Each year, the realities of climate change and resource depletion across the globe drive the increasing need for everyone to practice sustainability in our daily lives and business operations. Individuals and small groups are more agile and can quickly adopt green practices towards this goal. However, larger organizations with operations across multiple sites and often work with partners all over the globe tend to be slower to implement effective change. It can be especially difficult for a big company to usher in new sustainable practices at remote sites. Here are some ways you can help overcome this challenge.
Acquiring and utilizing local knowledge
When a big business establishes a new location, it typically follows a template derived from the success at previous sites. Sometimes, though, differences in local conditions and social and cultural influences need to be accounted for.
For instance, varying soil qualities make it essential to work with an experienced commercial excavation in Utah. That local team is familiar with the local soil and subterranean conditions, after all. You should always consult with local experts and be ready to modify the initial template to implement a sustainability initiative at a remote site successfully.
Better management practices and reporting
Although periodic site visits are part of managing an organization spread across multiple locations, you can’t expect central leadership to be directly involved in every aspect of cascading essential changes. Effective management practices should include a thorough stakeholder analysis for a better understanding of each site’s unique situation. A transparent, comprehensive reporting using standard measures of performance helps, too. It allows the central office to gauge whether a remote location’s leaders are effectively implementing the company’s new strategy for sustainability, even without having to travel for a site inspection.
Targeting supply chain improvements
The further spread out an organization is, the more they become involved in an ever-growing network of third-party vendors and strategic partners. While some needs, especially those that can be executed entirely on digital platforms such as a website or graphic design, may be fulfilled by a single contractor for all sites, more often, each location will draw from its unique list of suppliers.
Using targeted supply chain improvements, such as limiting a site to use only local sourcing or work only with partners who have committed to sustainability, will amplify the effectiveness of any central initiative in this regard.
Streamlining processes and remote work
As recent times have shown, organizations can still manage to get a lot of work accomplished despite measures of a lockdown or social distancing. Depending on the nature of the task or the specific position of an employee, remote working arrangements can be a valuable strategy for sustainability moving forward.
By encouraging more work and meetings to be accomplished purely through collaborative platforms, you can boost sustainable practices across all sites of the company. You can save on overhead costs, reduce energy consumption, and cut down on emissions from having employees physically report to work.
Even though a large-scale organization embraces sustainability, implementing this change across many sites of operation can pose a serious challenge. You can use these measures to overcome the obstacles and successfully drive green practices at every level.
