Tip 3: Sustainability is top-down AND bottom-up

The path to holistic sustainability – the approach we refer to on this website and in our projects as ‘total sustainability management’ – is a path that must be tackled by the entire company. Management must provide a clear strategy and go ahead with the necessary operational interventions – e.g. a cross-departmental team for sustainability projects with the appropriate assertiveness. The operative level is then also required by all hierarchies from top to bottom (if you still want to use this choice of words at all) to make the topic of sustainability your own and to implement it. This includes understanding, this includes transparency and this includes clear and sanction-free reporting channels right from the start, so that all levels can also contribute.

The nice thing about such changes is that most people are happy to join them and sometimes eagerly await them. Doing something good is motivating for everyone, making a contribution to improving the world releases strength and you will be amazed at the strength that lies dormant in your company. Not everything will be sunshine and roses, not everything will be successful and some people may also be lost. However, we have never met a company that had to fight the otherwise often encountered obstacles on its way to sustainability.

That’s why it’s so important to involve, inform and involve everyone from the start.