features, deciding which GRC software to go with can feel like a daunting task. In this handy guide, we outline everything you need to know about GRC software and tips for finding the best solution for your organisational needs. To get started, you can simply use our free comparison tool that will guide you through the very best solutions based on your answers. Within a few minutes, you can navigate through the complex web [...]
Bristol-based tech consultancy’s innovative, new and improved EHS software selection tool helps businesses achieve their sustainability goals
SustainIt Solutions announce the relaunch of their unique sustainability software selection tool GoMarketWise, designed to help businesses select the right EHS/ESG software to achieve their sustainability goals. GoMarketWise is an easy to use, free and independent tool that evaluates a wide range of nearly 70 systems to recommend the best options for each individual business’s budget and requirements. With so many sustainability software solutions now on the market, SustainIt knew that they could share their 15 years of expertise and knowledge to help companies sift through the complex market and find the right fit for them. “We know how important [...]
SDG (Sustainable Development Goals) Tips and Solutions for Small Businesses
In the midst of a global pandemic, the United Nations (UN) celebrated the 5th anniversary of adopting a new sustainable development agenda. The agenda set 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) back on the 25th September 2015. As a collective, these are described by the UN as ‘the blueprint to achieving a better and more sustainable future for all’. Each of the goals come with specific targets to be achieved by 2030 to tackle a huge range of global challenges including poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace and justice. You can find more detail on each of the goals and [...]
How Working from Home Impacts Business Sustainability
The global pandemic has marked a major turning point into how businesses operate with attitudes towards working from home (WFH) being a key area of change. The latest statistics published in March 2021 reports a whopping 60% of UK workers have been WFH during the pandemic, with an estimated 26% planning to continue even after lockdown has ended. Such figures represent a hugely significant proportion of the workforce, and for many businesses, this will raise new challenges when it comes to managing sustainability goals. Interestingly, although it may seem obvious that factors such as zero commute and reduced energy consumption [...]
5 Tips for Better Supply Chain Management
Supply chain management is by no means an easy task. The term encompasses all that is required in the entire production flow of a good or service - from the raw materials, to the processes and/or manufacturing, delivery and even beyond. Regardless of how big or small your company is, the supply chain is likely to be a complex web of elements. So much so that numerous models have attempted to simplify its key components to make it easier to understand and effectively manage. One such example is the SCOR (Supply Chain Operations Reference), developed by the supply chain council [...]
The Power of Data Visualisation to Engage Employees, Stakeholders and Customers
Here at SustainIt, we are passionate about the value and importance of collecting accurate and reliable data within organisations. Leadership teams that have a wealth of meaningful data at their fingertips are more equipped to make better decisions and navigate challenges with confidence. Equally, having such data allows organisations to create transparency and openness about supply chains and processes, which often leads to deeper relationships with employees and consumers. But collecting and analysing your data is only the first stage. To create change, this data must be brought to life visually. Graphic and visual representation is a vital component that [...]
Getting Started with Power BI for Better Business Intelligence Management
In every industry, in every territory, data has become a valuable asset for organisations. Understanding and leveraging real-time data ensures teams and processes of any size can stay agile, proactive, and competitive. Business intelligence provides a practical solution to the abundance of data points within organisational processes, helping organisations grow and thrive. Business intelligence is the process of analysing, visualising and harnessing the power of raw data within an organisation and turning this into actionable takeaways that can shape the future roadmap for all sorts of business decisions. Business intelligence management relies heavily on technology and software to turn data [...]
An Overview of Sustainability in E-Commerce
Sustainability in business is not simply a ‘buzzword’ that gets thrown about lightly. For a business to use the term to describe any aspect of what it does, from the supply chain, to the production and delivery of a service or product, it needs to invest time and education in understanding whether or not enough is being done to credit itself as ‘sustainable’. For an ecommerce business, where the buying and selling of goods is done entirely over the internet, transparency with the ethics of your business plays a vital role in attracting and maintaining loyalty from an-ever growing, eco-conscious [...]
An Interview with… iSystain
What's new at iSystain? iSystain is continuously evolving. We have refreshed our values and our website to reflect iSystain's purpose: to make great software to drive great systems for people, the planet and measuring impact. What are the key focuses at Systar right now in terms of direction and strategy? Systar is focused on embedding our values within our organisation's culture whilst ensuring our people are inspired and supported on this journey to grow with purpose. This investment will reinforce our sustainability foundation, and lead to an improved understanding of our client's needs and translation to the iSystain environment. Systar [...]
A Beginner’s Guide to EHS Systems and Software
Reducing accidents, risk management, complying with regulatory bodies and ensuring the utmost level of safety for workers helps to create better working environments. Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) systems help to achieve this by leveraging a wealth of data to create transparency within organisations. This helps to combat risks and threats to people and planet by systemising internal processes to comply with regulations and safety standards. They also help to improve efficiency and mitigate waste in business. In this article, we delve into everything you need to know about these systems and their benefits: Controlling Risks Employee Health and Safety [...]
Measuring Social Impact Effectively
An organisation’s social impact describes the overall positive contributions and changes they make within society. In recent years, the trend towards transparency and accountability in business has led to the growth of those looking to accurately measure their social impact to illustrate their environmental and social credentials. In this article, we provide an overview of how businesses can start to measure their social impact and tips for getting started. If you’d like to drive positive change through sustainable business practices, simply get in touch with our friendly team here at SustainIt for help getting started. We believe that people, profit [...]
How to Become a Carbon Neutral Business
Becoming a carbon neutral business often sits at the top of the sustainability wish-list. Cutting the overall carbon footprint and achieving carbon neutrality is exemplary within any sector and illustrates an organisation that is actively working towards tackling climate change. The trend towards becoming a carbon neutral business highlights the importance of sustainability within business at present, and the desire for organisations to be responsible, accountable and transparent in how they operate. Consumers simply won’t accept outdated processes that create negative implications for people or our planet. Similarly, it can be hard to attract or retain top talent when your [...]
Adapting to Sustainability Consumer Trends
Understanding consumer trends has always been a vital part of a successful business. Now more than ever, one of the biggest trends being seen is the focus of consumers on the sustainability and environmental impact of the brands they invest in. In 2020, ‘ThinkwithGoogle’, reported a marked increase in sustainability-related searches in the last 12 months alone. It suggests that as consumers have become more educated on the issue of sustainability, the expectation of brands to share their concerns has soared. For your business, this means meeting the needs of your consumer is not just about having the right product [...]
5 Ways Sustainability Data Reporting Can Be Misleading
Presenting data in an eye-catching way to engage and inform all audiences is an essential part of an organisation’s sustainability journey, allowing effective monitoring and reporting of important progress. However, choosing the most appropriate style of visualisation can be challenging. An in-depth understanding of the patterns and contextual information behind the data needs to be grasped if you are to uncover narratives that can stand up to scrutiny. If a chart or graph is misused, audiences may draw conclusions that are not based on the evidence, or the true picture that lies within the data can be obscured. Here are [...]
An Interview with… IsoMetrix
SustainIt sat down with new IsoMetrix COO Giles Nelson. Following external investment in 2019, Giles will be responsible for the product and solutions in order to address the requirements of tomorrow to their expanding customer base. IsoMetrix first emerged as an ISO 140001 compliance tool for the mining industry. Since 2003, IsoMetrix has grown rapidly to become a governance risk and compliance software platform offering a range of EHS, compliance and sustainability solutions. IsoMetrix presents itself as a company-wide risk management solution for high-risk industries and has attracted blue-chip customers such as Anglo American and De Beers Group. What's new [...]
Everything You Need to Know About Sustainability Reporting
For any organisation looking to bolster their environmental and social credentials, sustainability reporting needs to become a priority. Being able to shed light on the complexities of an organisation’s daily operations and supply chains can help improve profitability, efficiency, and sustainability. Annual reports that clearly communicate a company’s environmental and social performance helps to engage stakeholders, employees, investors, and customers. It also helps to identify areas of improvement as well as presenting an opportunity to celebrate successful milestones. With so many data points within a business, the sheer volume of data can soon become overwhelming and the ability to communicate [...]
Rethinking Christmas – with a Sustainable Twist!
As for many of us, our Christmas will look rather different this year - but there's nothing to stop us getting in the festive spirit and better yet, in a sustainable way! Globally, Christmas has now turned into a mass of consumerism and waste! Today, more than 2 billion people in 160 countries celebrate Christmas. In the UK, over the festive period there is a calculated rise of more than 30% in waste. That’s over 300,000 tonnes of Christmas cards, 6 million Christmas trees and 75 million Mince Pies thrown away every year in the UK alone. But! There are [...]
7 Benefits of Using a Sustainability Consultancy
The need for organisations to operate sustainably while prioritising people and planet (as well as profit), has never been so important. From climate change to labour injustice, businesses have the responsibility to understand their true impact in the world. Supply chains are becoming increasingly complex and organisations must be accountable for every aspect of their business. Failing to do so carries with it not only concerns for people and the planet, but also highlights inefficiencies within supply chains that can negatively impact profitability. A lack of transparency within a business also shows a brand that is struggling to keep up [...]
An Interview with… Greenstone
SustainIt sat down with Greenstone's Head of Client Services, Jake Yeoell to learn more about Greenstone and their plans for the future. What’s new at Greenstone? One major change is in our product offering with the launch of our third Software-as-a-Service platform, InvestorPortal late last year. That's been a big change for us in terms of adding to our suite of sustainability solutions and the interest from the market has been exceptional which has kept us busy. This has also resulted in a shift on the content and customer services side of the business. InvestorPortal is focussed on enabling ESG [...]
The Prime Minister’s Ten Point Plan for Net-Zero
The Prime Minister's Ten Point Plan to “make our nation cleaner, greener and more beautiful” made its debut late last Tuesday night (17th November 2020). The announcement comes at a crucial time in the lead up to the COP26 Summit that will be held in Glasgow in 2021. The plan is set out to eradicate the UK’s contribution to climate change by 2050 and clearly alludes to the UK’s ambition of being “a world-leader in an array of clean technologies”. The Ten Point Plan will mobilise £12bn of government investment to create and support up to 250,000 green jobs. It aims [...]
Top tips for selecting the right EHS software
Sustainability & EHS software helps companies collect, manage, report and ultimately drive positive change using data. At SustainIt, when we speak about sustainability data, we’re not just looking at environmental sustainability but instead, data related to a sustainable world in general including governance, health & safety, supply chain and corporate social responsibility (CSR). The EHS software market is awash with companies looking to sell you their solutions. Having worked in this space for the last 15 years, seeing it develop and change greatly over that time, we have learned a lot from working directly with companies to select, implement and manage a variety of EHS solutions. So below are [...]
COVID-19: Support offered within the sustainability software market
At SustainIt we wanted to share news around what some of our market leading EHS / sustainability software partners are doing to help their customers utilize these powerful software platforms across risk, health & safety as well as sustainability to better understand more about COVID-19 related impacts to their business and staff.
Inequality and Covid-19 – making change for good
Almost all global crises have one thing in common; the poorest and the most vulnerable in our world will be the hardest hit. Be it recession, climate disasters, or the current COVID-19 pandemic, global crises disproportionately impact the lives of the poor and marginalized, sustaining and reinforcing global inequality. For the poorest in the world facing a crisis there is a threefold impact: Their disproportionate exposure to the direct impact Their susceptibility to damage caused by the crisis Their lack of resource to cope and recover from the damage suffered The devastating economic fallout of the current COVID-19 pandemic is [...]
Data Visualisation, Insights to Impact
We live in an inherently visual world, where images speak ten times louder than words. Data visualisation or story telling is the visual representation of information and data using different graphical elements.
Changing the face of sustainable business through emerging tech
Data has hugely impacted our business perspectives over the last few years. Instead of a few spreadsheets to manage our environmental impact we are now looking at complex systems in order to simplify data.
What are the effects of moving towards a more virtual way of work?
During this unprecedented time, many have been fortunate enough to be able to work from home, or work flexibly. Could our experiences in the coming weeks support a permanent shift towards flexible and virtual working?
Four (less obvious) tips for selecting the right sustainability software
Sustainability software helps companies collect, manage, report and ultimately drive positive change using a variety of data sources and areas. When we speak about sustainability data, we’re not just looking at environmental sustainability but instead, data related to a sustainable world in general including governance, health & safety, supply chain and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
Taking Action for Nature – The BNHC Debate
On Wednesday last week, the BNHC held an Action for Nature Debate, inviting four organisations to share their inspirational project, stories and visions with the audience and spark debate on how to best take action.
Are your office plants making you healthier?
The results of an experiment by NASA have influenced office gardeners. Plants also boast some benefits to our mental health and wellbeing in the office.
Renting Clothes – a solution to the fashion industry’s growing Carbon Footprint?
The fashion industry has been seriously criticised for being un-sustainable. A staggering 100 billion items of clothing are being produced annually, yet 50% of fast fashion pieces are disposed of within a year. 80% of this waste is then incinerated and a whopping 20% sent to into landfill.
What are the Global Goals and how can we use them to help our businesses be more sustainable and work together achieve the goals?
If you haven’t heard of them before, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a universal call to action to not just end poverty, but also protect the planet and improve the lives and prospects of everyone, everywhere.
It’s 2020, what will the key sustainability trends be this decade?
As the clock ticks over into a new decade, SustainIt look at what are some of the global trends facing sustainability professionals and indeed the planet as the time remaining to mitigate catastrophic levels of climate change shrinks further
Data Accuracy – just one aspect of excellent data quality
In this blog, we’re highlighting the most common data quality challenges organisations face, along with some practical techniques that you can use to improve your sustainability/ CSR data quality. In recent years there has been an increasing pressure from investors, the press, governments and other organisations for independent verification of large companies’ sustainability reports’ contents. According to the 2017 KPMG Survey of Corporate Responsibility Reporting 93% of the world’s 250 largest companies (Global 250) issued sustainability reports and of these 25% have issued restatements (revisions) of past data in their corporate Reports, highlighting the need for improved data quality. Many large [...]
Is your organisation looking to up your sustainability storytelling game in 2020?
Sustainability storytelling in all its guises is being increasingly adopted by companies all over the world. Some are brilliant at this whilst others lack consistency and originality. Putting aside the debate over ‘green washing’ for now, storytelling is something that many organisations struggle with in general. If you’re looking ahead to the new decade thinking, “there’s so much more we could be doing”, or, “Our customers really don’t connect with our sustainability communications” then read our helpful summary of the guide entitled ‘Shaping Your Organisation’s Narrative Infrastructure’ from Embedding Project. You can read and use the full guide here. “The [...]
200k steps Challenge November 2019
The challenge consisted of walking 200,000 steps (approx. 90 miles) over the entire month of November.
The Winter Solstice and Circularity
In the natural world the infinite cycling of the ecosystem means there is no such thing as ‘waste’. Can we mimic this circularity in our own economy?
How can I help you today? – Chatbots for Good
Chatbots are virtual assistants who talk to a user through messaging platforms. Find out how Chatbots can help to address global issues by putting the power back into the peoples hands and creating more responsible and transparent supply chains.
“Breathing clean air is a basic human right” Right?
Kirstin Brünjes, our Junior Systems Consultant is bilingual and has kindly translated her blog into both German and English - seen here alongside each other.
One Year in our new office – Changes we have made
During October, we utilised our social media channels to highlight some of the key impacts of our sustainability initiatives. Although it’s easy to dismiss the impact of small businesses, we recognise the importance of monitoring, reporting and trying to reduce ours here at SustainIt.
The Internet of Things: Advances in technology
‘The Internet’ is a common term generally used to describe the massive network of computers that exist today. This network connects people globally and allows them to communicate with each other, provided they are connected to ‘the internet’. For the purposes of this article we will call this the Internet of People. The Internet of Things – however, is a very different matter altogether. You may have already heard of the Internet of Things (IOT). The term has been floating about for over 25 years. As a concept, it wasn’t officially named until 1999. One of the first examples of [...]
Just one more level? Please?
Playing for the planet. Companies such as Sony, Microsoft and Google have come together, facilitated by the UN Environmental Programme (UNGP) to help combat climate change.
Organic wine … is it worth the cost, or the effort?
Data shows that organic wine will account for 9% of UK wine consumption by 2022 and most organic wine appears to be consumed in Europe.
Sustainability in the Beauty Industry
There are currently 5 major sustainability issues facing the beauty industry. Here’s how the Soil Association’s accreditation is helping tackle these issues.
A Greener Festival?
Music festivals can be seen, on the one hand, as unsustainable and consumptive. On the other hand, they can be a great medium through which to spread the message of environmentalism.
5 simple changes you can make for Plastic Free July
Follow these tips throughout Plastic Free July and you could reduce your household waste on average by 76kg per household per year (7.6%).
SustainIt flying the flag for Pride 2019
In celebration of Pride 2019 and to show our support to all our staff as well as the LGBT community we are going to be flying the flag throughout July.
Market Update
Salesforce acquires Tableau June 2019. Salesforce.com agree to acquire Tableau in an all stock transaction to the tune of $15.7 billion. The synergies between the two companies have been cited as a reason to be optimistic about the growth of the company over the next couple of years at least. Adam Selipsky, President and CEO at Tableau, in his email to company employees mentioned…” we were quickly struck by the cultural similarities between the companies. A desire to change the world through data and digital transformation”. That being said, Salesforce have communicated that Tableau will operate independently and under its [...]
Hybrid, electric or bi-fuel? How to go low emissions without breaking the bank.
So you want a low emissions car yet have a relatively small budget. Is it possible for under £10,000? The answer is yes, if you are willing to look hard and take your time.
10 Minutes with…Our CEO Charlie
Putting a face to the amazing work we do here at Sustain IT, allowing the outside world to learn a little more about the hard working, passionate and driven people that work here at SustainIt.
To Scoot or not to Scoot – How uncool is it really?
Why haven’t adults considered using a scooter before? We buy them for our kids to whizz around on as they are lighter and more transportable than bicycles, why not buy them for ourselves too? Cycling tends to use just the legs and your top half is pretty stationery. Scooter riding is more of a whole-body workout.
SustainIt’s Great British Lunch!
Our latest lunch was inspired by something that fills our newspapers and newsfeeds every day and causes heated discussions over family dinners. You guessed it, it’s Brexit.
Volunteering at Bristol’s First Community Fridge
Bristol Food Network have teamed up with South Bristol’s Children Centre to launch Bristol’s first Community Fridge. The project, pioneered by Hubbub UK, looks to locally distribute what would otherwise be food waste whilst promoting a sharing community culture.
Do I really need to upgrade my software (again!)?
‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ or so the saying goes. It isn’t a bad motto to stick with for most things but that doesn’t mean it is the definitive answer for software upgrades.
5 (Incorrect) assumptions about choosing Sustainability Software
Are you making the wrong assumptions when choose your sustainability software? Read our CEO's top 5 (Incorrect) assumptions made by companies looking for or to improve their sustainability software.
Sustainable Dining – Sourcing, Society and Environment
An increasing number of food businesses, including restaurants, street vendors and canteens, are putting sustainability at the top of their menu and championing the sustainable food movement.
5 Ways Artificial Intelligence is Making the Food Industry More Sustainable
The food industry is solely responsible for almost a third of global emissions. We need to get this under control – perhaps artificial intelligence is the answer?
Volunteering at a Local Primary School
SustainIt offers each employee the chance to volunteer for a charity of their choosing for two days every year.
CSR Data Quality – Common challenges and improving techniques
One of the main challenges that face CSR and sustainability managers today is being able to collect and manage enormous amounts of data whilst guaranteeing data quality.
Ecobricks
Ecobrick is an easy, straight forward method of compacting single use plastic to create a building block suitable to construct walls and furniture.
WEBINAR – Software selection: how to do it right first time
Wednesday 8th August, 3pm BST - Register here Are you on the hunt for a sustainability and EHS software solution for your business? Choosing the wrong system to manage and report your non-financial data can be a costly mistake. Clearly defined goals and requirements, together with adequate technical expertise and planning, are key to a successful selection and implementation process. By joining our next 30 minute webinar, you’ll learn everything you need to know to do it right first time; minimising risk, saving time and money, and increasing employee engagement. You can register for the webinar here. The session will [...]
How CSR Software Improves Data Accuracy
Rise in Sustainability Reporting and Data With the increased awareness of the current and future impact of global issues such as climate change, and increased wariness of environmentally conscious consumers post the 2008 financial crash, it has become the norm for large corporations to produce sustainability and CSR reports. Research undertaken by KPMG in 2017 showed that by 2017, 93% of the world’s top 250 corporations (by revenue) produce annual corporate responsibility reports, up from 35% in 1999. This significant increase in Non-Financial Reporting (NFR) requires the management of vast new data sets, often covering a large variation in indicators, [...]
Aligning your CSR strategy with the UN Sustainable Development Goals
In September 2015 the UN released its seventeen sustainable development goals (SDGs). The aim has been to encourage the business community to align their corporate strategies to better serve a number of social, environmental and economic issues facing the world in the 21st century. The SDGs are also aimed at governments, the public sector and society at large and seek to put ethical and pressing issues at the heart of policy, process and decision making. In this article, I want to explore how businesses of all types and sizes can have a positive impact on the UN’s SDGs and help [...]
The Importance of Supply Chain Diversity
In this blog post, I want to talk about the importance of supply chain diversity and why it’s beneficial for large companies to look to diversify their suppliers. Not only does this strategy present significant advantages to the company in hand in terms of agility and the ability to adapt to a changing market, but it also has significant economic and social benefits. Let’s begin then, by looking at what supply chain diversity actually means. What is Supply Chain Diversity? Supplier diversification is a term that is associated with the strategy of manufacturing businesses to broaden the range of suppliers [...]
How CSR Software Drives Value
Modern companies of all shapes and sizes are under increasing pressure to comply with environmental regulation and reporting, but also to demonstrate to their customers and shareholders that they’re running their business acting in a responsible and sustainable way. Ultimately this means integrating sustainability data, not only into the reporting and compliance functions of the business but into the business model itself. With huge developments in our ability to capture and track data from every stage of the supply chain the Internet of Things is allowing us to capture more data than ever before. Inevitably this has created a huge [...]
Working with Sustainability Data in Excel: Pros and Cons
Coming off the back of our last blog post looking at Excel as a non-financial data management tool, I thought the blog warranted an accompanying piece exploring the pros and cons of using Microsoft’s flagship spreadsheet software. So without further ado, let’s take a look at some the pros of using Excel. Excel Pros Universality Excel is a universally recognised system and therefore it’s more likely that your employees will be familiar with using it, if just at a basic level. This means less training and a much wider pool of potential users from the outset. This universality means you [...]
Tips and tricks to help manage your CSR data in Excel
If and when you begin strategically collecting CSR data from your organisation, one of the first things you will probably notice is just how much of it there is. It’s amazing how much data can be collected on how many things and soon you will be faced with the daunting task of unifying various datasets from various business functions into something that can be interpreted, analysed and reported on.
Data Accuracy and Timeliness
In this article I want to look at the two fundamental elements of sustainable and non-financial data quality assessment: timeliness and accuracy.
CSR and Storytelling
Creating reliable and insightful sustainability data sets that can be acted upon, is the bedrock of any developed corporate social responsibility policy but it’s really only half of the battle.
How CSR Software Drives better Sustainability Reporting
Talk to any CIO or IT Manager in just about any industry and it won’t be long before they talk to you about the problem with data. One of the hallmarks of the 21st century from a technology point of view has been the exponential increase in data. Data is abundant and seemingly limitless. But our ability to make sense of it hasn’t quite kept pace.
What is Data Topology?
One of the most important steps in working out how you want to collect and manage your sustainability data is understanding what data there is and where it comes from – in essence, building a three dimensional topology of the data that is available within your organisation.
How to choose the right sustainability software
So, you’ve decided to look at a new software system to manage your non-financial data but not sure where to start? The sustainability, EHS, Supply Chain and Compliance software market, as you may have gathered, is huge. At last count over 100 software companies have offerings across these areas.
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