As 2013 inches closer, one must take a look at the goals and plans for the upcoming year. Often overlooked is the sustainability policies that help a company grow and contribute to the global policy for increased corporate social responsibility and sustainability. As you begin to pull together ideas and policies, consider the following:
- Create Telework and Flexwork Policies – Telework and flexwork opportunities allow employees to work off site. This reduces their carbon footprint because it eliminates the need to commute to work.
- Create Transportation Alternatives – Another option is to reward employees for carpooling or utilizing public transportation. You might also consider an internal initiative to help employees commute to work. For example, Advertising Agency, Crispin Bogosky provides a biodiesel-powered bus to pick up and drop off employees. The bus enables more than 80 employees to embrace public transportation on any given day.
- Strengthen Corporate Accountability Reporting – More accountability reporting strengthens a company’s sustainability policies. According to an article in the Harvard Business Review, Professor Karthik Ramanna explains three ways to make corporate accountability reports potentially more useful to constituencies that include shareholders, communities, bondholders, and customers. Ramanna states that amongst other things, accountability reports give stakeholders the ability to verify what the corporation tells them about its corporate accountability activities. This in turn helps gain future approval for policies and initiatives.
- Get Involved and Partner with Outside Organizations. Take leadership in the drafting and implementation of local, regional and state policies that support sustainability.
- Grow Your Internal Environmental Portfolio – Create an internal initiative to invest more corporate funds into companies that support and facilitate global environmental sustainability and corporate social responsibility.
- Charitable Giving – Create an internal charitable giving initiative or policy. For example, Coca-Cola contributes $88 million annually to a variety of environmental, educational, and humanitarian organizations. You can also consider donating your company’s products or services to non-governmental organizations. For example, Microsoft donates almost $300 million in software products to nongovernmental organizations around the world each year.
- Internal Diversity Policies – Strive to integrate female employees at all levels including top management. Consider creating supporting policies that support diversity awareness, education, and sensitivity.
When considering internal policies for 2013 and beyond, consider the three potential business areas including activities motivated by charitable instincts, activities intended to benefit the company’s bottom line, and policies targeted at fundamentally changing your organization’s long term goals and position.