Sustainability Plan: How it can be designed and implemented

In this article, we’ll investigate what a sustainability plan is, how it relates to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and how its implementation can help your company in a number of ways.

We’ll also take a look at the benefits of adopting a sustainable approach to your business and we’ll give you a step-by-step guide to creating and implementing an effective sustainability plan in your organisation.

So, accompany us on this sustainability journey and discover how a sustainability plan can boost your company’s long-term success and resilience.

Index

What is a sustainability plan and why is it so important?

63% of Spanish workers believe that sustainability policies, such as the one we’re exploring here, are a determining factor. These are the results from a study recently published by Compromiso RSE (in Spanish), a specialist CSR website. As we can see, ESG criteria (i.e. environmental, social and corporate governance) are growing in importance.

Defining a sustainability plan

A sustainability plan is a guide that sets clear, measurable and realistic objectives to improve an organisation’s sustainability. In addition, it needs to work in harmony with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are aimed to be achieved by 2030. Generally speaking, it should follow the European Union’s lead in reducing the company’s carbon footprint.

It is worth highlighting the fact that the EU stands out from other organisations of its kind in that it implements realistic and specific policies. What’s more, the plan needs to include all workers, directors, clients and investors linked to the business. By ensuring these key components are incorporated, companies all over the world will be able to effect real change.

Benefits of implementing a sustainability plan

The European Environment Agency has been urging us to adopt plans to combat this pressing issue since 2015. In fact, it declared that Europe is far from reaching its target of “living well, within the limits of our planet”. For this reason, it is now more important than ever that we fully understand the advantages of these kinds of guidelines:

Improved corporate image. Four out of every five large companies in Spain increased their sustainability investment in 2022, according to Deloitte (in Spanish). One of the main reasons for this was the need to show a commitment to the planet. The same study revealed that 74% of people are worried by the role that companies are playing.
Reduced operating costs. Sustainable policies have an overwhelmingly positive effect on the value chain in the medium and long term. This is mainly a result of optimising the use of resources and reducing waste. Increasing your company’s energy efficiency is a great way to ensure a promising future.

A step-by-step guide to creating a sustainability plan

Nowadays, every company can choose exactly how to adopt its own sustainability plan. However, it is worth noting that there are a number of regulations that must be observed, which contain some important aspects. Of these, the most important to consider are state regulations which are then transposed into law in EU member states, such as:

Spanish Law on Cooperation for Sustainable Development and Global Solidarity (2023). This forces companies and institutions to also focus efforts on combating hunger and creating healthy environmental conditions.
Spanish Sustainable Economy Law (2011). This called for businesses to join together in the fight against climate change. It marked an important milestone in this regard.

Step 1: Perform a materiality analysis

First of all, it’s vital that you know how to create a materiality analysis. This will help you infinitely when deciding on which actions should take priority and other relevant aspects. You will be able to optimise the investments your company makes in terms of time, as well as human and financial capital.

In order to prepare a materiality analysis, you’ll need to provide in-depth details of your corporation’s impact from an environmental, social and economic viewpoint each year. In other words, you’ll describe what your company is doing to bring about real change. Next, you’ll have to find out which resources are available to you and try to make them more sustainable.

Step 2: Identify sustainability goals and objectives

Your chosen goals must meet certain requirements so that they can be effective:

Specific and detailed. Do away with vague proposals and make firm commitments that are in line with societal demands. In particular, this refers to issues such as minimising your carbon footprint and cutting down on natural resource wastage.
Measurable. It’s crucial that you assess your progress by using relevant metrics. To do this, establish a series of indicators, as you’ll see in step four. Some of the more fitting ones include the percentage of GHG emissions reduction and carbon footprint offsetting.
Assessment and monitoring. Objectives must be subject to a critical evaluation during the planning stage. Once they have been implemented and you’ve started to work towards them, ask an independent body to come and check that they are actually being met.

Step 3: Drawing up strategies and actions for your sustainability plan

It goes without saying that any action you decide on must be focused on meeting the goals that you set in the previous step. This is the only way to bring about your desired changes and minimise obstacles and difficulties. As such, they need to form part of a detailed guide which all members of your team, and even society as a whole should be involved in creating.

Some strategies have a far-reaching influence that goes way beyond the sector itself. Give priority to these kinds:

Optimising energy efficiency (in line with the guidelines of the Institute for the Diversification and Saving of Energy [IDAE]).
Effectively and intelligently managing waste, whilst preventing the misuse and contamination of natural spaces.
Integrating an eco-friendly policy in the production chain, such as tourism sustainability plans.

Another cornerstone that offers many possibilities is collaboration between companies. In any case, it is worth broadening your scope and also working alongside bodies and NGOs that are dedicated to improving companies’ sustainability.

Step 4: Setting and monitoring key performance indicators (KPIs)

Some of the most common KPIs that you can include in your company’s sustainability plan are:

Renewable energy penetration. Make full use of the grants offered by public bodies such as IDAE. They tend to be focused on solar energy, whether photovoltaic, thermal or hybrid installations. The latter in particular is starting to show great promise and potential.
Energy efficiency in production. Industrial activity is one of the main causes of GHG emissions. Adopting measures that reduce electricity consumption is of utmost importance. To help achieve this, the most effective KPIs you can use are those that concentrate on company energy consumption.

One of the key ways in which APLANET can be of service is by helping you set indicators that are sure to contribute to reaching the goals you’ve set. This is a fully personalised service that is adapted to the needs of your company, and our real-time data management system will make sure you stay on the right track. This ensures that your investment is being used effectively.

Step 5: Communicating and participating with stakeholders

When adopting an environmental sustainability plan, it’s a good idea to identify your different stakeholders. This usually divides your company, the people that comprise it and the different organisations that interact with it into groups. The most effective plans are those that involve all parties affected:

Investors, who are responsible for providing the financial capital required to carry out the company’s sustainability plan.
Clients, who, as we mentioned earlier, are mostly willing to pay more. What matters to them more than anything else is that they are supporting an eco-friendly solution.
Shareholders, who may belong to other companies or entities focused on CSR. These provide invaluable help when searching for shared goals.

Step 6: Reviewing and continuously improving your sustainability plan

This final step never really comes to an end, as it just keeps going as a cycle. We recommend establishing a methodology for constantly reviewing, monitoring and developing your plan. Therefore, you’ll need two professionals to take care of this. One of them needs to be part of the company’s senior management, while the other should be an independent specialist.

Together, and with representatives for all stakeholders, they will embark on the review process. Following this, they will report back on the progress to those who have invested in the plan. The aim of this is to show exactly how their time and money have been used, as well as the milestones that have already been achieved and those that are still in progress.

This is when you’ll have to sit down and review each of your KPIs one by one in order to compare the degree to which each of them have been achieved and determine whether or not the company is heading in the right direction. If, on the other hand, it is deemed to be going in the opposite direction, there’s no need to worry: this step will allow you to detect the causes and further develop your sustainability plan.

Conclusions and recommendations for creating an effective sustainability plan

We are firm believers that this needs to be a three-pronged approach that tackles the economic, environmental and social scope of the company in order to provide a true reflection of its current situation. This also includes ensuring that the needs of its clients, investors and society as a whole are being met.

Get in touch with experts in this field to create a network of collaborators, both internal and external. This will give you a valuable and constant flow of ideas.
Report on your progress and challenges. Your company should provide frequent updates on its achievements and shortcomings. Don’t be afraid to ask for advice.
Use supporting software. One example is the program developed by APLANET, which allows you to manage all your information efficiently and give you complete control over traceability.

Create a sustainability plan that meets your company’s goals with the help of APLANET. With our software, you can collect data and manage your indicators and information all in one place, while also generating your own reports. Request a demo.

Subscribe to our resource hub to keep up to date with the latest trends in the sector

businessESGsustainability