SME Sustainability & Impact Guide (FINAL Jan 2024)
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WHAT DO WE MEAN BY ‘SUSTAINABILITY’?<br />
IMPACTS<br />
How does your business depend on natural, social and economic systems?<br />
It is likely that your business will have both positive and negative impacts. To understand what we mean by sustainability, l et’s look at a<br />
few ex<strong>amp</strong>les. When we talk about sustainability, we mean…<br />
…Protecting and restoring freshwater.<br />
Every product you sell and every raw ingredient you buy depends on the availability of<br />
freshwater. Freshwater is fundamental for life for everything everywhere. It is used in<br />
manufacturing, for transport, to grow food, and to drink!<br />
Can you think of any ways in which products, inputs or activities<br />
related to your business may impact freshwater? Let’s say I run<br />
a business that manufactures and retails clothes…<br />
Upstream <strong>Impact</strong>s<br />
Direct <strong>Impact</strong>s<br />
Downstream <strong>Impact</strong>s<br />
Harmful chemicals may<br />
spill into waterways<br />
during the dyeing of<br />
fabrics that my company<br />
purchases. Does the<br />
upstream manufacturer<br />
have good environmental<br />
safeguards in place?<br />
Our water use is minimal,<br />
being only for drinking<br />
and basic sanitation. So,<br />
whilst we can encourage<br />
our people to use water<br />
efficiently, the impact is<br />
not significant.<br />
Plastic microfibre<br />
is released from synthetic<br />
jackets when they are<br />
washed and proceed<br />
through water treatment<br />
plant filters,<br />
ultimately polluting<br />
marine and freshwater<br />
systems.
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