Issue 04/2023

42 bioplastics MAGAZINE [04/23] Vol. 18
Sustainability
Sustainability with strategy
What is the best way for companies to develop and implement
a sustainability strategy?
The importance of sustainability in business is growing
due to climate change, species extinction, increased
awareness of human rights and equality, and rising
energy prices. A well-developed sustainability strategy
offers companies, especially SMEs, competitive advantages,
cost savings, risk management, and employee engagement.
The efficient structuring process of a sustainability strategy,
including inventory, analysis, goal setting, action planning,
resource allocation, and stakeholder engagement, is
critical to success.
However, developing, launching, and implementing
a sustainability strategy is also a complex challenge. It
requires change management, consideration of external
conditions, measurability and reporting, and addressing
stakeholder expectations.
A sustainability strategy describes a company’s plan
for defining relevant sustainability issues and how to deal
with them. Ideally, it is part of the corporate strategy and is
clearly communicated internally and externally as to how
the company contributes to sustainable development. The
introduction of a sustainability strategy is not a one-off
project, but a continuous process.
A well-developed sustainability strategy enables
companies not only to meet sustainability requirements but
also to achieve market advantages. An intensive analysis
of one’s own value chain also enables a regular exchange
with important stakeholders. This brings the advantage of
gaining early insights into trends and developments that are
emerging in one’s own industry.
There are various sustainability strategies to drive
sustainable development. These include sufficiency (reducing
production and consumption), efficiency (increasing output
with the same input), and consistency (nature-friendly
material cycles, recycling, waste avoidance). To achieve
sustainability goals, it is important to use all three strategies
in a smart interplay.
Legal requirements and compliance:
Recently, in Europe, several laws have been passed
or drafted that have one thing in common: They require
companies to address sustainability.
CSRD / ESRS:
These include the CSRD (Corporate Sustainability
Reporting Directive) with the ESRS (European Sustainability
Reporting Standard) as a framework, which significantly
expands sustainability reporting obligations.
LfKSG:
Although the new German Supply Chain Act only applies to
companies above a certain size, drafts for a European Supply
Chain Act indicate that smaller companies will soon be held
accountable as well. Already today, corporations are passing
on the requirements placed on them to suppliers.
ESG:
In addition, the EU taxonomy regulation with its focus
on ESG (Environmental Social Governance) imposes
requirements in particular on capital market-oriented
companies with the aim of redirecting financial flows to more
sustainable activities.
Growing importance of compliance: In parallel with legal
developments and social discourse, risk awareness in
companies is increasing.