What is Sustainability?

Sustainability continues to be a hot topic within the construction sector, something that is often discussed but often misunderstood – much like MMC.

During a recent a catch up with Greg Chant-Hall, our Chartered Sustainability expert, we discussed the definition of sustainability and how individuals and businesses can be more responsible, especially within the construction sector. I thought it would be good to capture his views for this article.

Firstly, what exactly does the term ‘sustainability’ mean?

The term ‘Sustainability’ means the ability to continue over a period of time. The term ‘Environmental Sustainability’ is the quality of causing little or no damage to the environment, therefore meaning that our environment is stable and is able to continue for a long time. Much confusion and greenwashing comes from these terms being used by organisations synonymously, whether intentional or not.

We’ve all read the reports of how the environment has positively benefitted from the reduction in transport and industrial activity since the outbreak of COVID-19. Do you think people’s awareness has now heightened regarding the need to reduce carbon emissions?

I think that COVID-19 has provided us with an opportunity to change our individual perspectives. What do we value, and what we could do as a result: What do we eat, where do we choose to shop, and where is our pension invested? Individual action is the only action any one of us can take, and the momentum soon builds, as we have seen with the School Strike for Climate, Extinction Rebellion and others.

What advice would you give to businesses and individuals to be more sustainable?

To help avoid pandemics and the wider and more serious climate impacts that are coming our way fast, perhaps we should now be thinking first of Materiality and Risk and demanding sustainable materiality management from the organisations we work for, buy from and do business with.

We have all heard of the Triple Bottom Line, the Three-Legged Stool, and are probably familiar with the Venn Diagram of Social, Economic and Environmental interplays. However, as has been clearly demonstrated since COVID-19, the economy is merely a subset of society, which in turn entirely dependent on a healthy environment.

Perceptions pre-COVID 19?                                                            Current realisation?

Over a long-term timeframe, protecting the environment, so that society can utilise natural resources (natural capital), in a way that nature can replenish, delivers prosperity for all. 

What would you class as the short- and long-term challenges for businesses to be more sustainable?

In the short-term, individuals or companies may gain short-term economic benefit by using excessive resources and causing pollution, without compensating future generations for the loss. The local laws and taxation system in various countries (most, if not all countries), allows this to happen today. In some cases, the companies themselves may not realise the long-term impact and in many cases, customers and other stakeholders would not even be aware of the company’s actions.

The challenges of sustainability can be summarised as:

·      Too long-term

·      Too complex: big, diverse and multifaceted

·      Too hard to measure, and different issues measured and reported by different companies

These challenges often result in a lack of robustness, unsubstantiated statements, and in some cases feature intentional greenwashing by some companies, with many individuals seeing the challenge as ‘someone else’s problem', requiring no action from them.

A company may perform well on Human Rights for example, but poorly on resource efficiency. Is that company ‘sustainable’? These issues, and many others are undoubtedly part of the 'being sustainable', and the specific issues will depend on what the are most significant issues for that organisation. The issues of Materiality.

The ‘Sustainability’ equation can be summarised as: Benefit  >  Effort  =  Action

To stimulate action the benefits, and beneficiaries need to be clear, as well as when the benefits will occur. We need to not only be able to measure the benefits, but also measure the actions and efforts that are needed.

The word ‘sustainability’ can have different meanings for different people. Do you think more needs to be done to verify businesses who claim they are sustainable? 

The word ‘sustainability’ is often misused. For example, when a business claims it is a ‘sustainable business’, they are often referring solely to financial sustainability. Another example in the financial arena is that not all ‘Green Bonds’ have equally green credentials.

It may be said that it has been relatively easy for a company to hide behind a few policies or niche good news stories, when the core activities of that company are distinctly unsustainable. But, who really checks the robust implementation of a Modern Slavery Policy or a Low Carbon Procurement Policy? There are management systems such as ISO 14001, which are independently certified – depending on how ‘independent’ you consider an auditor to be, when they are paid for by the company being audited!

As we start to see the impacts of unsustainable business, there is a growing demand from society that all organisations address the climate crisis and other relevant social and environmental issues. Positive action is being taken across many sectors of business and society. The new sustainable finance taxonomy will help to define sustainability issues that businesses must manage and report on, and we must recognise that one size does not fit all.

How can you help the construction industry in particular, look to be more sustainable? Clarity and robust measurement are of key importance. Construction companies should seek to measure their material impacts on society and the environment, and to disclose these publicly, along with their targets and ongoing performance. Not only does this add value to investors, and clients, but also to the supply chain, who can align their own targets and management, enhancing the robustness of their business.

Greg raises some very valid points about the perception, challenges and future for sustainability. I hope it’s given readers of this article some food for thought when using the term ‘sustainability’. If you’d like to discuss how we can help to establish a sustainability strategy for your business, please get in touch.

Greg is a chartered sustainability professional, FIEMA and FRSA with extensive commercial and financial experience. Greg has a successful track-record working with a range of organisations; from SMEs and research to government and multinationals. He is currently supporting clients on TCFD, SDGs, supply-chains, climate emergency planning, and zero-carbon development projects.