Getting Ahead of the Curve on 2025 Sustainability Planning

Preparation and Forward Planning Can Enable Effective Target Setting, Achievement of Corporate Sustainability Objectives, and Strategic Advantage

Jonathan Keller , Managing Director, Canopy Edge

Initiating sustainability planning for 2025 early provides organizations the necessary time to conduct in-depth research, review existing practices, and identify areas for improvement. This forward-thinking strategic approach can help secure necessary budgetary and human resources, form strategic partnerships, and ultimately gain a competitive edge. Early action also positions a company to effectively implement sustainability measures, highlighting a commitment to environmental responsibility and potentially setting industry benchmarks. Whether your organization is just getting started on its sustainability journey or already has a mature sustainability program , early planning is essential to successfully meeting corporate sustainability objectives in 2025 and beyond.

By acting now, a company can stay ahead of changing regulations and market trends, establishing itself as a sustainability leader. This approach reassures shareholders, customers, and employees, which can boost brand reputation and attract eco-conscious consumers and talent. In addition, it allows for flexibility in adapting to new technologies or changing circumstances, ensuring that 2025 initiatives are innovative and resilient.

While sustainability was once perceived with some degree of skepticism, it is now essential for long-term viability and profitability, fueled in part by stakeholder pressure. Stakeholders include shareholders seeking responsible investments, consumers wanting eco-friendly products and practices, competitors adopting green strategies, and governments enforcing environmental regulations.

Moreover, early planning supports the creation of comprehensive implementation strategies, including the testing of new approaches through pilot programs. It facilitates the integration of sustainability goals into broader business objectives, helping companies to anticipate and overcome potential challenges.

Five Key Steps

1. Assess Current Sustainability Performance: Conduct a comprehensive analysis of the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) impact, including evaluating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, resource consumption, waste production, and social metrics. This assessment helps to understand current sustainability positions, identify priorities, and make informed decisions about where to concentrate sustainability efforts for 2025.
2. Set Sustainability Goals: Develop SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound) sustainability targets that align with global standards like the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). These goals should be tailored to specific operations and strategic vision in order to enhance their effectiveness and attainability. They could include reducing GHG emissions, increasing waste recycling, promoting water conservation, implementing sustainable sourcing, or improving employee engagement.
3. Engage Stakeholders: Involve stakeholders in the sustainability planning process for the success and credibility of sustainability initiatives. Stakeholders may include employees, customers, suppliers, investors, community members, and regulatory bodies. This approach offers diverse perspectives, enhanced buy-In and support, improved decision-making, increased credibility and trust, and long-term success. By engaging stakeholders in sustainability planning, companies will create more comprehensive and effective plans, build stronger relationships, and achieve greater success in sustainability efforts.
4. Develop the Plan: Include timelines, milestones, and responsible parties for each initiative to create a comprehensive sustainability plan. The plan needs to allocate the necessary resources required, such as budget, personnel, and technology, to ensure a successful implementation. This includes goals and strategies related to climate (such as reducing carbon emissions, adapting to climate change, and creating resilient infrastructure), biodiversity (the use of natural resources), decarbonization (through sustainable electrification), land use, and social responsibility. It is important to include metrics for tracking progress and success. This drives innovation, fosters long-term growth, and builds a resilient brand reputation. A good plan goes beyond environmental conservation involving a holistic approach that includes ethical sourcing, social equality and economic viability. Embedding sustainability principles into core business processes, decision-making, and corporate culture may involve updating policies, training employees, and aligning incentives with sustainability objectives.
5. Monitor and Report: Implement comprehensive monitoring and reporting systems to track sustainability efforts effectively. These systems should be capable of measuring progress, evaluating performance, and communicating results to relevant stakeholders. While there is no universally accepted standard for sustainability monitoring and reporting, the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework is probably the most familiar ESG reporting standard. Performance metrics can include:

• Environmental sustainability metrics: Measures a company’s impact on the environment providing valuable insights into areas like energy consumption, waste generation, water usage, and emissions.
• Social metrics: Measures a company’s social performance and impact on stakeholders, such as employees, customers, suppliers, and communities. Social metrics encompass workforce diversity, employee health and safety, community engagement, human rights practices, product safety, accessibility, and supply chain responsibility.
• Governance metrics: Measures the integration of sustainability principles into a company’s governance structure, policies, and decision-making processes. Key areas include evaluating the diversity and independence of the board of directors, linking board and executive compensation to sustainability performance, and assessing the processes for ESG risk management and oversight.

To summarize, companies should start planning early to allow plenty of time for research, and to review and improve existing practices. This proactive approach will help in securing necessary resources and forming strategic partnerships. Companies will stay ahead of regulatory changes and market trends, boosting their reputation and attracting eco-conscious stakeholders. Early planning also supports the integration of sustainability goals into broader business strategies, promoting innovation and resilience. Key steps include assessing current sustainability performance, setting specific and measurable targets, engaging stakeholders, developing detailed plans, and implementing robust monitoring and reporting systems. This strategy will enable companies to make informed decisions, adjust as needed, and continuously improve their sustainability efforts, ensuring long-term success and viability.

Canopy Edge helps our clients navigate the rapidly changing sustainability environment. Our experienced consultants can help you identify and develop your 2025 sustainability initiatives. The time to develop your 2025 strategy ?is now, and doing so will increase the opportunity to be integrate sustainability into your business process. To find out more about getting started on your sustainability journey, contact Canopy Edge for an assessment of how we can design an engagement that meets your organization’s most important needs at a scope and price point that are the best fit for your company.