There are a number of systematic approaches that businesses can use to bring themselves into the modern age in a sustainable manner. CSR (corporate social responsibility) is one of those, but how does it relate to renewable energy?
Integrating renewable energy-related issues into your business’s CSR can be beneficial for both your business and the environment on a more general scale. Here’s what we think you need to know about the subject.
Minimising environmental impact
First of all, by integrating renewable energy sources into your CSR policy, you get to benefit from the most frequently spoken about benefit of these sources of energy – minimising your negative impacts on the environment.
Your business can reduce its overall carbon footprint, allowing you to show that you’re taking active, meaningful steps towards creating a better planet. With stakeholders in all areas placing more and more emphasis on the environment as a key area of concern, it’s no longer possible to overlook environmental sustainability when it comes to running a business.
Maximising energy efficiency
Integrating sustainable approaches to energy use in a CSR policy doesn’t just mean using renewable energy sources. A significant part of the process also consists of optimising energy efficiency, meaning that your business needs less energy overall, no matter where that energy comes from.
Maximising energy efficiency will depend on your business, but could include carrying out an extensive energy audit and then taking action based on the findings. For example, you could retrofit an old office building with optimised insulation, or adopt efficient vehicles into your fleet.
Ensuring stakeholder engagement
CSR policies are also centred on engaging stakeholders, rather than just forcing change in a top-down manner. When it comes to renewable energy, this means communicating with customers, investors and employees about the importance of environmental sustainability, and proving that your organisation is doing what it takes to effect meaningful change.
Leveraging partnerships
With any sustainability-related issue, it’s important that organisations leverage existing and new partnerships. You can collaborate with businesses in the renewable energy sector, bringing them access to your product or service in return for access to theirs. In some cases, you may even be able to collaborate on a project, allowing you to explore what’s possible when it comes to increasing sustainability within and outside of your organisation.
A long-term commitment
Finally, it’s important to note that integrating renewable energy into your CSR represents a long-term commitment. It’s not as simple as just switching to a sustainable energy provider – you need to establish a roadmap with short, medium and long-term goals, and then constantly take steps to meet those goals. You’ll likely need to change your approach multiple times as things evolve, and it’s important to recognise just how crucial adaptability is in this area.
This should have provided you with some further insights into what it might look like to integrate renewable energy issues into your CSR policy. It’s not an easy task, but it comes with multiple benefits. From decreasing energy-related costs to increasing your organisation’s sustainability credentials, there are clearly a lot of reasons why it’s something you should seriously pursue.
A brief note of thanks to the team over at Exagen, who provided some of the industry insights that made this article possible.