Defining sustainability

At SustainEd we work with clients to help them develop a bespoke company perspective of the opportunities offered by the focus on sustainability. Too often sustainability is portrayed as either a cost burden or a restriction on business, however it also offers opportunities to businesses that are willing to strategically engage with a process of change for a better, more secure future. Too narrow a focus on lower price or greater profit at all costs can enslave a business and the people involved to behaviours which are environmentally damaging and socially or personally de-humanising. Sustainability is about balance, about being liberated from such negative behaviours in the pursuit of short term profits.

Such opportunities might be the improved customer approval of the brand, or the inclusion on a preferred supplier list or the collaboration with partners who share similar values. At the basic level, sustainability involves maximising resource efficiency for cost savings, and identifying the best methods for meeting your organisation’s objectives while minimizing adverse social or environmental impact.

The dismissal of sustainability as green washing is a failure to see the bigger picture of societal shifts such as openness and transparency; connectivity and access to information; individual choices and demands; that are all affecting the role of business in society. Ignoring these fundamental changes risks missing the opportunities they present.

SustainEd is expert at translating such big picture changes into practical ‘for example’ learning within a company, thus improving the  understanding, helping to motivate and innovate for change in a really positive manner for all stakeholders.  We do this by designing and facilitating constructive dialogues for change between all those involved.

As we collectively try to work towards an uncertain future, we need new formats of how to educate together in ways that will include more players than before, in an environment that is conducive to and appreciative of diverse input. In this way we can build a culture that is really positive towards the changes we need to make. This is  what we do at SustainEd.


Contact Us

Registered Office: Ballyogan, Graig-na-Managh, Co. Kilkenny. Ireland Tel: +353 (0)87 4187 082 Email: victor@sustained.ie

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