EVEN IN THE MIDST of a challenging economy, the green movement has managed to make its way from Wall Street to Main Street. From global corporations to sole proprietorships, sustainability has gone mainstream.

Many small businesses are now attempting to navigate their role and strategy for the new green economy. But with limited resources and an abundance of factors to consider, many companies don’t know how or where to start.

A few basic guidelines can help position small businesses for success in sustainability.

1. Obtain leadership buy-in. First, it’s important to get buy-in from company ownership and leadership. Smaller businesses tend to be more transparent in terms of their values and priorities, so it’s critical that all employees believe that sustainability is a priority for the business. The sustainability directive must come from the top-down in order to expedite progress and ensure a successful program.

Obtaining leadership buy-in can be difficult in some cases and may require some education about the benefits of sustainability. Even with all of the positive buzz about “green,” a nagging myth still persists that green programs are simply a luxury expense – a discretionary cost that can only yield an intangible or “branding” benefit, rather than any real value to a company’s bottom line

Positive impact
That misconception ignores the fact that many sustainability strategies actually reduce operating expense, and some can even generate new revenue streams through green products or services. In addition to having a positive impact on the company’s bottom line, a strong sustainability program can also boost employee recruiting and retention, and serve as a powerful competitive differentiator.

2. Establish your company’s sustainability objectives. A successful sustainability strategy should always align with and enhance the other business objectives of the company.  As a result, once company leadership understands the value of sustainability, the next step is to articulate the key business objectives that the company hopes to achieve from implementing greener policies and procedures.  

Those objectives will be different for every organization, but may include goals to strengthen relationships with current or prospective customers that are engaged in environmental sustainability. The needs and interests of internal and external stakeholder groups should be considered in the goal-setting process.

3. Assess baseline environmental performance. Once the strategic objectives of your green program have been established, the next step is to take a holistic look at your business’s environmental footprint. Obtain the environmental performance data necessary to understand your impact in terms of energy consumption, water use, waste production, recycling and use of chemicals and toxins.