Obstacles to overcome when activating your sustainability strategy

Although there are many low-cost ways to make progress with a sustainability programme, it takes significant investment to execute projects and actions that truly move the needle to deliver huge ROIs. Unfortunately, these projects often are deprioritised due to tight budgets and the perception that other organisational needs have greater urgency. To plan for these longer-term investments, work with senior leadership to establish a business case with operating and capital plans, engaging them as early as possible and clearly articulating how each project supports your enterprise’s sustainability vision, commitments and culture. You’ll also want to define the short- and long-term costs and benefits of each opportunity, as well as prioritise initiatives based on their ROI. Whether you’re looking to implement an on-site renewable energy programme or replace an inefficient HVAC system, you’ll have a much easier time rallying stakeholders and getting the funds you need by making a thorough business case.

JLL recently piloted an energy program for a large healthcare company to help identify and demonstrate the benefits of a portfolio-wide sustainability programme. After identifying and performing energy audits on four campus buildings, we identified 20-plus energy conservation opportunities—calculated to reduce energy consumption by more than 18% per year—for capital investment. By providing estimates for project costs, annual energy cost savings, and ROI figures, the client was able to build a business case and demonstrate the economic and environmental benefits of energy and sustainability initiatives.

You’ve identified your sustainability goals and the initiatives to help you accomplish them. You’ve also identified everyone who will be involved in the process. But without accountability measures, people have no incentive to complete tasks, which slows progress. This is where a responsibility assignment (RACI) matrix, tied to your sustainability goals, can be impactful. A RACI matrix identifies the roles and responsibilities for all stakeholders involved in a project, identifying who is responsible, who is accountable, who needs to be consulted and who needs to be informed along the way. If your organisation’s goal is to reduce 20% water consumption by 2025, you might assign the following:

• Responsible: Operations lead
• Accountable: Head of real estate
• Consulted: An external consultant
• Informed: Your sustainability committee

Establishing a RACI matrix ties all responsible stakeholders to your strategic plan by implementing specific KPIs to help them meet their goals.